Chapter 14: The New Asian Immigrants

Chapter 14 focuses on Asian groups such as the Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Asian Indians, Koreans and the Vietnamese. The group that struck my interest the most would be the Filipinos. Not only is it because I'm able to relate to it due to the fact that I am of Filipino ancestry, but because it's interesting to see what events led up to the current status of Filipinos in America. The chapter talks about how there were three distinct increments of Filipinos coming to America. The first being in 1898. During this increment, students came from the Philippines, settling in the midwest and the east. The second incrememnet took place in the 1920's and the early 1930's. During this increment, many farm workers came, settling mostly in Hawaii and California. The third increment which took place from 1965 and is still in effect as of current. During this increment, educated Filipinos and would-be entrepeneurs find their way to America.

Majority of the Filipinos that immigrated were known to be Roman Catholic. On page 356 of the text, the last sentence of the first paragraph states, "Majority of each increment, like most Filipinos, have been Roman Catholics, but religion does not seem to play a major institutional role in the lives of most Filipino Americans." Because of the way I was raised and from personal experiences, I find that statement to be false. I grew up in communities with large rates of the Filipino population present. A great number of the people I know or have come across, that are of Filipino descent, have some sort of affiliation with a church. Although there are many individuals who are not religious, their families have some sort of connection to a church or are rooted in religion somehow. Religion also plays a large role in Filipino customs and traditions.

Another thing that I found interesting was the anti Filipino movement that took place prior to WWII. A good deal of violence was directed toward this group and it was a movement similar to that of the Chinese and Japanese. They were seen as savages and because they worked "for nothing" they were seen as a problem because they basically took jobs from the white people. This goes back to the notion of the ethnic escalator and the fear of the dwindling of the Anglo Saxon dominance. The sad truth is that such prejudice stil exists today. There's even a gap between Filipinos Americans and Filipino immigrants. Many Filipinos that are born in America view themselves as American and therefore of "higher class". With this comes the labeling of those immigrating from the Philippines to be "FOB" (Fresh off the boat).