PETER’S PATTER – DECEMBER 2014

Happy Holidays – Peace on Earth

Bridge Generation News

Thanks to Roni Calibjo of Fremont CA for posting the above early ‘50s photo of “young 20’s” Joe Muca, Junior Muca, Hank Dacuyan, Chris Orpilla, Joe Fortes, Rudy Honrado, and Bob Palapaz decked out in suits and skinny ties in San Francisco’s Chinatown.…….Also to Kevin Acebo of Long Beach for sending a similar picture of the same era of his father Ray Acebo and Oakland pals Rudy Calica, Mando Alemania and Sonny Aguila — nice memories……..I was the featured speaker at the October 11 seminar of the Philippine Nurses Association of Southern California at West Coast University in Anaheim CA.  They asked me to speak on “Dynamic Learning through Story Telling”; so I decided to talk about my memoirs in my first book and my own Bridge Generation in my second book.  It was an eye-opener for the audience of health professionals, most of who were from families who came to America after the liberalization of immigration laws in the mid-60s.  Surprisingly, only a handful in the audience heard of Filipino American (F/A) historian Fred Cordova, or the Manong Generation, or the Bridge Generation.  No one raised their hands when I asked if anyone ever toiled as farm workers……As much as I enjoyed making the presentation I also had the added pleasure of being hosted later that evening by my old Navy shipmate Vic Gorre and his wife Sonia in nearby Costa Mesa.

Pinakbet – Filipino American News Across America

Oops! Retractions to my last blog: Re Mike Guingona and Ray Buenaventura – should have read “were both reelected to the City Council of Daly City”.  Re: Admiral Bolivar — was not the first F/A female rear admiral.  According to my Young Turk pal, Larry Flores, the first was Eleanor Valentin of Seattle who attained the prestigious rank in 2009……….More election results: In Hawaii eleven Filipino Americans were elected to the Legislature, all Democrats; in San Diego Republican Chris Cate was elected to the City Council for his first term; Judge Cheryl Moss, the only F/A candidate on the Nevada statewide ballot was returned to the Las Vegas District Court for her fourth term; and Arvin Amatorio, was elected to the Bergenfield NJ City Council, ousting the Republican incumbent……Did you know Melissa Baker, the wife of Dusty Baker, the manager of the Cincinnati baseball Reds, is a Pinay?……..Also did you know that Greg Sarris — the Mono and Miwok Native American Tribal leader, author, lecturer, and UCLA professor whose short story collection “Grand Avenue” became a Robert Redford-produced teleplay, is part Filipino?……Speaking of Native Americans — NFL football fans going to the November 23 San Francisco/Washington game at brand new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara were greeted by a large contingent of tribal members protesting the name of Washington “Redskins”.  They consider their skin to be brown, claiming that the term “Redskins” was coined by early white settlers to describe the blood on the faces of slain Indians…….On December 2, Nani Coloretti was confirmed by the Senate as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, becoming the highest ranking F/A in the Obama Administration. A native of Hawaii, she was formerly budget chief for the City and County of San Francisco………Reportedly, Cerritos CA Mayor Mark Pulido  wants to revive the dormant Filipino American Political Association, founded by the late great labor leader, Larry Itliong.  Wish you every success, Mark.

Griping Time

As this blog’s headline suggests, “Tis the season to be merry.” I intend to celebrate the upcoming holidays with my usual respect and vigor.  At the same time, however, national events during the past year have caused me to feel otherwise.  It seems like every time I hear someone griping about politics, the economy, or our involvement in undeclared wars, that person is usually someone who didn’t even bother to vote.  No one has the right to gripe if one doesn’t even bother to vote!  My parents faithfully voted from the time Filipinos were granted that right after World War II until they passed away.  I fought for that right and voted in every national election since 1952 – I believe I’m entitled to gripe.

Gripe No. 1: When will we see the end of the recent proliferation of voter suppression laws in various states?  Legislation, such as requiring photo IDs and eliminating early voting laws, are supposedly enacted to end voter fraud – even though there’s no evidence that significant fraud exists. In a democracy, we should encourage, not discourage, people to vote.

Gripe No. 2:  When will the Congress pass a comprehensive immigration bill?  While the emphasis has been on permitting Latinos to come out of the shadows, it has been estimated that 200,000 of “tago ng tago” (translation: “hiding and hiding”) Filipinos are in the United States.

Gripe No. 3: When is our country going to do something about curbing gun violence, especially against youth? In an article by LaDoris Hazzard Cordell in the Huffington Post, it was reported that 74 high school shootings have taken place since the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown CT.

Gripe No. 4: When will there be a stop in the increasing rate of the killing of people of color at the hands of police? In the past months Ezell Ford 25, was killed by the police in Los Angeles; Frank Alvarado, 39, was killed by a Salinas CA police officer;  Eric Garner, 43, was choked to death by a New York City police officer; another NYC police officer shot and killed 28 year old Akai Gurley after he and his girlfriend opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator in her apartment building; Marlene Pinnock, 51, was brutally beaten by a California Highway Patrol Officer;  Michael Brown, 18, was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri; and 12 year old Tamir Rice, who was holding a toy gun, was killed by two Cleveland police officers.   All the victims were unarmed.

Gripe No. 5: When will juries find shooters, such as George Zimmerman, guilty for killing black youths like unarmed Trayvon Martin in Florida? Or in the case of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson MO police officer who killed an unarmed teenager in Ferguson MO, and was not even found to be indictable by the St. Louis County Grand Jury on November 24? What about the above case of Eric Garner, whose death from a chokehold as he was held by five policemen was similarly found by a Staten Island NY grand jury on December 3 to be not indictable?  Will there be a similar finding in the death of pre-teen Tamir Rice?

These are all long-standing issues that have defied resolution for years.  I don’t profess to know the answers.  All I know is that now that I got all that off my chest, I feel better.

Maybe if enough people express their concerns, the powers to be will take notice and begin to take some action.​