A Season of Hate

The escalating number of violent assaults against Asians in America seems to have reached its apex with the mass murder in Atlanta of eight people, six of whom were Asian American women. While most of the world is enraged both by the act itself and the deliberate statement by one of Atlanta's police saying the gunman was "just having a bad day," there is no reason to think that we have seen the end to this "season of hate."

Positively Filipino condemns in unequivocal terms all manifestations of hate against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) which includes our Filipino American communities nationwide. 

We stand solidly alongside not just our AAPI brothers and sisters but with all communities of color who find themselves at the receiving end of unchecked mental health issues rooted in white supremacist insanity and who are now united in seeing to it that all racist violence must stop.

Likewise, we stand staunchly with women victims of sexism and misogyny, who are fighting for gender justice and equality.

Racism and sexism are twin scourges that are deeply rooted in American society, but history has also shown that they are not the formidable forces that they are believed to be. 

Evil thrives when there is no effective force to counter it. And that force is a united front consisting of individuals forming communities, and communities working together as allies.                

Each one of us can do our part. Trite as it may sound, it's true that we are all in this fight together and it is only by working together that we will win.

On a happier note, our webinar last Monday with five dynamic "Filipino Women Warriors in the Pandemic Front Line," was a big hit. Here's the recording, in case you missed it. http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/webinar-video-filipina-power-warriors-in-the-pandemic-front-line

Our Stories This Week

What Do You Call A Calendar Full Of ‘Bad Days’? By Constante G. Quirino

Little Manila’s Big Triumphs By James Sobredo

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 16 By Mona Lisa Yuchengco

By The Power Of Speech Alone By Maia Boncan

Eat It Again: The Happy Home Cook: Buko Fruit Salad 

Video of the Week: Comfort Women in WWII

In The Know

Newsom appoints Rob Bonta, Oakland assemblyman, as state attorney general
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/03/24/newsom-appoints-rob-bonta-oakland-assemblyman-as-state-attorney-general/

The long, ugly history of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/03/18/history-anti-asian-violence-racism/?fbclid=IwAR08hj3eRS5qHB_YjdlxnLc6SprLLgrrgVOknFmkcqJTVGRKF6A7-staSBk

7 Filipinas in History I wished I learned about in school
https://www.shopcambio.co/blogs/news/7-filipinas-in-history-i-wish-i-learned-about-in-school?fbclid=IwAR3k8GnqzHJo0bcv8G1slujQnwrpNzS_w4hei1nVEyfV7kySHK26tkK_eOU

Sharpshooters and spies: The unsung Filipina heroes of war
https://nolisoli.ph/95021/filipina-heroes-women-in-war-ayuvallos-20210309/?fbclid=IwAR0eXY4h7AoMuNV5iVo9Id1heGvUvsJ-BgU6QUY-A65SvI77NeDoYDtXTRo

Womanhood: A gift during the pandemic
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1404146/womanhood-a-gift-during-the-pandemic?fbclid=IwAR2P4kH2F_iTcLxfBnaGWs3z0-I-jpyhZdXDHogJfVkJd40izj-Um22eGlA 

As an Asian-American, I'm Giving Myself Permission to Speak Up
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/asian-american-im-giving-myself-211623395.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma


Some More Amazing Filipinas

Two amazing Filipinas, a military doctor and a nun, are our headliners this week.

Vice Admiral Raquel Bono, a military surgeon who comes from a distinguished family of doctors and US Navy personnel, was recently appointed by the Obama administration as director of the Defense Health Agency, making her the highest ranking Filipino American woman in the US military. Read about this inspiring lady in "She Keeps the Defense Health Agency Shipshape" by Positively Filipino Contributing Writer Anthony Maddela.

Sister Lerma Serdone of the Religiosas Maria Immaculada rose from poverty, finished college while working as a domestic helper and took her perpetual vows in Rome last year. First-time contributor Candy L. Bandong writes about the uplifting experience of watching her friend's final vow in "Nun of Our Business."

Filipino visitors to London craving for the culinary delights of home will enjoy Mark Corbyn's insider guide, "Where to Get Good Filipino Food in London." Mark, himself a British Filipino restaurateur, also shares with us his restaurant, the Adobros' own version of pork belly adobo in the Happy Home Cook. 

Traveling to Ecuador and the Galapagos, Rey E. de la Cruz introduces Filipinos he met along the way in Pinoyspotting.

As our Video of the Week, we feature the Philippines' champion ice skater Michael Martinez at last weekend's World Championships in Boston. Michael finished 19th even with a seemingly flawless performance. 

Finally, as we remember Bataan this month, Read Again Alex S. Fabros Jr.'s "The Boogie Woogie Boys," about the all-Filipino fighting units in the US Armed Forces in WWII. 

Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino