Proud of the response

I was a little worried no one but me would react to that racist display by Taotao Tano the other day, but this community has really done the right thing and I believe this group has been marginalized, deservedly, in a matter of days. I'm not sure I've seen this type of rebuke on anything before. Angelo said it well, they have a lot of good ideas, but they ruined it with racism. Today a bravo goes out to Roselle Calvo, the young NYU I believe, student who is quite the fireball. Here is what she said today:

"Calvo said she decided to leave the group not because it did not support the recall petition but because of “its racist agenda and dictatorial way.” She said she was disappointed with the street protest on Saturday when Taotao Tano members waved placards denouncing Dekada, a group of alien workers who have been in the CNMI for over five years now. “I do not want to be a part of the group of people who act first before they think,” she said. She added that she does not like to be involved in a group with a “racist agenda.”

Beyond that, Boni let them have it, as did Angelo, Bree, The Colonel Alexander Sablan, Harry Blalock, Jose Dela Cruz , John Del Rosario , Bishop Thomas Camacho, Rep. Ramon Tebuteb and Roselle Calvo resigned and blasted them today. Ambrose Bennett resigned the other day as well. Bravo to everyone really. Racism deserves that kind of rebuke.

We are indeed divided

I suppose I'm not revealing anything new here, but the recent news on the Taotao Tano group is a clear display of how racially divided we are on this island. Ambrose Bennett quit this group for reasons he details today. His letter made total sense. He suggested Taotao Tano work with the people attending the public forums being run by Tina Sablan, which has common concerns. Apparently that wasn't a common view in Taotao Tano, as it appears that group is focused solely and exclusively on "indigenous people." Here is one example of that, "Taotao Tano Association president Gregorio Cruz Jr. claims to represent some 600 local people," note the exclusive focus on "local." That is of course their right to do so, but it would be nice if they took a larger view of the island. There are now similar, yet slightly different, petitions going around the island that will go nowhere with the diffusion of interests. I noted before that it was unfortunate to see not that many indigenous folks comparatively at the Public Forum I attended, which is clearly and openly welcoming of all people.

As best I can see, the Filipinos aren't supportive of each other. I've had Filipino friends say this to me on more than one occasion and I believe this to be true: Pinoys are more jealous of fellow Pinoys they see doing well. I see this routinely with things people have done and said to my Filipina wife. I believe Pinoys would turn on a fellow Pinoy before someone not their fellow countrymen. I find this sad.

There is also a palpable sense of racism in the air against Filipinos because they are seen as poor people doing menial labor. In fact, I've read that in Saudi Arabia, the word Filipina literally means maid. This view sickens me. I know it exists. It has to stop. It also isn't limited to this place at all. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia doesn't have a mere air of racism, it has stories that chill the blood. Type in Filipina maids in Saudi Arabia on Google and read the stories. I'm astonished at the general lack of human compassion that exists in the world. This is hardly a problem limited to this place.

The mainland folks are held as somewhat suspect because they tend to be more sympathetic to the Filipinos and more critical of the CNMI's labor practices. George Miller is a white, liberal mainlander after all, as were the majority of the Miss Magazine people, the 20/20 people, Allan Stayman, and other critics like Dengre or even me.

As best I can tell, the Chinese have no voice whatsoever, perhaps that is mostly a language issue, but they are the best at mobilizing and demonstrating. They do not appear much in the local media, other than some pointless story on what Chinese person is being kicked out for "overstaying their visa." I don't know how that is news.

The indigenous folks are afraid of speaking out because they are reliant on bloated, dying government jobs, as evidenced in this statement below. I think they are starting to realize that these government policies over the years haven't helped them all that much, and things could be better.

The Taotao Tano group is having a hard time mobilizing its “more than 1,400
members” because they are afraid of losing their government jobs, according
to its president, Greg Cruz.He said if these indigenous people were working
in the private businesses like him, there would be no reason for them to be
afraid of exercising their democratic rights.Majority of the Taotao Tano
members, he said, are working for the government. He said this is the reason
only a handful of them show up when they hold rallies.Cruz said they were
expecting at least a hundred of their members to attend the meeting at the
multi-purpose center in Susupe on Saturday, but only 20 showed up.

That we are as divided as this is depressing.

Hanging in the Coalition of the Willing

I'm hanging in the Coalition of the Willing, and I'm having a pretty good time. My hotel is utterly incompetent, for reasons I'll detail later. The diving here in Palau has been quite good. Tomorrow I'm hoping to hit Chandelier Cave and Blue Corner. I dove a WWII wreck today, and the Blue Hole. I dove a channel that was pretty damn cool. Lots of sharks, lots of fish, lots of current and a huge fishball. My diving is significantly better. I attribute this to Marty Dalsaso, his buddy and my new friend Jerome Wong, and just having done it a lot for a six years now.

The restaurants here are fabulous, and since I'm traveling solo, I've talked to all kinds of people. I've heard a lot of the usual complaints from expats that you here about Saipan. I've heard some horror stories about the treatment of immigrant workers that is outright scary.

On that topic, these comments sicken me, as do the others bemoaning that immigrant workers might leave the CNMI if given entree to the United States: Memo to the government, businesses and others bemoaning the slight empowerment of Filipinos and Chinese: if you want to keep a worker, pay him or her a wage that makes them want to stay and they will. No one owns immigrant workers. God this stuff sickens me. Imagine if someone said this about some minority group in the states. I'm sure all of this below was said about women and African-Americans at different time periods. I'm sure there will be no backlash to this statement:

Former Covenant negotiator Vicente Santos is not too concerned about
qualified nonresidents getting permanent residency or “green cards” but he
is concerned about the U.S. government granting them voting rights.“The only
thing I'm opposed to is about voting rights granted to other people. Voting
rights must be reserved for local people. I hope Washington looks at it
closely,” said Santos in an interview yesterday.He said, though, that if the
local community decides to grant such right to aliens, then it should be
respected.“If the local people allow that, what can I do? But it should come
from the local people, not from the U.S. Congress. I personally don't want
to see nonresidents getting voting rights,” he said.

God forbid democracy be expanded, Vicente. It's not like these people have a huge stake in this island or anything. I just love this quote, let them go to the states, just don't let them have any say here. It's a vomitous statement appealing to the worst instincts of a small and powerful local sect. I can't wait until the new generation, with a far less racist mindset takes over. I talk to these kids so I know they don't think like this fossil above, thank god. And no, I'm not excusing him and being deferential because he's old.