I am truly annoyed at what just happened at the Entrecard Community forum today. A healthy, robust discussion on the existence (or lack thereof) of racism in Entrecard was ongoing.

It started with impNERD saying this:

There are many bloggers out there who only support their own race. They will only give credits to their own race, let their own race enter contests for EC credits, never drop back unless it is someone of their own race, only comment on other peoples blogs of their own race, etc.

Why is this allowed? Why, when a white person does the same thing they are called racist and immidiately yelled at but when someone of another race does the exact same they are looked upon as culturists and leaders?

There are many Pinoy blogs on EC who do this, and I have also seen others do it as well. Why is this allowed?

Later on this was said:

I don’t like that the Filipinos are secluding themselves like this, but it’s their choice to do so.

And this:

Why are Pinoys allowed to do this, but if say, a white person only connected to white people, held contests for white people and specifically denied blacks, hispanics and pinoys from joining it would be looked down upon (if not by EC then society).

And then someone had the gall to say this:

By the way, all, I want it on record that, as far as I’m concerned, this has nothing to do with Pinoys. Something Imp saw on a Pinoy blog just brought the matter to the surface but let’s be clear that, at least right now, this is not specifically about Pinoys.

Riiight. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand the whole discussion was not an attack on Filipinos. If you read the forum, most Entrecarders were repeatedly washing their hands by saying that they were not specifically targeting Filipinos. But then again, no other nationality was invoked, no other country was seen as racist other than the Filipino bloggers. And for what evidence? None. It was all based on the perception of the thread starter.

I decided to speak of race and nationalism from the view of a Filipino, as no Filipino had spoken up yet. I replied:

I’m a Filipino, and though you say that forum is not about Filipinos, I see no other “race” being talked about, and thus I feel personally attacked.

Filipinos do not like hostile environments, we prefer to stay away from it, which is probably why none of my fellow Filipinos have spoken up.

For the record, “race” is not a native concept to the Philippines. When we think of race, we think of whites and blacks in America. We think of Asians (being discriminated against) in America. Frankly, I don’t think our concept of “race” exists anywhere but in America.

In our country, we are all one. A Filipino is a Filipino… Anybody with a pint of Filipino blood we accept wholeheartedly as one of us. You don’t even have to be a Filipino citizen to be accepted as Filipino.

We do not discriminate against anyone, least of all foreigners. Foreigners intrigue Filipinos. Their accent, their skin/hair/eye color, anything that differentiates them from us interests us. We are known as a most hospitable country.

Race, we do not much understand. Racism does not occur in our country.

Nationalism, that we understand. It is the concept of doing things to make our country proud. Nationalism is working together for the good of the country. Like staying to work for the country that educated you. Like winning boxing match after boxing match to gain international recognition of our country. Like reaching out to overseas Filipino workers and highlighting their sacrifices for the country.

Nationalism is not about seclusion at all. In fact, it is about bringing ourselves out into the world as Filipinos. It is simply about being proud of one’s country and fellow men.

You guys are throwing these two words around without a care, but this forum is not about either. Not to a Filipino.

And an Entrecarder took offense at my words and replied with this:

I’m a Filipino, and though you say that forum is not about Filipinos, I see no other “race” being talked about, and thus I feel personally attacked.

Then you seriously need to toughen up a bit. You don’t even know what an attack is. Our grandparents did, though, and it was repelled so that both you and I can now live in relative peace.

But if you want to bring this conversation back to the stone ages with a victim-mentality routine, just know that I’m not going to play along no matter how many people fall for it. No one is attacking YOU… no one is attacking the PHILLIPINES… no one is attacking Pinoy culture so please don’t water down this conversation looking for self-pity.

Filipinos do not like hostile environments, we prefer to stay away from it, which is probably why none of my fellow Filipinos have spoken up.

Well, the blogosphere, then, is no place for you and your fellow Filipinos because it is full of hostility. However, this thread is not hostile. You might find shreds of anger or occasional discord here or in any other thread but that is just life and disagreeing or finding disdain with something is not the same kind of hostility as randomly attacking people or showing hate for race, nationality, etc… it is just the heat of discussion.
And I have to believe there are more Filipinos who are much stronger than those you portray and that you do not speak for them all just because you are on. The fact they have an army supports my belief.

For the record, “race” is not a native concept to the Philippines. When we think of race, we think of whites and blacks in America. We think of Asians (being discriminated against) in America. Frankly, I don’t think our concept of “race” exists anywhere but in America.

