Racism is a very sensitive issue. A lot of people are skirting the idea of discussing it publicly for fear of hurting people inadvertently. But it seems that some Hollywood writers, particularly those of the Desperate Housewives, are immune to this feelings. They openly ridiculed Filipino medical practitioners, most especially doctors, with the line delivered by the lead actress Teri Hatcher.
The exact line is…
…before we go any further, can I check those diplomas because I just wanna make sure that they’re not from some med school in the Philippines.
Can you see how they thought it funny to use another race to deliver that punch line?
A lot of bloggers have written about this issue. A lot have been asking to boycott the show and ABC. The network already apologized and much has been said about this.
Bottom line, people should always be careful in offending other people’s feelings. Everyone should know when they are crossing the line between humour and racism.