American Privilege in the Philippines

Microagressions, overt and systemic racism. When someone says “check your privilege” my first initial thought is that they are not talking to me. Growing up in the United States as a Black female, I was already at a disadvantage so I would not think I would constantly be at the receiving end of the statement. Once I arrived in the Philippines, my lens shifted. Daily, I have been recognizing the simple and blatant privileges I have while being in this country. On our way to the National Museum, I remember complaining about how hot it was being in the lightly air conditioned taxi. However, I soon quelled my thoughts as I saw a woman deep frying street food with beads of sweat covering her face, multiple people walking to their destination and a crowded jeepney with people heavily fanning themselves in what felt like 100°F. Then, I tried to keep telling myself that being in the hot taxi was not that bad. As I continue to travel in the Philippines, I am now more aware of the privileges I have than when I first arrived.

At the National Museum, my initial reaction was that most of the paintings were of Spaniards, fair-skinned Filipinos and white religious figures. In Peggy McIntosh’s (1988) “White Privilege and Male Privilege” she describes privilege that is unearned can be powerful and dominating however, does not “confer moral strength” (p. 102). She also describes that by being white, she was can easily find institutions that gives attention to people of her race (p.100). Walking through the first building of the National Museum, I wondered who was this museum made for? If I had not known any background of the museum, I would have believed it was about European history due to the art of the people who appear white. Every instance I could find a portrait of a person who was visibly brown, I took a picture. That day I only took 4 photos. Was the museum for Filipinos or do they not have that privilege? During the tour, the guide mentioned Magellan as the first person to circumnavigated the world, however this misinformation connects to the Spanish and American colonialism and education of Filipinos. History was written in a strategic way which would shape the thinking of Filipinos that would favor the colonizers. For example, Ileto (1998) in “The Philippine-American War: Friendship and Forgetting” describes the American education writing the Philippine-American War as a misunderstanding rather than a suppression of the United States (p. 4). This essentially rewrites the histories and the memories of war for Filipinos and strips the Philippines privilege of learning their true history.

Portrait from the first building at the National Museum

The tour of the church was very interesting. By 1898, the Spanish had converted a large portion of Filipinos to Catholicism (Zinn, 2008, p 54). However, again all of the paintings were of white religious figures. The only portrait of a Filipino that I saw was of Martin De Lacandola who was the first Filipino that was able to enter San Augustin church. Once again, I questioned privileges that Filipinos have in the church that was created for the Spanish.

From San Augustin Church

As I continue my stay in the Philippines, the more I am able to recognize the various types of privileges I have.

Question: How is the Philippine-American War taught in schools now and how does it affect the views and relationship between the Philippines and America?

References

Ileto, R.C. (1998). The Philippine-American War, Friendship and Forgetting. In Shaw, A.V. &  Francia, L.H. Vestiges of war. (pp. 3-21). New York: New York.

McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women’s studies. In K. Tupper, Introduction to women’s studies: Women 200 (2nd ed.) (pp. 62-71). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Twain, M. (2002). To the person sitting in darkness. In Shaw, A.V. & Francia, L.H. Vestiges of war. (pp. 57-68). New York: New York Press.

Zinn, H. (2008). Invasion of the Philippines. In A people’s history of American empire. (pp.53-72) NY: Metropolitan Books.