Wow, the Philippines!

[SuperDuper! 230]

I was suppose to reply to a comment that has been removed.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that I really didn't appreciate the foreigners attacking/insulting us filipinas. The thing is that we can't change the way they see us. I think the only thing we can do is to prove to them that they are NOT any better than us. I don't believe that keeping quiet and avoiding arguments is the way to do it, especially if they are insulting our race. While I believe that we have to choose our own battles, I also believe that if someone pick a fight, we have the right to defend ourselves but of course, we should make sure that we're fighting in the best way we can and not dragging ourselves into the mud. Let's not reply to them them the way they are responding to us here. We can do so much better than that.

And yes, Filipinas make the best wives!!! Why? Because I and the filipinas and their spouses said so and even if others strongly disagree, I don't care! We're entitled to our own opinions and that is something they should learn to respect and get over with. Let us also respect their right to claim that their nationalities are the best. Let us not attack/insult people who don't agree with us and who are attacking/insulting us. Otherwise, we won't be any different from them at all.

filipinas is a race? really? a culture yes ... an nationality yes ..

Here we go again with the filipinas make the best wives. wow ... just wow ...

You are begging the question then, of WHO qualifies as a race. Please enlighten us, professor?

try google and search for yourself ...

http://www.google.com/

Sorry, I never heard of that one...I only use this one. But please try thinking for yourself. Anyone who says that they know that something is true because they saw it on the internet is pulling a SimpleJack.

http://www.giggle.com/

another ... good answer

interesting concept in your earlier post ^ ... an individual can be their own race ...

I never said that. It was another poster. Please try to pay attention who is writing what, then go to http://www.goggle.com/

and get your glasses cleaned.

[loveaboo 0]

I was suppose to reply to a comment that has been removed.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that I really didn't appreciate the foreigners attacking/insulting us filipinas. The thing is that we can't change the way they see us. I think the only thing we can do is to prove to them that they are NOT any better than us. I don't believe that keeping quiet and avoiding arguments is the way to do it, especially if they are insulting our race. While I believe that we have to choose our own battles, I also believe that if someone pick a fight, we have the right to defend ourselves but of course, we should make sure that we're fighting in the best way we can and not dragging ourselves into the mud. Let's not reply to them them the way they are responding to us here. We can do so much better than that.

And yes, Filipinas make the best wives!!! Why? Because I and the filipinas and their spouses said so and even if others strongly disagree, I don't care! We're entitled to our own opinions and that is something they should learn to respect and get over with. Let us also respect their right to claim that their nationalities are the best. Let us not attack/insult people who don't agree with us and who are attacking/insulting us. Otherwise, we won't be any different from them at all.

filipinas is a race? really? a culture yes ... an nationality yes ..

Here we go again with the filipinas make the best wives. wow ... just wow ...

You are begging the question then, of WHO qualifies as a race. Please enlighten us, professor?

try google and search for yourself ...

http://www.google.com/

Sorry, I never heard of that one...I only use this one. But please try thinking for yourself. Anyone who says that they know that something is true because they saw it on the internet is pulling a SimpleJack.

http://www.giggle.com/

another ... good answer

interesting concept in your earlier post ^ ... an individual can be their own race ...

This is the definition from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/race

race

-noun

1. a group of persons related by common descent or heredity.

2. a population so related.

3. Anthropology.

a. any of the traditional divisions of humankind, the commonest being the Caucasian, Mongoloid, and Negro, characterized by supposedly distinctive and universal physical characteristics: no longer in technical use.

b. an arbitrary classification of modern humans, sometimes, esp. formerly, based on any or a combination of various physical characteristics, as skin color, facial form, or eye shape, and now frequently based on such genetic markers as blood groups.

c. a human population partially isolated reproductively from other populations, whose members share a greater degree of physical and genetic similarity with one another than with other humans.

4. a group of tribes or peoples forming an ethnic stock: the Slavic race.

5. any people united by common history, language, cultural traits, etc.: the Dutch race.

6. the human race or family; humankind: Nuclear weapons pose a threat to the race.

Edited June 22, 2009 by loveaboo

[loveaboo 0]

As per Filipino as a race:

1 and 2 - yes

3b - yes

3c - yes - we are on an island chain, thus we've effectively been "isolated" enough (with the exception of the past 100 years maybe) to have our own population.

