Wednesday, November 15, 2017

A Filipino Trapped in a White Man's Body

So there's this white guy in Florida who thinks he is a Filipino.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/transracial-man-born-white-feels-like-he-is-filipino/491290902
Riding in a flamboyant purple vehicle, Ja Du shows up to a coffee shop to open up about his new identity. 
Ja Du, born a white male named Adam, now considers himself a Filipino. Turns out the purple ride he drives around in is called a Tuk Tuk, an Asian-derived vehicle used for public transit in the Philippines he says. 
Ja Du is part of a small, but growing community of people who considers themselves transracial. It refers to someone born one race, but identifies with another. 
Sound weird? Not to them. Ja Du says he grew up enjoying Filipino food, events and the overall culture. 
“Whenever I’m around the music, around the food, I feel like I’m in my own skin,” he said. 
“I’d watch the history channel sometimes for hours you know whenever it came to that and you know nothing else intrigued me more but things about Filipino culture.”
Sound weird?  Of course not. It sounds stupid.  He thinks he is Filipino but he drives a Tuk Tuk?  That's Cambodian not Filipino. He needs a tricycle with a loud motor and a booming sound system.


Ja Du? What kind name is that?  Not a Filipino name that's for sure. Try Jun Jun or Ding Dong.

How did he grow up enjoying Filipino food?  What exactly does he mean?  Did he grow up eating this:



Or did he eat adobo at a friends house?  No way he ate lechon baboy or roasted chicken the way they do it here. Has he ever eaten fried chicken from a cart? Balut? Anything from a food cart on a regular basis?

What does he mean that he would watch the History Channel for hours and get intrigued about Filipino culture? Last time I checked the History Channel was bereft of any real history (remember when it was called the Hitler Channel because all it showed was WW2 documentaries?) and instead broadcasts reality shows and speculative shows about aliens and the apocalypse.
The channel originally broadcast documentary programs and historical fiction series. More recently, it has mostly broadcast various reality television series such as Pawn StarsAx Men, and other non-history related content. The network is criticized by many scientists, historians, and skeptics for broadcasting pseudo-documentaries, unsubstantiated and sensational investigative programming, such as Ancient AliensUFO HuntersBrad Meltzer's Decoded, and the Nostradamus Effect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_(U.S._TV_network)
Some more questions for Ja Du:

Does he use toilet paper? Does he shower or bathe from a bucket? Does he use his phone all the time and talk really loud into it?  Does cockfighting interest him? Does he freely litter with no regrets?  Does he prefer fake instant coffee to the real deal? Does he wear flip flops in all situations? Does he love basketball? Is he a part of the Aldub Nation? Has he ever watched an episode of Ang Probinsyano? Does he watch It's Showtime? (You can watch those shows on Youtube so there is no excuse.)

Most important of all: Does he LOVE karaoke? I didn't read a thing about karaoke in the article or hear him mention it in the video. 

This guy is not a Filipino. It's ridiculous. You just know when he says he enjoys the "overall culture" he has no clue what he is taking about. Why he would feel Filipino when he can't even get the basics down pat is not even worth exploring.  There are Westerners here in the Philippines who have "gone native."  They have Youtube videos I won't promote by linking to.  Ok maybe just one.


That particular guy, Kyle Jennerman, is as naive as can be.  I wrote about him previously. 


The best cure for Ja Du is to actually visit this place. Then he will find out for sure that he is not a Filipino.  He's just a crazy white man.

3 comments:

  1. I don't mean to nit pick your "Does he" list. But you left out pissing on walls, in doorways, bus waiting shelters or where ever he is standing.

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  2. Along with this "Mindanao Bob" guy, we also got this guy that Ja Du will get along so well:

    https://www.facebook.com/MalcolmConlanPage/

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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