Why are we still asking: Are Filipinos Asian or Pacific Islanders?

THE FUNG BROTHERS are really brothers and they're hilarious! Andrew and David Fung are two of the Asian-American entertainers who have found a home on the Internet (YouTube specifically) after finding the doors to Hollywood difficult to open. More amazing, they've found a way to make a living off of their videos spoofing all things Asian American. 

They went to a college staging a Filipino-American pista, or fiesta, to ask the question that a lot of Asians have asked about Filipinos. Even back in the 60s the question was asked and discussed at Asian restaurants, college campuses and basements in Manilatown, Chinatown and J-town: "Are Filipinos Asian or Pacific Islander?"

The Fung brothers are originally from Seattle.

Let's see, the Philippines is made up of 7,000 islands separating the China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

However, the original inhabitants probably crossed over land bridges over what is now Malaysia and Indonesia. Later improved seafaring skills led to contact and immigrations from China, Vietnam and probably Japan.

So, really, there are legitimate claims for both designations. But why does it matter? Nevertheless, the question is still being asked, particularly by East Asians, who don't know what to make of Filipinos who are not as reserved as they are and who have an exuberance for enjoying life. They can't understand Filipinos whose culture has been heavily influenced by its colonial periods: Spain, and then the United States. As the Filipino joke goes about the Philippine cultural influences -- 350 years in a convent and 50 years of Hollywood.

Prior to the western visitors, there were thousands of years of mixing with neighboring cultures creating something uniquely different -- halo-halo (mixed up), which is also the name of a Filipino dessert made up of a variety of ingredients. 

I think there is also a bit of classicism that comes into play. Filipinos have sometimes been called the Mexicans of Asia because they are hardworking and willing to do the work others don't want to do. Generally, they enjoy music and like to party. This image is reinforced with the strong Spanish influence on Filipino culture, just like Mexico. In many respects, Filipinos share a lot with Latinos, including how they are viewed by the mainstream public. And in Asia, the mainstream is not white.

In Malaysia, the word for Filipino illegal immigrants is a racial slur. The infamous screed last year from a Hong Kong woman on "How to treat Filipinos" created an international uproar but she was unapologetic and in fact, when faced with the backlash, doubled down on her views. Stories abound about Filipinas throughout Asia being exploited and abused by their employers. There is a widespread perception of Filipinos in Asia that could only be described as racist.

In contrast, no one questions the Asianess of the people who come from the Indian subcontinent even though, racially, Indians are caucasian.

I daresay -- and I'll probably get a lot of grief for this -- some of that anti-Filipino animus in Asia might have drifted across the Pacific.

In California, Filipinos were successful in getting their own ethnic category in the Census and later, the U.S. Census followed suit. In the 60's and 70's, Filipino-American leaders felt it was important to separate themselves from the broad "Asian" category. Leaders and activists in the Chinese and Japanese communities wondered why this was necessary and saw the action as another example of Filipinos being Filipinos, not Asians. 

The reason, of course, was more complicated. For the Filipino community it was difficult to justify creating social service programs directed at Filipinos even though, anecdotally, the need was great. The new law mandated that Filipinos be identified in statistics regarding schools, social service, employment and health institutions. A lot of the funds for social and educational programs were going to Asian agencies which counted Filipinos in their data but their programs were allegedly not being delivered to Filipinos. With the new Census numbers bearing them out, social service agencies and programs sprung up throughout California to serve Filipino Americans.

Politically, the data also benefitted Filipinos. The data surprised everyone because it revealed that Filipinos made up the largest Asian group in California. It gave Filipinos a place at the table on issues affecting the Asian community which up to that point was dominated by Chinese and Japanese Americans. When it came down to it, it was still beneficial to Chinese, Japanese and Filipinos to combine their numbers to wield their political influence. (Vietnamese immigration was just getting underway with the end of the Vietnam War and the tech boom which attracted huge numbers of Indians and Koreans hadn't occurred yet.)

The Fung Brothers got some interesting and funny responses that show that we're still a bit confused where Filipinos fit in the Asian-American spectrum. The clip is funny and makes light of some of our unique qualities. (We do like to have a good time.) The fact that the question is being asked at all indicates that there is still a lot of uncertainty - even in 2014.

Why does it matter if Filipinos are Asian or Pacific Islander? After all, most non-Asian Americans treat all Asians the same - including Filipinos. To mainstream America, we are all lumped into the same basket. Our similarities (rice and karaoke among others) are greater than our differences. Any act of hate or ignorance directed at any Asian is directed at all of us. Any praise or good will heaped on any Asian is shared by all of us ... well, most of the time. Oh well, bahala na.

If you want to check out more of the Fung show, link to fungbrothers.com. They're clever and funny!