5 - yes - we have our own history, language, cultural traits, etc.

OK, there you go...Therefore from those definitions I can conclude that Filipino qualifies as a race.

[rheanick 42]

As per Filipino as a race:

1 and 2 - yes

3b - yes

3c - yes - we are on an island chain, thus we've effectively been "isolated" enough (with the exception of the past 100 years maybe) to have our own population.

5 - yes - we have our own history, language, cultural traits, etc.

OK, there you go...Therefore from those definitions I can conclude that Filipino qualifies as a race.

Sis, to back you up... FILIPINO is a RACE

An excerpt from a poem written by Carlos P. Romulo... Previous UNITED NATION Secretary General.

I AM A FILIPINO - by Carlos P. Romulo

I am a Filipino – inheritor of a glorious past, hostage to the uncertain future. As such, I must prove equal to a two-fold task – the task of meeting my responsibility to the past, and the task of performing my obligation to the future.

I am sprung from a hardy race – child many generations removed of ancient Malayan pioneers. Across the centuries, the memory comes rushing back to me: of brown-skinned men putting out to sea in ships that were as frail as their hearts were stout. Over the sea I see them come, borne upon the billowing wave and the whistling wind, carried upon the mighty swell of hope – hope in the free abundance of the new land that was to be their home and their children’s forever.

This is the land they sought and found. Every inch of shore that their eyes first set upon, every hill and mountain that beckoned to them with a green and purple invitation, every mile of rolling plain that their view encompassed, every river and lake that promised a plentiful living and the fruitfulness of commerce, is a hollowed spot to me.

By the strength of their hearts and hands, by every right of law, human and divine, this land and all the appurtenances thereof – the black and fertile soil, the seas and lakes and rivers teeming with fish, the forests with their inexhaustible wealth in wild and timber, the mountains with their bowels swollen with minerals – the whole of this rich and happy land has been for centuries without number, the land of my fathers. This land I received in trust from them, and in trust will pass it to my children, and so on until the world is no more.

I am a Filipino. In my blood runs the immortal seed of heroes – seed that flowered down the centuries in deeds of courage and defiance. In my veins yet pulses the same hot blood that sent Lapulapu to battle against the alien foe, that drove Diego Silang and Dagohoy into rebellion against the foreign oppressor,

That seed is immortal. It is the self-same seed that flowered in the heart of Jose Rizal that morning in Bagumbayan when a volley of shots put an end to all that was mortal of him and made his spirit deathless forever; the same that flowered in the hearts of Bonifacio in Balintawak, of Gregorio del Pilar at Tirad Pass, of Antonio Luna at Calumpit, that bloomed in flowers of frustration in the sad heart of Emilio Aguinaldo at Palanan, and yet burst forth royally again in the proud heart of Manuel L. Quezon when he stood at last on the threshold of ancient Malacanang Palace, in the symbolic act of possession and racial vindication.

The seed I bear within me is an immortal seed. It is the mark of my manhood, the symbol of my dignity as a human being. Like the seeds that were once buried in the tomb of Tutankhamen many thousands of years ago, it shall grow and flower and bear fruit again. It is the insigne of my race, and my generation is but a stage in the unending search of my people for freedom and happiness.

I am a Filipino, child of the marriage of the East and the West. The East, with its languor and mysticism, its passivity and endurance, was my mother, and my sire was the West that came thundering across the seas with the Cross and Sword and the Machine. I am of the East, an eager participant in its struggles for liberation from the imperialist yoke. But I know also that the East must awake from its centuried sleep, shake off the lethargy that has bound its limbs, and start moving where destiny awaits.

For I, too, am of the West, and the vigorous peoples of the West have destroyed forever the peace and quiet that once were ours. I can no longer live, a being apart from those whose world now trembles to the roar of bomb and cannon shot. For no man and no nation is an island, but a part of the main, and there is no longer any East and West – only individuals and nations making those momentous choices that are the hinges upon which history revolves.

