Guest mentality

Guest mentality
Rodel Rodis, Jun 13, 2007

After my column about State Senator Leland Yee appeared last week, I received an email from my editor lamenting my criticism of the senator for putting the interests of his financial contributors above the education needs of his community. He informed me that he emailed my column to Sen. Yee and that “in the interest of fairness, we may need to run something similar from the other camp next week.”

I asked him why. When columnists of the Philippine Daily Inquirer criticize President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA), as they frequently do, does the Inquirer’s editor contact Malacanang and offer an opportunity for a rebuttal in the “interest of fairness”?

I shared with the editor my observation that our Filipino American community newspapers generally have a double standard, one for Philippine politicos and another for local ones. We take a critical view of the former and a deferential approach to the latter.

When I criticized Pres. Arroyo for unfairly recalling former Ambassador to the U.S. Albert del Rosario (a move usually reserved for defective cars I wrote), was Pres. Arroyo contacted by the paper, emailed a copy of my offending column, and offered rebuttal space as was done with Sen. Yee? Why are we so deferential to local American politicos like Yee?

There are hundreds of Filipino community newspapers throughout the U.S. and I doubt that one could find a handful of them that would carry criticisms of their local city, county, state or federal officials and yet most of them would have no qualms about criticizing Pres. Arroyo or any Philippine politician.

I volunteered the observation that this double standard comes from a conscious or subconscious “guest mentality” which permeates our community and which is reflected in our community’s newspapers. As “guests” in the U.S., the mentality holds, we shouldn’t offend our “hosts” as that would be bad manners and show lack of gratitude. Nakakahiya.

In his email reply to my observation, the editor stated that he didn’t think “guest mentality” is as much an issue now as it was during the first and second waves of Filipino immigrants. “Yes, there are still those among us who feel we should be thankful because the Americans allowed us in,” he wrote. “But I think that with the higher level of education and professional attainment of many Filipinos in America now, especially those born and/or raised here, we, as a community, are more aware of our rights and duties as Americans.”

But our demographics don’t support that assessment. Of the 1.4 million Filipinos officially counted by the 1990 U.S. Census, more than 71 percent were found to be Philippine-born immigrants who came after the liberalization of U.S. immigration policy in 1965. The 2000 census showed a 66% increase in population, primarily as a result of immigration. Thus, despite the fact that we are currently celebrating a century of continuous immigration to the U.S. (from December 16, 1906), the Filipino population in America is still primarily an immigrant community.

The 2000 census counted 2.36 million Filipinos, a figure which did not cover more than 500,000 Filipino “overstaying tourists” (TNTs). If our numbers increased by almost one million from 1990 to 2000, and we are already 76% into the 2010 census, our numbers are clearly more than 3.5 million now, the overwhelming majority of which are first generation immigrants even as they are becoming naturalizedUS citizens at a higher rate than most immigrant groups.

The two Philippine TV networks which provide 24-hour cable programs to Filipinos in the US have a combined paid subscriber base of close to 400,000 (260,000 for ABS-CBN and 137,000 for GMA-TV). These Filipino subscribers in America regularly watch Philippine game shows (like ‘Wowowee’) and telenovellas and are more familiar with Philippine issues than they are with U.S. issues.

You can take the Filipinos out of the Philippines but you can’t take the Philippines out of the Filipinos.

In their essay on this subject, Mona Lisa Yuchengco and Rene Ciria Cruz observed that “it takes a while for first-generation immigrants to unconditionally embrace the United States as their country. It takes a longer stay to significantly erode the immigrant syndrome typified by guest mentality and compliant behavior.”

Yuchengco and Cruz cited the example of young activists in 1970s who launched nationwide campaigns to combat discrimination directed against foreign medical graduates. “They had to overcome the usual recent immigrant admonition, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” in reference to U.S. authorities.”

As we celebrate the 109th anniversary of Philippine independence this week, we should pause to consider psychologically declaring our independence from the Philippines. We should assimilate into the fabric of America, asserting our rights and responsibilities as Americans, including our right to criticize politicians like Sen. Leland Yee.

“With assimilation,” Yuchengco and Cruz wrote, “comes the erosion of debilitating immigrant syndromes among the foreign-born and a greater understanding that claiming one’s place, self-organization, and advocating for group interests are as American as apple pie.”

Happy Independence Day.

Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com.

Sen. Leland Yee responds

Last week columnist Rodel Rodis, who, among various professional and civic endeavors, is also president of the San Francisco City College, wrote again about the controversy about the college's proposed extension in Chinatown. We are publishing the following article by Senator Leland Yee in response. With this, we would, with all due respect, request the antagonists and their supporters to hold their fire, at least in Philippine News, as we think all the relevant facts and perspectives have already been offered in these pages.

Seeking a compromise

I am very proud to have been in the forefront of efforts by neighborhood groups, open space advocates and community leaders to come up with a workable alternative to meet the needs of City College without damaging the character of the Chinatown, Jackson Square and North Beach neighborhoods.

