the dangers of ignorance

[callista]

I was just browsing through Dattebayo because I wanted to download the latest episode of Bleach when I saw the title of one of their news articles. It said, "Dattebayo trolled by Filipino Television (or not)". Apparently, someone told Dattebayo (a famous fansub group) that ABS-CBN was using their subtitles to make Tagalog dubs for Naruto. Dattebayo had a good laugh at that, and added the text "LOL @ FILIPINO TV" to their subtitles of Naruto Shippuuden 26. Inevitably, some Filipinos got offended and flamed Dattebayo for it, which only increased Dattebayo's amusement. One of their former members did apologize, but you have to wonder at their sincerity, given the slightly mocking tone of the news article. And their parting words certainly weren't apologetic:

About Dattebayo:
Dattebayo is the world's most recognized fansubbing group, with over 500,000 unique views of its products per week.
About Philipines:
Third world country according to their own inhabitants. For more information, see http://pepper.idge.net/slashdot/philipinos/.

Note their inability to spell our country's name and our nationality correctly. And apparently a big-time fansubber is now more important than an entire nation, if only because it's in the Third World.

I took a look at this website, and I was completely appalled. It was blatantly insulting our country and the Filipino people as a whole. Now, I would never call myself nationalistic, but this just went too far. Basically, the author was accusing Filipinos of "pretending" to be Asian. He/She claims that there is nothing Asian about Filipino culture, and that our supposed pretentiousness is an insult to "great" Asian countries like China and Japan. He/She is also "disgusted" at how prevalent Filipinos are in the U.S. and went so far as to call us a "disease". Here's part of the last paragraph of the text:

Please recognize yoour ROOTS! You come from the the Third World! Your country is a disgusting and filthy place. Most people there live in poverty! Your culture has MUCH MORE SPANISH influence than chinese, and absolutely no JAPANESE influence whatsoever. People in Japan and China, do not act like you.

Does this person think that the only countries in Asia are Japan and China? And supposing we drop that point, does he/she know how much influence the Japanese had on us when they occupied us in World War II? Does he/she even know anything about Malay culture and how similar it is to ours? I'm probably being overly sensitive, but I really HATE it when people decide to write opinionated articles on things they know nothing about, especially when it's as racist and discriminatory as this one. I'm not just saying this because I'm a Filipino. I would honestly feel just as outraged if this were about any other nationality, simply because it's based on nothing but ignorance and a misplaced sense of superiority.

Anyway, I don't really have time to be ranting about this. I have work to do. I really shouldn't have let such idiocy interfere with my studies :P

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Comments

[merkuryo.livejournal.com]

sheesh.. it's been a while since i last checked dattebayo.com.. and seeing this.. i think i'm gonna keep my presence away from their cyberspace permanently..

if i remember correctly, that "article" spread through email.. it was, i think, written by an american journalist.. it was even on the news before.. and he has already been flamed to death.. XDDDD

i'm gonna link to this entry so that dattebayo could be flamed further.. haha.. XDDD

[gaerielcallista.livejournal.com]

i was also tempted to boycott Dattebayo, but i don't know anyone else who subs Bleach so.. :P

yeah, i heard from emzo that the article was circulated through email a long time ago and was properly dissed. a journalist wrote that?? he/she's an insult to the profession. i don't think any self-respecting journalist would write something so deficient in hard facts.

yes, spread the righteous indignation (haha familiar ba?) :D

[(Anonymous)]

haha.. i don't watch bleach.. and i've already gotten tired of naruto so~.. haha.. XDDD sige i'll start subbing bleach!! deh!! XDDD

actually, it's either a journalist or a radio news person.. hehe.. can't remember.. (x_x) but still!! (>_<)

syempre naman!! who'd forget that!! XDDD

[(Anonymous)]

david nga pala 'to.. (n_n)

[ihaveblueshoes.livejournal.com]

hahaha i remember writing about the crazy ass writer of that article :p grabe noh? quite a few ignorant ppl out there :P

[gaerielcallista.livejournal.com]

what's even worse is that the writer's ignorance is being spread around by other ignorant people. why can't they just live and let live? X(

[(Anonymous)]

From what I heard, it could be one of those YHBT (You Have Been Trolled) posts that they usually do. They really have a twisted way of doing their own jokes...

It maybe a joke to them, but they take things wayyyy too far. I'm also not nationalistic, but after reading something like that, there's no way you "cannot" be insulted if you're a Filipino.

[scyphs.livejournal.com]

i dont know im not too insulted by the article, to be honest I find the whole thing retarded and the article was either written by (a) someone who's trying to be funny but isn't (pathetic) (b) an ultra ignorant person i could care less about i guess my point is it isnt worth taking seriously haha

[step-shock.livejournal.com]

This is so frigging offending... Flame them!!!

[yuki84.livejournal.com]

Adn.. why would you need to act like Japanese or chinese people? O_o;
I don't act like Romanians, even if they are our "neighbours"...
And I'm not European because my ancestors lived in Europe (they came from different places) I just live here.
So people born in Asia are automatically Asian for me.

I feel bad when I read something like that :(
Partly because my poeple were attacked like that too.
But I tell you something.
This is one stupid person from the Millions living around in the world. Don't feel bad about it. It is not worth it ^_^/ *pets*

[cutepinkkitty.livejournal.com]

That was from the journalist Art Bell. I don't know if that circulating e-mail is truly from him, since their was a rebuttal e-mail that I read about him having a Filipina wife.

But I'll tell my friend who d/ls Bleach for me to flame/ditch Dattebayo altogether.

Can't believe their fucking nerve, please excuse my French.

[(Anonymous)]

Dattebayo might have meant a joke. Their statement "LOL Filipino TV" might mean "Aha. I saw what you did!" But the link they've posted about the Philippines is too despicable a joke. And it's unfair to attack Filipino TV now that no Filipino channel has ever aired Shippuuden episodes. Dattebayo is very asinine to be trolled by some YouTube user.

I actually know of that article, "The Awful Truth About Filipinos." As I am an essayist, I once used this article for an elaborate project of mine. I forgot his name, but the writer of this article was an American radio broadcaster who had travelled to a few places around the world, including Japan and the Philippines. I had thought the writer was a nobody - an uneducated moron. But to think that he once had his own famous radio segment makes me think of how his listeners would react after knowing his utter discrimination of the Filipino people.

The Awful Truth About Filipinos is, though, in every sense of the phrase, a very bad essay, abysmal in structure, in content, in organization, and in subject.

Being the most foolish man he is, the writer said that the Filipinos want to connect everything with Japan, China, and the world. He clearly doesn't know much about what he wants to convey and he's clearly not Filipino. And so he bathes himself only with what he thinks, which is right for him, anyhow, and comes up to a laughable "truth about Filipinos". Fine. Leave him to his unending folly.

[psychoxxgarden.livejournal.com]

The Awful Truth About Filipinos is, though, in every sense of the phrase, a very bad essay, abysmal in structure, in content, in organization, and in subject.

I'm not exactly proud of what the country is now so I agree with this. I'm glad that some of us, if not most is struggling. I'll not stop believing that we'd still have a chance tho. I just feel revolted with all the accusation. Pretentious. It's just not right.

[psychoxxgarden.livejournal.com]

its 657am and that. that made my blood boil. wtf.

[jigoku11.livejournal.com]

wow.. ang sama naman...

totoo bang ginamit ng abs?