At the vanguard of progress in this part of the world I stand – a forlorn figure in the eyes of some, but not one defeated and lost. For through the thick, interlacing branches of habit and custom above me I have seen the light of the sun, and I know that it is good. I have seen the light of justice and equality and freedom, my heart has been lifted by the vision of democracy, and I shall not rest until my land and my people shall have been blessed by these, beyond the power of any man or nation to subvert or destroy.

I am a Filipino, and this is my inheritance. What pledge shall I give that I may prove worthy of my inheritance? I shall give the pledge that has come ringing down the corridors of the centuries, and its hall be compounded of the joyous cries of my Malayan forebears when they first saw the contours of this land loom before their eyes, of the battle cries that have resounded in every field of combat from Mactan to Tirad Pass, of the voices of my people when they sing:

Land of the morning.

Child of the sun returning . . .

Ne’er shall invaders

Trample thy sacred shore.

Out of the lush green of these seven thousand isles, out of the heart-strings of sixteen million people all vibrating to one song, I shall weave the mighty fabric of my pledge. Out of the songs of the farmers at sunrise when they go to labor in the fields; out the sweat of the hard-bitten pioneers in Mal-ig and Koronadal; out of the silent endurance of stevedores at the piers and the ominous grumbling of peasants in Pampanga; out of the first cries of babies newly born and the lullabies that mothers sing; out of crashing of gears and the whine of turbines in the factories; out of the crunch of ploughs upturning the earth; out of the limitless patience of teachers in the classrooms and doctors in the clinics; out of the tramp of soldiers marching, I shall make the pattern of my pledge:

I am a Filipino born of freedom, and I shall not rest until freedom shall have been added unto my inheritance – for myself and my children’s – forever.

[natty bumppo 289]

I was suppose to reply to a comment that has been removed.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that I really didn't appreciate the foreigners attacking/insulting us filipinas. The thing is that we can't change the way they see us. I think the only thing we can do is to prove to them that they are NOT any better than us. I don't believe that keeping quiet and avoiding arguments is the way to do it, especially if they are insulting our race. While I believe that we have to choose our own battles, I also believe that if someone pick a fight, we have the right to defend ourselves but of course, we should make sure that we're fighting in the best way we can and not dragging ourselves into the mud. Let's not reply to them them the way they are responding to us here. We can do so much better than that.

And yes, Filipinas make the best wives!!! Why? Because I and the filipinas and their spouses said so and even if others strongly disagree, I don't care! We're entitled to our own opinions and that is something they should learn to respect and get over with. Let us also respect their right to claim that their nationalities are the best. Let us not attack/insult people who don't agree with us and who are attacking/insulting us. Otherwise, we won't be any different from them at all.

filipinas is a race? really? a culture yes ... an nationality yes ..

Here we go again with the filipinas make the best wives. wow ... just wow ...

You are begging the question then, of WHO qualifies as a race. Please enlighten us, professor?

try google and search for yourself ...

http://www.google.com/

Sorry, I never heard of that one...I only use this one. But please try thinking for yourself. Anyone who says that they know that something is true because they saw it on the internet is pulling a SimpleJack.

http://www.giggle.com/

another ... good answer

interesting concept in your earlier post ^ ... an individual can be their own race ...

I never said that. It was another poster. Please try to pay attention who is writing what, then go to http://www.goggle.com/

and get your glasses cleaned.

of course you didn't post what is highlighted in red above ..

[scotty's girl 1]

I've got to ask, because some one has to do it, why are the Philippines so apparently overrepresented on VJ in terms of K-1 beneficiaries? I understand that the country makes up somewhere around 1.37% of the world population, but my sense is that somewhere around 75% of the k-1 beneficiaries on this site are from the Philippines. What gives?

awright can i add something more plzzzzzzzzz?i worked in israel for 7 years...and most of the time i get inside a taxi.the taxi driver driver always as in always say filinit?(filipina) and i always say yes (duh) wait let me give u a background..in israel its almost all races are there asians,europian etc...ok so i asked the driver too.."how do u know im a filipina?( it's not a stupid question bec cambodians,malaysians,indonesians are there too.we look similar to them right?) anyhow i asked "how do u know im a filipina?" and drivers alawys always always say "because filipinas smell good when they get inside the taxi not like other women from etc etc etc blah blah..."heyyyyyyyy dont take it againts me..im just relaying wot i heard from taxi drivers in israel...and as we know..taxi drivers are te best knowledgable hehheheheh...

