z

21st Century Literature

from the Philippines
and the World
 LESSON 6 - RACISM
z
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different
behavioral traits corresponding to physical appearance and
can be divided based on the superiority of one race over
another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or
antagonism directed against other people because they are of
a different race or ethnicity.
MOTIVATION:
1. Do you think Filipinos suffer from racism?

2. Do you think Filipinos are ever racist? Can they be racist against fellow
Filipinos, such as Chinese Filipinos or Aetas? Do they insult or use
names against people from India or Africa or anyone with a dark skin
color?

3. Why is it wrong to say the words nigger or nigga?

4. Can you think of any other words that should not be said regarding
people from different races?

5. Why is racism a problem? Has racism disappeared from society?

PRE- READING

Use the Internet to find out about the following:

1. Aborigines in Australia

2. Cronulla
Aboriginal Australians
Cronulla Beach
SURVEY

Fill in the blanks in the worksheet below about Australia.

What You Know About What You Do Not Know What You Want To know
Australia About Australia About Australia
 The poem you are about to read describes race riots that
occurred in Australia. The persona in the poem is trying to
come to grips with the race relations found in Australia and
the ironies involved.
 Cronulla Beach
By Jose Wendell P. Capilli
 
In Sydney’s Cronulla Beach, more than 5,000 white
Australians descended on the sands, attacking anybody who
looked Middle Eastern or Asian. Revenge followed: Men of
color rampaged through Cronulla with baseball bats, smashing
storefronts and windshields. - Early morning news, 12
December 2005.
 Blood surges rapidly
along Cronulla Beach.
Armed with bats,
white bodies are mad
replications of tents,
parasols and sunblinds
spreading all over
what used to be kurranulla?
aboriginal landscapes,
the place of pink seashells.
There is no chieftain
on the shore, no starfish
where dominion shatters.
Not too far behind,
thugs and their hand
 maids constrict exquisite
shades of perplexity
to keep generations
pure and sterile.
Spaces beneath vestiges
of hamlets from long ago
have become driftwood,
shells, cleavers of melting
pots and succession.
They are swaying eerily
translucent as postcards
bereft of scintillating light
in the heated-up weather.
So racializing, this soap.
GUIDE QUESTIONS:

1. What is the importance of the poem's setting?

*The setting is very important because white Australians are

apparently rioting to keep immigrants out of their country; however,
theirs is also considered an immigrant race in Australia because
Australia's original inhabitants were the
aborigines.

2. Why is it ironic that the beach used to be an "aboriginal landscape"?

*Because the aborigines are the only ones who have the right to riot, and yet
they do not.
3. What does it mean that there are generations who want to keep
themselves "pure and sterile"?

*The Caucasians try their best not to inter-marry with aborigines or other races, for
that matter.

4. Why did the white men rampage against colored people? How
do you feel about this?

*They wanted Australia for Australians; basically, they did not like the fact that
colored people were being given jobs, getting benefits, and having access to
citizenship.
5. Why did the colored people take their revenge? How do you
feel about this?

*To avenge those who were injured and killed; as well as to show that they
would not be beaten back by the Caucasians.

6. The pink seashells in the story gradually turned into sand. What
could this be a symbol of? Explain.

*One interpretation could be how history can ground objects (and people)
beneath its feet, violently destroying what was once whole. The pink
shells exhibits calmness and beauty just like peace. The shells turning to
dust marks the beginning of loosing that peace once possessed.
7. Did this poem change the way you look at living or working abroad?
Did it change the way you view Australia? Why or why not?

8. The last line says, "So racializing, this soap." What does it mean?

*The episode heightens social awareness of racism in Australia and all that it
implies. This means that racism must be forbidden.
Assignment:

In your notebook, compile a news clippings of the problems of

Filipinos abroad. Try to collect at least five news clippings-these
should be from reliable sources, such as newspaper articles,
magazine articles, or respected online news sources, such as
CNN.com, GMA online, or ABS-CBN news. And write an essay about
what you think it would be like for Filipinos to live and work abroad
and how this is different from what you used to think.