Tony Lee

English 165 AK

12.10.2005

History Paper

Interview

Discrimination happens every where

America is a land of diversity because of the migration of people from all over the world. Although this may be the land of diversity, we face a lot of discrimination. It does not always matter what color your skin is, or how you look, you still face discrimination of some kind in life. Discriminations happen all the time, even within same racial ethnicities. I have based my subject on Loretta Adrian, which I had the pleasure to interview. Loretta grew up in the Philippines where she attended many years of school and earned her bachelors degree. She moved over to the United States in her early twenties, where she has experienced life in San Diego where she got married and had two children. Having married a Caucasian man, she shared experiences about her children and adversities that they faced being half Filipino and half white. Not only had Loretta Adrian and her children been challenged with discrimination here in the United States, but she has also faced discrimination in the Philippines as well.

In the Philippines, most of the discrimination was through class because everyone was the same ethnicity. After speaking with Loretta, she stated that most of the discrimination was because of the way someone dressed of the amount of money that they made. Racial discriminations didn’t take place because everyone was Filipino. It seems as if we see the same thing happed all around the world. We often find that

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Filipinos who immigrate in the United States do not receive acceptance from Filipinos who are natives of America. An example in the book “Home Bound” shows how a Filipinos who immigrated to America found comfort in hanging out with different races other than Filipinos. “In the same way, mocked by his Filipino American peers, Dario Villa” found comfort in the company of Mexicans, other FOBs, open-minded Filipinos, and others who accepted me unconditionally.”” (Espiritu 185). Throughout the chapter of “Homebound” there were many examples of how Filipinos who migrated to America found that their friends were Mexicans, African Americans, and Puerto Ricans. “Nicholas Santos likewise found that his African American friends were more accepting of his immigrant background than were his Filipino American classmates.” ( Espiritu 185). Problems like this seem to happen with all different racial ethnicities. I have seen it personally myself in Chinese people. Chinese people who come to America trying to look cool, but they really get made fun of because they dress different and they don’t have that much money. It is obvious to see that all they want to do is fit in.

Loretta Adrian faced racial discriminations were people assumed that she did not speak English. In the interview, she told me about an incident in a grocery store where someone talked to her like she didn’t speak a word of English. After completing her bachelor’s degree in the Philippines she came over to the United States and found herself applying for jobs in secretarial positions. She later found that she should be aiming for higher positions. It was the help of one of her peers when they said “Why are you applying for secretarial positions when you are capable of so much more”. It was after

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that when she started applying for bigger and better jobs. Similar events have taken place

in the past. During times of war, men from the Philippines were recruited to go to war for America. They were not treated with the respect that white men were treated with. They soon found that they were not recruited to fight in battle to honor America, but they were recruited to prepare food for the soldiers. This would be a great example of how Filipinos were mistreated because of the color of their skin.

Loretta’s children are mixed with Filipino and Caucasian, which made it difficult for them to pick sides. Her oldest child has lighter skin and he looks more Caucasian, whereas her youngest son has darker skin and looked more Filipino. In a way they both faced different kinds of discrimination and she found that her younger son faced more discrimination than her elder son. For the most part, her eldest some seems to side more with being white. Her younger son is strong in a sense where he proudly acknowledges to be Filipino. It is amazing to see how the color of your skin can have such a heavy effect on how you will be treated. Filipinos who grow up in certain neighborhoods hand out with certain kids. For example, A Filipino who grows up with white kids would hang out with white kids. Events like this tend to cause problems because other Filipinos look at them as being white washed because they want to hang out with white people.

Loretta’s younger child faced things such as being accused of being part of gangs because he dressed a certain way and because he hung out with certain people. She shared how her younger son hung out with African Americans and Mexicans. When he

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hung out with African Americans many people would assume he was black, and when he hung out with Mexicans many people would assume he was Mexican. He was challenged with events such as being pulled over because he was with an African American and had

a nice car. What really stuck me was that his car was searched because the police assumed he was doing something with drugs. In a sense, these events have made him a stronger person because he has faced a lot more adversities. I believe that the more you

experience in life, the stronger you will be. Loretta would defiantly say that her children have gone through more than she has. Because she came over to America at an older age, she did not face the discrimination on a high school level. She did face racial discriminations because of the way she looked, or because of her accent. Although she was the one who was born in a different country, she felt that her children faced more discriminations than she did.

To sum up my points, I would like to show how racial discrimination is still such a big deal up to this very day. Even though we have gone a very long way, we are still far from the goal that we strive to reach for. Loretta Adrian is a woman who has found herself a great career as the Vice President of Student Services at Skyline college in San Bruno. She has come a very long way to get to where she is. Loretta is proud to be Filipino and has a lot to share with young Filipinos who are struggling. She has shared a lot about her childhood, professional careers, and shared about how discrimination exists in the Philippines just as bad as it does in the United States.

Word Cited

Brainard, Cecilia. Growing Up Filipino. Santa Monica: PALH, 2003.

Espiritu, Yen Le. Home Bound. Los Angeles: Temple University Press, 2003.

Taylor, Marisa. “Internet “gang” Speaks to Filipino Americans through podcast”

hamtronroads.com 26 Nov.2005 <http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/

story.cfm?story=96009&ran=140619>.