I also worked in Israel for 2 years. A lot of Israelis even think that we're from Thailand or China because they would greet us either by Thai or Chinese language.

Come on ladies, you just know this is not true.

Israel has a very large population of Filipina caregivers who look after elderly people in their homes. No doubt that is what both Norie and Scotty's Girl were doing in Israel.

If you go to the center of any town in Israel (and I can speak from personal experience about Haifa, Netanya, Rehovot, Ra'anana...) you will find shops and signs catering to Russians. And shops and signs catering in Tagalog to the Philippine community. Offering foodstuffs, phone cards to call home, etc. There is no comparable Thai or Chinese community of domestic workers in Israel. There are Thai workers employed in agriculture and construction. However no one would possibly confuse the Thai and Filipina workers in Israel. Why? Because of gender! Virtually all Thai and Chinese workers were brought in over the last 5-10 years to do "hard labor" that was once done by Palestinians, but since the Intifada has been outsourced to these countries. There are virtually no women being brought in from these countries.

Meanwhile Filipinas have been coming to Israel for decades to work as elderly caregivers - virtually all female as you very well know, having lived there.

Data from Israeli Bureau of statistics

http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/temp...&CYear=2008

ENTRANTS WITH WORK PERMITS(1),

BY COUNTRY OF CITIZENSHIP, AGE, SEX AND YEAR OF ENTRY

Country גברים % Age ארץ סך הכל( 2) גיל

of citizenship 55+ 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 15-24 סך הכל Total(2) אזרחות

% Men Total

PERCENTAGES אלפים אחוזים THOUSANDS

2006

China 99 0.1 0.5 4.9 27.1 37.1 17.5 8.1 4.8 100.0 3.3 סין

Philippines 14 0.5 2.5 7.8 16.1 22.0 23.5 21.9 5.9 100.0 6.4 פיליפינים

Thailand 93 0.0 0.1 1.0 6.9 22.2 28.4 25.7 15.7 100.0 9.0 תאיילנד

The table came out badly formatted when I cut/pasted. But here are the relevant bits.

In 2006, there were 3.3 X 1000 (3,300) foreign workers who entered Israel from China.

There were 6,400 from Philippines.

And 9,000 from Thailand.

But look at the genders: 99% of the Chinese workers were male, 14% of Philippines workers were male, and 93% of Thai workers were male.

Meaning, 1% X 3300 = 33 Chinese women entered as workers in 2006.

7% X 9,000 = 630 Thai women.

86% X 6,400 = 5,504 Filipinas.

Filipinas in Israel outnumber their Thai and Chinese sisters by over 8:1. Keep in mind that this data is only a snapshot of new arrivals in 2006. If you add in the existing population of Filipinas who have been there many years, before Thai and Chinese started to arrive, the data would be even more overwhelming. There are far, far more Filipinas than other Asian nationalities working and living in Israel.

I can assure you that when an Asian woman enters a taxi or a shop in Israel, she's assumed immediately to be a Filipina caregiver. And you know that's true.

I'm speaking based from my experience. I worked in a hotel in Eilat, I had Thai and Chinese friends who also worked there. Some Israelis are not very familiar with the Philippines. Even some of my Israeli, Russian, or South American coworkers were like that. They know a lot more about Thailand. Another reason for that is because there were not so many Filipinas in Eilat unlike in Tel Aviv or in any other part of the country.

[natty bumppo 289]

As per Filipino as a race:

1 and 2 - yes

3b - yes

3c - yes - we are on an island chain, thus we've effectively been "isolated" enough (with the exception of the past 100 years maybe) to have our own population.

5 - yes - we have our own history, language, cultural traits, etc.

OK, there you go...Therefore from those definitions I can conclude that Filipino qualifies as a race.