I am especially pleased to announce that on Friday, June 1st, the college administration met with Mr. Arthur Chang, a representative of the Education Coalition for Responsible Development, to negotiate a potential win-win solution in the form of an alternative that meets all the college’s needs and saves taxpayers money. Mr. Chang also serves as Vice President of San Francisco Tomorrow, the city’s premier environmental group and a leading open space advocacy organization. I commend the college for finally recognizing the value of true dialogue with the community.

As you may know, I have had serious concerns about City College’s off-the-cuff decision to scrap its 2005 plans for a mid-rise campus, in favor of a 244-foot 17-story high-rise. Equally alarming was the college administration’s refusal to enter into a dialogue with the community on its plans. That’s the same bad attitude that prevented construction of a new Chinatown campus ten years ago, and long delayed construction of the Mission campus.

I have strongly supported the construction of a new Chinatown/North Beach College campus for many years. But when the college administration tried to evict the elderly Asian residents of the Fong residential hotel and demolish the historic Colombo building years ago, I had to step in to support these Asian tenants, neighbors and preservationists. While as an educator I have been pro-education all my life, I thought it was reasonable to protect these elderly residential tenants and build a campus that respects the unique character of our neighborhoods, and at the same time meet important educational needs.

Frankly, I remain concerned about Financial District high-rises encroaching on adjacent neighborhoods and shadowing Chinatown’s open spaces and low-rise residential buildings and businesses. As you know, groups such as the Chinatown Merchant Association, North Beach Merchant Association, Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods, Telegraph Hill Dwellers, Fr. Daniel McCotter, the director of St. Mary’s Chinese Schools and Center, the San Francisco Neighborhood Park Council, and other citizens, open space advocates and neighborhood groups have all expressed concern with the college high-rise. That is why I took a leading role in bringing community members together to discuss what they wanted for the new campus.

Now the Education Coalition for Responsible Development, whose members represent thousands of San Francisco residents, has stepped up to assume full leadership and propose an alternative to the high-rise. I am honored to have successfully worked with the Education Coalition, and am gratified that they have found an alternative campus on the same block, a compromise solution that works for college students and the community together. The compromise plan will not delay construction of the campus, as long as the College Board of Trustees agrees to it. Construction can start immediately after approval by the board.

If the college administration continues pushing for the controversial 17-story high-rise, a protracted legal battle is likely that will definitely delay construction.

In contrast, the compromise solution advocated by the Education Coalition could speed construction by several years, to the benefit of students who are studying in decrepit old buildings.

The compromise solution includes all the classrooms, laboratories and other facilities the college says it needs, but it also has several advantages over the high-rise. Because it includes two mid-rise buildings on the same block, it is nearly 100 feet shorter than the proposed tower, and casts no shadow on Portsmouth Square. It also includes an auditorium for college and community use, plus parking, bicycle spaces and a children’s pre-school. The college has raised a potential issue, an agreement with the Friends of the Colombo Building that limits construction on the adjacent lot to 84 feet. This presents no problem because the college can either renegotiate the agreement to allow another 14 feet, or we can reduce the size of the extra auditorium and parking garage.

As the Education Coalition assumes the mantle of leadership on this issue, I will be quietly monitoring negotiations between the community and the college. I wish them the best, and I hope all parties will keep in mind the necessity of building a campus soon. I remain adamant that the College must engage in respectful dialogue with the community and not try to impose a controversial decision on the neighborhoods. – Senator Leland Y. Lee, Ph.D., Assistant President pro Tem



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Cesar Torres
Jun 15, 2007 16:20:18

As far as I am concerned, Atty. Rodel Rodis should be a Mayor of San Francisco. Or failing in that, he should be Supervisor of San Francisco. If not, he should be a member of the California State Legislature as an Assemblyman or as a Senator. Or as a Cabinet Member of the California State Government. Well, I don't know. Atty. Rodis is definitely a good writer. And a very erudite at that and so prolific. He is all over the world in his columns. With his qualifications, he should be in President Bush Cabinet. After all, the Philippines was the only colony of America. It is not Japan or China or India. And the Hindus practically own CNN now. But it is not happening to Atty. Rodel Rodis, as a representative of the 3 million Filipinos in America many of whom would hesitate to claim Filipino roots. Somehow, the stars are not realigning to push him to him to that place of leadership and recognition where I think he should be. With or without Bobby Reyes. I think our esteemed editor in chief should let him be. Let Atty. Rodis attain his level, whatever it might be. The Filipinos in Northern California are just staunch supporters of Chinese Americans. And yet, what have we to show for it? Nada? Zilch. Zero, itlog, bunay. Balut na hindi dapat kainin? Hahahaha. Something good might still happen with this "dialectical" interactions involving Dr. Leland Yee, Atty. Rodel Rodis, and one of the best editors of any periodicals of I have ever read.