By Camelia Rodriguez
PINOY Associate Editor

This piece is from my blog (camisoul.tumblr.com). It is directed towards radio DJ, Adam Carolla. I emailed the post to Mr. Carolla, but have yet to hear a response. It’s quite lengthy so maybe he just needs more time to read it in its entirety.
——
Initially, I did not want to make any comments regarding Adam Carolla’s disrespectful comments about Manny Pacquiao and the Philippines. Yes, I was angry about everything he said, but I did not want to waste any of my time further giving an insignificant man any more attention.
However, I have now reached a point where I can no longer keep my thoughts and feelings about this situation to myself and I’m not going to sugar-coat what I have to say.

Adam Carolla, you are an idiot. Manny Pacquiao is not an idiot. Filipinos are not idiots. YOU, sir, are the idiot. If you were not an idiot you would have had the common sense to know that your comments would result in major backlash from not just the Filipino/Filipino-American community, but other communities comprised of non-racist individuals. I am all for freedom of speech and having an opinion; that is a right that you are entitled to but that you have very much abused. When you make statements that insult an entire country that are unwarranted and cannot be supported with nothing more than your ignorant thinking, then you have severely crossed a line.

With the comments you made on your radio show, you may have persuaded a handful of people to share your way of thinking. Ultimately, though, your comments showed the whole world how unintelligent, insensitive, and racist you are.

Having been born in America and been living here for 22+ years, I have seen how Americans regard their elite athletes. We celebrate them and their achievements, but eventually they become nothing more than a memory when the next superstar comes along. We are a country who has always been rich with individuals who excel in sports and whose names are known in households all over the world.

The Philippines, however, has never had someone of Manny Pacquiao’s status to cheer for. Mr. Carolla, why do you criticize a country for supporting a man who has achieved what others have not? Before the world witnessed the fighting ability of Pacquiao, the Philippines may have only been known to the world for its cruel dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda who owned over 3,000 pairs of shoes. Fast-forward to the 2000s and the Philippines gave the world a fighter unlike any other.

You think that the Philippines has “only got” Pacquiao to be proud of? Clearly you are not aware of the goings-on in the world because maybe the names Efren Peñaflorida, Charice Pempengco, Jed Madela, and Brillante Mendoza would be familiar to you. These are just four of the many Filipinos who are establishing themselves worldwide as geniuses of their crafts and bringing pride to the Philippines.

Efren Peñaflorida is a teacher and social worker who was voted “CNN Hero of the Year” last November 2009. He has dedicated his life to helping the poor children of the Philippines by providing them with knowledge that they otherwise would never receive. The entire world knows him now and because of that he has inspired others to appreciate what God has blessed them with and to help those that are less fortunate.

Charice Pempengco and Jed Madela are incredible singers who have put the Philippines on the map in terms of musical talent. They have voices that have moved audiences throughout the world. They have Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Andrea Bocelli, and Celine Dion as fans. They came from humble beginnings, much like Pacquiao, and are beloved by many people across the globe.

Brillante Mendoza was awarded “Best Director” at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival for his film Kinatay. Rani Ann Ortega, Janice Lagman, and Camille Alarilla won gold last December 2009 at the 25th Southeast Asian Games. Filipinos have always known the greatness of their countrymen and women and now the world knows too.

What else do Filipinos have to be proud of? There are thousands of men and women who leave their families in the Philippines to work in the U.S., Europe, other countries in Asia, and all over the world to support their families financially. As the petition asking for your public apology (sorry, but Twitter is not going to cut it) so eloquently says, Filipinos are working as doctors, nurses, journalists, politicians, teachers, etc. Filipinos are also men and women serving in the U.S. military fighting for your freedom to have a radio talk show and to walk around your neighborhood without the fear of being shot down by individuals of a rebel group.

If you want to be like Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and his father, more power to all of you. Go ahead and think that Filipinos pray to chicken bones and took drugs during WWII so that they could be “bullet-proof” and that the Philippines is nothing more than whorehouses on every corner. If you want to believe those things then that is on you; I don’t have a problem with that.

What I do have a problem with is you spewing out your completely and obviously false beliefs on the radio where millions of people can hear. It may be difficult for you, but be smart. Do not make statements like the ones you made with a sense of authority in your voice as if you are for certain speaking the truth. Lastly, do not make any further statements insulting the Filipino people and their nation. It is pathetic that this was not your first or even second time to offend members of the Asian/Asian American community.

Do yourself a favor, Mr. Carolla, and make jokes that are actually funny and don’t showcase your ignorance as a human being. You are privileged and lucky to have the platform that you have. You are in a position where your words can reach millions of people in a matter of seconds. Don’t abuse it. Learn from this incident and make wiser decisions.

However, if you choose to continue to bash a community of people for no apparent reason on your show then I only have this much more to say to you: I hope you get what’s coming to you soon because karma is a bitch.•