An ethnic group is a group of human beings whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or presumed.^[1][2]

Ethnic identity is further marked by the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness^[3] and the recognition of common cultural, linguistic, religious, behavioural or biological traits,^[1][4] real or presumed, as indicators of contrast to other groups.^[5]

Ethnicity is an important means through which people can identify themselves. According to "Challenges of Measuring an Ethnic World: Science, politics, and reality", a conference organised by Statistics Canada and the United States Census Bureau (April 1–3, 1992), "Ethnicity is a fundamental factor in human life: it is a phenomenon inherent in human experience."^[6] However, many social scientists, like anthropologists Fredrik Barth and Eric Wolf, do not consider ethnic identity to be universal. They regard ethnicity as a product of specific kinds of inter-group interactions, rather than an essential quality inherent to human groups.^[7] Processes that result in the emergence of such identification are called ethnogenesis. Members of an ethnic group, on the whole, claim cultural continuities over time. Historians and cultural anthropologists have documented, however, that often many of the values, practices, and norms that imply continuity with the past are of relatively recent invention.^[8]

Data

[natty bumppo 289]

The term race or racial group usually refers to the categorization of humans into populations or groups on the basis of various sets of heritable characteristics.^[1] The most widely used human racial categories are based on salient traits (especially skin color, cranial or facial features and hair texture), and self-identification.^[1][2] Conceptions of race, as well as specific ways of grouping races, vary by culture and over time, and are often controversial for scientific as well as social and political reasons. The controversy ultimately revolves around whether or not the concept of race is biologically warranted;^[3][4] the ways in which political correctness might fuel either the affirmation or the denial of race;^[3][4] and the degree to which perceived differences in ability and achievement, categorized on the basis of race, are a product of inherited (i.e., genetic) traits or environmental, social and cultural factors.

Some argue that although race is a valid taxonomic concept in other species, it cannot be applied to humans.^[5] Many scientists have argued that race definitions are imprecise, arbitrary, derived from custom, have many exceptions, have many gradations, and that the numbers of races delineated vary according to the culture making the racial distinctions; thus they reject the notion that any definition of race pertaining to humans can have taxonomic rigour and validity.^[6] Today many scientists study human genotypic and phenotypic variation using concepts such as "population" and "clinal gradation". Many contend that while racial categorizations may be marked by phenotypic or genotypic traits, the idea of race itself, and actual divisions of persons into races or racial groups, are social constructs.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]} However, the concept of race may be useful in forensic anthropology. According to forensic anthropologist George W. Gill, "race denial" not only contradicts biological evidence, but may stem from "politically motivated censorship" in the belief that "race promotes racism".^[4]

Data

[natty bumppo 289]

Ethnic groups in the Philippines are a human population who lived in the country. Most ethnic groups in the Philippines identify themselves based on their language, and background.

The majority of the population is composed of ethno-linguistic groups whose languages are Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) in origin, that converted to Christianity, and adopted European, and American culture. These ethnic groups include the Ilocano, Pangasinense, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, and Visayan.

In Mindanao, there are several ethnic groups who converted to Islam. They are known as Moros who are governed by Muslim leaders. In the province of Bukidnon there is an ethnic group of mountain dwelling people called Binukid who speak the Binukid language. However these individuals do not practice Islam.

The Negrito are a pre-Mongoloid people that migrated from mainland Asia, were the first human beings to settle the Philippines around 30,000 years ago. The Negrito population are estimated to be numbering around 30,000 in the Philippine population. The tribal groups of the Philippines include the Ati, Igorot, and the T'boli. Their ways of life remains free from Western, and Islamic influence. They are said to be the best basis for the study of pre-Hispanic culture.

Filipinos are an Asian ethnic group, a Mongoloid people part of the Austronesian group, a group of Malay/Malayo-Polynesian speaking people. Non-Malay/Malayo Polynesian ethnic groups also form a part of the Philippine population. These include Europeans (Spanish, and other European people), Chinese, American, and other ethnic groups. There are also mixed blood individuals known as mestizo. Mestizo refer to those of mixed Spanish/Latin American, and Malay/Malayo-Polynesian descent, but may also refer to those of other European ancestry. Mestizos may also refer to other foreign descent.

Data

[natty bumppo 289]

As per Filipino as a race:

1 and 2 - yes

3b - yes

3c - yes - we are on an island chain, thus we've effectively been "isolated" enough (with the exception of the past 100 years maybe) to have our own population.

5 - yes - we have our own history, language, cultural traits, etc.

OK, there you go...Therefore from those definitions I can conclude that Filipino qualifies as a race.

