Is Chip Tsao Racist?

I am not writing this to apologize for Mr. Tsao, but honestly I'm surprised at the reactions of many of my countrymen to his article. I was offended by it at first (actually, my blood was boiling), but I decided to calm down and read between the lines. I realized that the writer could not have been serious and that he was basically satirizing sino-centric mentality, the constant bullying by the communist-led mainland government, and how the Hong Kong rich mistreat their maids. Unfortunately, most of the evils he was satirizing have resulted in a lot of misfortune for us Filipinos, including how we have been ignored in the global political stage and how many of us, including the well-educated, are working in oppressive conditions away from our loved ones just to make ends meet.

Regardless of how much pain Mr. Tsao's article highlights, I appreciate his candor and his willingness to criticize his government and his people. At least he is honest enough. I also do not believe he is racist. Racists are those who use this issue as opportunity to bash the Chinese, as if the wrongs of some of them make the whole race evil. I have read Filipino politicians allude to the use of melamine in Chinese milk. If Chip Tsao was stupid for reminding us of our pains as a nation, these politicians are even worse. Don't we all know that mainland Chinese are the worst victims of the melamine contamination and that many of them lost their babies to tainted milk? Should we attack insensitivity by being more crass?

Mr. Tsao's crime, at the worst, was being insensitive. And with all the hatred directed at him right now, the threats to himself and his family, and the potential effect on his career, he may already have paid for his insensitivity. But, you know what I think, there are even more guilty parties that truly deserve our hatred. These people are actually having a field day brandishing themselves as heroes by pretending to attack Mr. Tsao and the Hong Kong government in the guise of protecting Filipinos, particularly us overseas workers. Suddenly, after they let us suffer their corruption, inefficiencies, and incompetencies while processing our travel/working papers; deprive young Filipinos of the free education guaranteed by our constitution; declare us heroes of the nation, but look down on us (particularly those of us who work as domestic helpers) when we visit our own embassies and pass through immigration lines in our own country; and regulate our freedom to travel in able to force us to pay all kinds of processing fees and membership charges to institutions they have supposedly put up to serve us.

You know who you are. Now it's your turn to hate me. Please keep the cursing to a minimum. =)