Just got this in the mail.
Recently, Manila Standard Today columnist Malu Fernandez published a bigoted article in People Asia magazine discriminating against OFWs. Excerpts from her article:
"However I forgot that the hub was in Dubai and the majority of the OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) were stationed there. The duty-free shop was overrun with Filipino workers selling cell phones and perfume. Meanwhile, I wanted to slash my wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them."
"While I was on the plane (where the seats were so small I had bruises on my legs), my only consolation was the entertainment on the small flat screen in front of me. But it was busted, so I heaved a sigh, popped my sleeping pills and dozed off to the sounds of gum
chewing and endless yelling of "HOY! Kumusta ka na? At taga sann ka? Domestic helper ka rin ba?" Translation: "Hey there? Where are you from? Are you a domestic helper as well?" I though I had died and God had sent me to my very own private hell."
"On my way back, I had to bravely take the economy flight once more. This time I had already resigned myself to being trapped like a sardine in a sardine can with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while Jo Malone evaporated into thin air."
"All in all, it's been a pretty good summer. Jetting from the Aegean Sea to the Pacific may sound a bit pretentious until you wake up in economy class smelling like air freshener."
Wow, talk about showing off your education--or lack of it. Not to mention the lack of breeding this woman has.
Eto pa! Her response to hate mail!
"As I type this, I'd like you to know that it's not about whining, complaining and bitching but just stating the facts. Just recently, I wrote a funny article in my magazine column and my friends thought it was hilarious. It was humorous and quite tongue-in-cheek, or at least
I thought so, until the magazine got a few e-mails from people who didn't get the meaning of my acerbic wit. The bottom line was just that I had offended the reader's socioeconomic background. If any of these people actually read anything thicker then a magazine they would find it very funny. Most people don't get the fact that they need bitches like me to shake up their world, otherwise their lives would be boring and mediocre. I obviously write for the a certain target audience and if what I write offends you, just stop reading."
"Although it may sound elitist to you the fact is this country is built on the foundation of haves, have-nots and wannabes. One group will never get the culture of the other. Although I could mention that it is easier to understand someone who has a lower socioeconomic
background that would entail a whole other page and frankly I don't want to be someone to bridge the gap between socioeconomic classes. I leave that to the politicians in my family who believe they can actually help. Now I seriously ask you, am I being a diva or are
people around me just lacking in common sense? Perhaps it's a little of both!"
Ang kapal ng mukha mo.
I'd like to see this woman struggle for a living and actually experience what it's like to live as an OFW. First of all, her excuses were lame. Her friends found her article funny? Birds of the same feather, right? They're probably as lacking in manners as she is. Acerbic wit? That's not wit, that's just meanness, plain and simple. E ano ngayon? Bakit, kasalanan bang sumigaw sa sobrang tuwa dahil nakakita ka ng kapwa mong naghahanap-buhay para di mamatay sa gutom ang pamilya mo? Ano ba ang paki mo kung gusto nila ng Axe cologne? Kung sobrang di mo matiis ang economy class, ba't di ka nag business or first class? Pare-pareho pala kayong nagtitipid e!
We need bitches like her to shake up our boring and mediocre lives?? Well, excuse me, but who the fuck died and made her God? What gives her the right to say that OUR lives are boring and mediocre? yes, she's talking about US, you and me and everyone else, mga intelihente at creatibong taga-benilde, taga-la salle, taga-st. scho, taga-UP, taga-ateneo, taga-UST, taga-FEU and all the other schools i haven't mentioned, tayong mga PINOY na sumisikap, lahat TAYO boring daw at mediocre ang buhay natin. kapaaaaal...
Yes, I often complain about ill-mannered people. I complain about people who shout at each other in malls even though they are just centimeters apart. I complain about people who are rude on the MRT, the bus, the jeep, and everywhere else. But let me also point out that rudeness and tastelessness are NOT restricted to people of lower socioeconomic standing. Rich people are quite capable of that, too.
As for you, Malu Fernandez, you think you're above everyone else, eh? Think you're so cool? Look at what you do. You look down on hardworking people risking nearly everything and sacrificing so much for their families. You scoff at their exuberance and enthusiastic warmth. You nitpick over what they choose for body spray. You practically diss your OWN country. You tell people that if they don't like what you write, then they shouldn't read it? Well, if you don't like your fellow Filipinos so much, then GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR COUNTRY. We do not need cruel people like you to shake the dignity of those who, through no fault of their own, were born into the lower socioeconomic classes. You should've gone ahead and opened up that vein of yours, honey, 'coz this country would be a better place without stuck-up bitches like you.
And that's MY take on the matter.
I wonder what "certain target audience" this ill-bred, pompous jackass of a woman writes for. Satanic Union of Sarcastic Half-Wits?