1 and 2 - The PI is also a huge melting pot. Lots of people from other cultures (ethnic identities). While there are some native (long term residents) there are also an lot of new entries into the culture (Japan, China, US, Spain, other Eur ancestory, etc) So how pure is the common decent/ heridity/ population? Granted in some areas probably common. In the population centers ... maybe not so. Maybe you can shed more light on this thought.

3b - physical characteristics? since there are many different cultures present in the PI ... is there a line drawn somewhere? Or does this mean that someone of spanish decent can't be of the PI "race" because they don't look enough like other parts of the population make-up?

3c - Island chain that has been through global wars, conquest, massive trading, etc. Consider that isolation in some areas may be so. The main population centers are less isolated and have been this way for lots of years.

5 - cultures, traits, etc have morphed with the influx of different cultures over the years. while it may have stabalized ... there are differences that can't be ignored.

These items listed above are also similiar to other countries that have a history of different peoples settling or visiting (influence or biological input). I'm not trying to be argumentative, only showing a different side of the issue.

There are many ethnic groups with differents and similarities between them in the PI ... just like other countries. The question is ... which ethnic group gets to be the PI "race"? And one this group is selected ... what happens to the others that have been there for generations ... yet just don't happen to quite meet the selected criteria.

Anyway ... just food for thought. It's a good discussion.

Thanks

Edited June 22, 2009 by Natty Bumppo

[rheanick 42]

'Natty Bumppo' are you saying that filipino/filipina is not a race?

Carlos P. Romulo who mentioned in his poem "I am a Filipino " that filipino is a race...

Are you saying that CARLOS P. ROMULO a distinguished FORMER SECRETARY GENERAL of the UNITED NATION, who walked besides General Mac Arthur is WRONG...

Isnt it insulting for leaders/presidents of different countries ,who previously chosen Carlos P. Romulo as US Secretary General, to know that they voted someone who did not know the definition of the word RACE?

HOW RELIABLE IS YOUR DATA? data taken from what/where???? Data from internet? Data from someone like you!!!!

Before you argue or insist on your point... STUDY THEM FIRST!!!

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Oops! Natty is in trouble now. I am going to turn the computer over to the wife.

Edited June 22, 2009 by Mister_Bill

[edp333 9]

My sociology professors would be shaking their heads in disbelief. I thought this thread would be locked by now.

[Rocky_nBullwinkle 6]

As per Filipino as a race:

1 and 2 - yes

3b - yes

3c - yes - we are on an island chain, thus we've effectively been "isolated" enough (with the exception of the past 100 years maybe) to have our own population.

5 - yes - we have our own history, language, cultural traits, etc.

OK, there you go...Therefore from those definitions I can conclude that Filipino qualifies as a race.

1 and 2 - The PI is also a huge melting pot. Lots of people from other cultures (ethnic identities). While there are some native (long term residents) there are also an lot of new entries into the culture (Japan, China, US, Spain, other Eur ancestory, etc) So how pure is the common decent/ heridity/ population? Granted in some areas probably common. In the population centers ... maybe not so. Maybe you can shed more light on this thought.

3b - physical characteristics? since there are many different cultures present in the PI ... is there a line drawn somewhere? Or does this mean that someone of spanish decent can't be of the PI "race" because they don't look enough like other parts of the population make-up?

3c - Island chain that has been through global wars, conquest, massive trading, etc. Consider that isolation in some areas may be so. The main population centers are less isolated and have been this way for lots of years.

5 - cultures, traits, etc have morphed with the influx of different cultures over the years. while it may have stabalized ... there are differences that can't be ignored.

These items listed above are also similiar to other countries that have a history of different peoples settling or visiting (influence or biological input). I'm not trying to be argumentative, only showing a different side of the issue.

There are many ethnic groups with differents and similarities between them in the PI ... just like other countries. The question is ... which ethnic group gets to be the PI "race"? And one this group is selected ... what happens to the others that have been there for generations ... yet just don't happen to quite meet the selected criteria.

Anyway ... just food for thought. It's a good discussion.

Thanks

If that's the case, how do you explain the Hispanic race? Since you are obviously making a thorough research on this? Hispanic includes people that are from various ethnic backgrounds as well. Caucasian, Negro, and Native American just to name a few.