Update: “Desperate Housewives” producers apologize to Filipinos
That was fast. Yesterday, I reported on the bubbling discontent of Jesse Jackson Filipinos demanding an apology from the “Desperate Housewives” show for a joke about Filipino medical schools.
Looks like playing the grievance card worked. The show has apologized:
Makers of the hit US television series ‘Desperate Housewives’ have apologized for a slur against Filipino medical workers that caused uproar here.
The apology was sent to Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN’s bureau in the United States and aired here Thursday by its cable news channel, ANC, following protests by the Manila government.
“The producers of the show and ABC studios offer our sincere apology for any offence caused by the brief reference in the season premier,” ANC quoted the statement as saying.
“There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines,” it said.
“There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines.”
Well, of course there was. They should have stopped before that weasel cop-out.
Exit question: Will Filipinos demand sensitivity training and p.c. rehab?
Exit question number two: Who will step up and replace Islamic Rage Boy with Filipino Rage Doctor?
Thanks to David Lunde for the photoshop.
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At least ABC tried. Filipinos that I know don’t get outraged over silly things. They prove themselves worthy of a good reputation. May God Bless the Pearl of the Orient!
Nah, not quite at the tipping point yet.
ABC had to test the Filipino bashing waters, we’ll see how long before they jump right back in…
I almost care. No, no I don’t.
Is it me or has the human race developed a thinner skin over the past 50 years.
When I was a child the rhyme “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” was pretty much the creed we lived by (taught to me by my grandfather).
Now it seems words cause more injury in our society than guns, automobiles, toxic waste, desease and natural disasters combined.
Must be evolution accelerating us to our demise.
AH… but remember this one? A wound will heal but a word abides….
Exactamundo!
Can’t anyone take a joke anymore?
I agree. Admittedly though, some people have taken it to far. One bad apple…
Not only am I dumbfounded at the ‘thin-skin’ our society has developed, I’m also amazed at the selective outrage.
Tune in to Comedy Central ANY day of the week at practically ANY hour and you will find disparaging remarks 100 times worse than this example.
South Park has made a fortune out of the practice - and Carlos Mencia has made a career out of nothing BUT disparaging the races ( including his own ).
Can anyone imagine the outrage in today’s world if Don Rickles had tried to start his career now?
Lighten up people - it was a joke.
Maybe Hatcher can join Isaiah on the cast of the new bionic woman once they can her.
it was foolish to point out a specific population…however I must say that I don’t want to see a doctor unless s/he graduated from a school in the good ol’ US of A. Couldn’t care less where the doctor came from originally.
If a similar comment had been made in a serious setting by someone in power, such as a politician or medical professional - something which honestly was meant to lower the opinion of Filipino physicians / med-school graduates, then I can see a case for being upset.
There was no racist terminology used. It was not much different than saying ” I want to make sure these diplomas don’t come from some third world nation”.
The fact is that people are looking for ANY excuse to protest what they view as ANY slight against them. Whether it is due to being overly sensitive or overly anxious to gain notoriety, press coverage or monetary settlement, they are too quick to jump on anyone’s words.
One comment I heard on the radio this morning stated that the groups protesting this had stated that a monetary donation to Filipino medical schools was in order. If that is true, that is a ridiculously quick response about this whole thing and makes it seem as though the whole outrage is frivolous in its intent.
The wife and the daughter are eating Pan de Sol right now. Those two don’t give a damn about that stupid show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The intent was the (fictional) character’s and not ABC’s or the show’s production staff.
I fear that Caveman show coming up. All sorts of grievance groups will probably be watching very carefully trying to tease out how the show is insulting them.
Is that where we are headed? Shows portraying groups that can not possibly be offended (extinct species of hominids, aliens, etc)?
They apologized? Does this mean we’re not going to get to see, “Philipina Rage Girl?”
Nah, they’ll just stick the traditionally safe targets - white folks and christians.
Islamic Rage Boy always make think he came off a BBQ spit and somebody just plucked the apple out of his mouth.
Radical Muslims wouldn’t do that?
Yea probably.
I still won’t watch this tripe.
The “offensive” remark wasn’t about the race of people, it was about the quality of eductation, in general, in the Phillipines.
If schools, over there, are so great…why are they all coming here to enroll?
I don’t think there’s anything racist about saying an American education is better, given the large numbers of foreign students clamoring to get into American colleges.
Teri Hatcher is half-Mexican, so maybe that gives her a pass.
Hi Glamchild…
Certainly debatable considering our school systems.
Race should not give anyone a free pass.
Aside from that, Mexicans and Filipinos are completely different cultures.
Not entirely diffrerent considering that they do have traces of spanish in their linkage.
I watched the first one. Maybe it was just setting up the rest of the season, but it was so unfunny. It insulted everyone with it’s stupidity. Can I sue ABC for wasting my time?
Could be worse…they could have insulted the Islamic medical schools. After all, they are already on the rampage trying to blow-up airports in Scotland, training as homicide bombers, and have alledgedly been sent out in droves to inflict as much murder and carnage as possible. The last thing you would want is for them to actually be upset about something.
/snark
The stereotypical opinions of a fictional character of the show, who might indeed believe that medical care quality is less in certain countries, does not necessarily represent the view of the network or the creaters of the show, and neither should have had to apologize.
People should worry more about what real people believe and say, more PC BS.
you wanna see real offensive stereotyping on TV? check out the upcoming episode of “Cold Case” which is about christian highschoolers in an abstinence club who “stone” a sexually promiscuous (spelling) girl to death, while quoting the old testament.
will this viscious attack against christians gain any national attention besides on conservative blogs? of course not. will anyone apologize for it? no. it will be praised as “art” and free expression.
and people are angry about a dim, susan mayer one-liner.
our world is going straight down the toilet.
Well, Evenstar, there are radical Christian groups, and again this is fiction and also should be a non-issue. Do you not see that you are being as intolerant as some Muslim and other extremists - unable to tolerate a fictional story about extremists of your religion? This is not an implausible scenario, and even if it were, freedom of expression trumps PC-ness.
yes, i know, my intention was not that it should be “censored” or anything, nor did i say that i would not tolerate it. did i say it should be taken off television for PC reasons? no…intolerant? yes, i am intolerant i guess for questioning the wrong side of an issue.
i was just pointing out the double standard in stereotyping groups on TV, how it is ok to insult some (whites and christians) but not others.
it is also just as highly plausible that someone could go pickup a phony medical degree in the philipines as it is for some extremist christains to kill someone.
ps, you said that i am unable to tolerate a fictional story about extremists of “my religion”.
just for the sake of argument, how did you gather that i was even a christian? i didn’t say “my fellow christians” or anything of the sort. i could be a pagan or an atheist or a buddhist for all you know, you don’t have to be a “christian” to be able to see through rediculous double standards.
I think this whole thing is a tempest in a teapot. I have not seen the show in question–is that remark right for that character, that is, is she a witch? In which case, no offense should have been taken. If the character is usually reasonable, then offense can be taken. Yes, it would have been better to have said a generic “a third world country” (or one without a medical school) than to specify the Philippines, which has many many capable and qualified people all over the world–both those becoming welcome citizens in their new countries and just as guest workers.
ABC was right to apologize once a large enough group complained, and that should be enough.
As a doctor, I can assure you that not enough bad can be said about the schools and doctors in the Philippines. I might note that we are getting a considerable number of nurses from there due to the nurse shortage. There is a rumor that they have access to the nursing board exams and thus are able to preform better than expected, actually passing the test.