i intended to keep my mouth shut about the whole “desperate housewives” controversy, not because i do not have an opinon about it but because i know redundance is annoying.

i changed my mind when i read this latest update from Dr. Anonymous.

come on, give me a break!

for the record, let me say that i was seriously offended by the now famous line that teri hatcher’s character said in that episode. in my personal opinion, it was written and then delivered without any thought and with complete ignorance. it was a product of a generalized idea that was meant to be funny, but was lacking in sensibility. i am sure that the writers have never thought of saying ”london” to emphasize their supposed hilarious point to mean the doctor in the scene was unreliable because he did not study in america. i felt that the credibility of professionals who graduated in the philippines, especially those who are in the healthcare industry, was being questioned and the philippine educational system was being ridiculed without any reasonable basis.

i do not lack the needed sense of humor to see the reason behind the attempt of the show’s writers to be funny, but i do not see any reason why they have to pick a certain country to accomplish their goal. i know other people said that those who were offended took the whole thing out of context and were being too sensitive about it.

i do not agree with the observation that my offense was because i took the whole thing out of context, but i completely admit that i was offended because i was being senstive about the implied message. i do not claim to be smart, but i definitely will not let tolerate it if somebody said/implied that my judgements, as a nurse, cannot be trusted because i got my diploma from an obviously stupid country. i know other people think those who were offended did not consider that this is some comedy show that shouldn’t be taken seriously. those who said that are obviously not aware of how a show like this influences other people who base their decisions on what they see on tv shows, no matter what the issues are.

i digressed, but with that being cleared, let me just say this: despite my personal feelings about it, i do not find it difficult to understand why other filipinos didn’t find the whole thing offensive. i have my reasons, they have theirs. why can’t other people just grow up and accept the fact that we are all different and we can just move on after being offended? being offended is subjective. if you ask me, those who harass other people because they reacted differently, (meaning they were not offended) is also insensible and ridiculous.

i have said it before, and will say it again. a public apology, to me, was and is pointless. do i have to spell it out? POINTLESS. why? because it will not accomplish anything. it will only create controversy that will make people talk, but it will not change a thing. do people really think that the thousands of people who watch the show, who were influenced by the ignorant implication of miss hatcher’s offensive line will actually change their now biased opinions about filipino doctors just because ABC and teri hatcher apologized? if anybody thinks that will actually happen, then i rest my case. clearly, the degree of imagination some passionate people have is beyond my comprehension. sometimes, reality is difficult to accept but it is a waste of time to dwell on something that is seriously less serious than the things that truly deserve our attention.

i have received emails with attached petitions urging all filipinos to sign just so “our voice will be heard”. i did not sign any of it. that does not make me less filipino. it just means i will not spend my energy in something i believe to be pointless. i am ready to hear all the hateful comments or emails from fellow filipinos, and i am sure somebody will call me “nothing but a sucker for everything american”, because i know some people are very emotional like that. words will probably jolt me for a while, but it will not change my opinion, and it will certainly not change who i am.

to those who disagree with me, i do respect your thoughts and will agree to disagree, but let me urge you to chill out. come on, let’s get real and not allow everybody to think we are a group of overly sensitive unforgiving brown skinned people who have way too much time in our hands and are too psyched up in the trivial things to the point of totally blowing up a tiny molehill into an unconquerable mountain.

i can only wish that this whole thing dies soon. i really do not see why it should continue to get the attention of a lot of people for a longer time. it could be because i am a pessimist, but i choose to believe it is just because i am mostly a realist.

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to completely change the subject, let me shamelessly ask you a favor: go check out the relaunched site of the Scrubs Gallery. maybe it will  make you forget the whole desperately desperate controversies. thanks.

as for my promise to talk about my vow not help a certain coworker ever, i changed my mind about it. i didn’t chicken out, i’m just not in the mood anymore because it happened a long time ago.

to all who shared your thoughts/stories on ambien, thanks.