Hi Inier! Thank you so much for the very insightful comment. Your analogy of American Idol is even more appropriate in this blog. Camile Velasco, a top 12 finalist in season 3 of American Idol was also of Filipino descent. But because she was born and raised in Hawaii, she was able to get support from that state.

To quote wikipedia, “Velasco quickly became the pride of Hawaii, and small-town Maui in particular, causing the islands to vote exponentially more than in previous years. Her return home before the finals was deeply emotional, as she was showered with support and physically covered with colorful leis.”

You’re right Inier, the Hawaiians were not being racist by voting for one of their own in AI.
Thank you again, your insight and the comment is very much appreciated!

Please come back and comment on the other blogs. I’d love to get your thoughts on them.

Who else could you expect to throw in unconditional support for this young fellow? You can’t expect it from his competitors. I don’t see any racism remarks nor even a slight hint of being racist in what Mr. Bautista had said in his blog.

If throwing in support is racism then all the those people who support their country’s team at World Cup are nothing but racists!

And all those Americans who voted for finalists because of loyalty to their home state or city in the recently concluded American Idol are nothing but racist as well– regionalistic racists to be exact!

Hi miller! thank u for taking the time to comment. I guess that’s why I wrote the blog so that Filipinos and everyone else will get to know him. The call on Filipinos is more of a tag. For us Filipinos we have a tradition called “Bayanihan” where we gather support for someone who is in need of help in the community. And it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of ‘Filipino pride racism’.

If knowing that a countryman is in the competition gets them to watch the video then that’s great. there’s no guarantee they’ll vote for him. Just like the World Cup, it makes sense to root for your country’s football team that’s competing. That’s not racism, that’s only expected of you. Whether he’s the best we’ll leave it to the competition, that’s what you have the contest for. There are other awards other than the online voting. The online voting is a part of it but not the main award.

If you want to root for someone other than your nationality’s team, that’s your choice. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s also nothing wrong with supporting a candidate that IS your kababayan (countryman).

Imagine his pride at being voted best because of filipino pride racism and not because he’s the best.