October 7, 2007Poison Phrase: Diploma from the Philippines
In last week’s episode of Desperate Housewives, a doctor suggested that Susan might be in menopause. Susan responded,
- OK, before we go any further, can I check these diplomas? Just to make sure they aren’t, like, from some med school in the Philippines?
Watching, I thought, “I didn’t know Filipino doctors were poorly trained.”
Apparently they’re not. The comment stirred up outrage and demands for apologies. ABC did apologize.
Some people suggest that the outrage was unnecessary since Desperate Housewives is just a “silly comedy show.”
I disagree. Something did need to be said to keep this false stereotype from being perpetuated. When someone commits a diversity blunder, it’s an important opportunity to initiate a diversity breakthrough. Because of the incident and the objections, I now know more than before about the Filipino medical system.
Don’t condemn people who make diversity faux-pas. Educate, don’t excoriate.
Read my article Educate, don’t excoritate.
As an update, Desperate Housewives edited the reference out of the reruns. (Yes, the show is one of my guilty pleasures.)
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I am a Christian and I celebrate diversity and I want everyone to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ tears down all social barriers.
How will drama ever offer anything to discuss if it is not allowed to accurately portray ignorance, racism, etc. without accompanying such a portrayal with heavy-handed moralizing?
Why shouldn’t a patient want to examine a doctor’s credentials?
Respectfully,
Nick Gill
Frankfort, KY
Comment by Nick Gill — October 9, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
The problem with portraying ignorance and racism can be that people might not realize that’s what is going on. I believed for a while that there was a problem with Filipino docs. The ensuing controversy was illuminating to me, but had I missed that, I might not realize they are qualified.
I’m not big on moralizing, and I think those who practice it create resistance. But I do think the truth needs to be told when prejudices are portrayed in a way that might been taken as fact.
In the old show All in the Family, Archie clearly was shown as a prejudiced, but in this case it’s not so clear her opinon doesn’t reflect reality.
Comment by merylrunion — October 12, 2007 @ 12:26 pm
I have to admit that the comment about the Filipino doctors would have gotten right past me, too. I think my impression of foreign doctors comes from stories about people who couldn’t get into a US medical school would go to “the islands” and get their diploma. Wasn’t Grenada famous for this practice?
I guess it’s not practical to assume that all doctors should have Harvard diplomas hanging on the wall. But then, is it not a stereotype to assume that all Harvard Medical School graduates will be fabulous doctors?
I like to be informed about my doctor’s credentials before I surrender my clothing and my dignity.
Comment by Cynthia Mueller — October 18, 2007 @ 4:13 pm