Asians discriminated against in America? Wow, it’s getting thick in here. We’re about to return back to the story that the big, fat, cigar-smoking white American male represents the one group that suffers no discrimination and is behind all discrimination in the U.S. and everywhere else for that matter. Oh wait, I have to remove “fat”, fat people no longer discriminate against for they now have their own victim-mentality group.
So I guess it’s just me and my buddies discriminating against everyone in the world. Oh wait, I don’t smoke cigars. But I’ve yet to join a victim-mentality non-smokers rights group yet.

In our country, we are all one. A Filipino is a Filipino… Anybody with a pint of Filipino blood we accept wholeheartedly as one of us. You don’t even have to be a Filipino citizen to be accepted as Filipino.

That was the set-up. This has nothing to do with the topic. I totally regret that IMPnerd even mentioned Pinoy because it has NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM. He just saw an example of his point amongst them.
Can’t wait until we can get back on topic.

We do not discriminate against anyone, least of all foreigners. Foreigners intrigue Filipinos. Their accent, their skin/hair/eye color, anything that differentiates them from us interests us. We are known as a most hospitable country.

You sound like Tokyo Rose to me. Filipinos don’t discriminate? I would agree that the majority of Filipinos I’ve met are extremely friendly and hospitable but I won’t believe they know no discrimination amongst them. It’s very difficult for people to see their own shortcomings which is why we have these discussions and debates. You might learn something about your culture by listeniung to what others think of it, too… just like we in the U.S. do on a daily basis… instead of acting offended because someone mentions he saw a Pinoy EC member promoting exclusivity.

After that fact, we made it clear it wasn’t about Pinoys but if you want to bring Pinoys up all over again, then you will be making it about Pinoys, not us.

Race, we do not much understand. Racism does not occur in our country.

Just like Ahmedinejad said there are no gays in Iran. Perhaps the reason it doesn’t seem to occur or surface much is because maybe you don’t have significant immigration. And you do have your own brand of trouble over there with the Moro headhunters and Abu Sayaaf which the US helps you combat.

I am not mentioning this due to any problem with your country or you or any Filipinos. I do have a problem with you portraying any of it as “lily white” to bolster your victim-mentality, your sense of offense, especially when we said this is not about Filipinos.

What happened, did you only read the first 3 posts?

Nationalism, that we understand. It is the concept of doing things to make our country proud. Nationalism is working together for the good of the country. Like staying to work for the country that educated you. Like winning boxing match after boxing match to gain international recognition of our country. Like reaching out to overseas Filipino workers and highlighting their sacrifices for the country.

No one said you didn’t…. and this is why this ultimately sucks. Because you’ve hijacked this thread and made it all about – GUESS WHAT? – FILIPINO NATIONALISM.

Which, ironically, starts to bolster ImpNerds point that it happened, and that it was not a mere coincidence that he spotted it happening on a Pinoy blog.

Nationalism is not about seclusion at all. In fact, it is about bringing ourselves out into the world as Filipinos. It is simply about being proud of one’s country and fellow men.

Nationalism, at it’s best, might not be about seclusion but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t result in it. In fact, with such pride as you mentioned, it would seem even MORE likely that some Pinoy would have blogs that suggest all Pinoy benefit only Pinoy… meaning Pinoy-only contests, Pinoy-only commenting, Pinoy-only dropping.

AND THE QUESTION HERE STILL REMAINS UNCHANGED – Should anyone, proud nationalist or not, be allowed to benefit from EC in a way that allows them to RECRUIT for blogs whose VERY NATURE goes against the principles that have BUILT and SUPPORTED the EC community all along??

You guys are throwing these two words around without a care, but this forum is not about either. Not to a Filipino.

Sorry, I don’t buy it. I never took this thread to be about Filipinos and neither do I take you as a spokesperson for all Filipinos. I gladly embrace your words for this debate but just because you are a seemingly nice girl who is, in my opinion unnecessarily, defending her country doesn’t, at least not in my book, give you a free pass from receiving strong, well-reasoned, disagreement.

And, ironically, the more I read your words, the more I could see a case for ImpNerds concern quite possibly having some roots in the Pinoy community. Not that it does, but now I am more inclined to believe it…

I was shocked at the vehemence of his reply. It seemed almost, my post about the discussion from a Filipino’s point of view was so unacceptable to him that he needed to retaliate on almost every sentence I gave, totally ignoring the second post I had written (my take on the issue):

The thread was closed before I was able to reply, but this is what I replied, only I was informed the post had closed:

I am on a victim-mentality routine? Wow that was out of line. Pinoys have been mentioned over and over in this discussion and I merely wished to give you some commentary on how a Filipino views this discussion, and suddenly I’m a victim? Maybe you’re the one who sees me as a victim for giving my own opinion, I certainly don’t, and so that’s your problem not mine.

You don’t even know what an attack is.

Semantics. You should go on a hunt for synonyms, your dictionary must be outdated.

I am acting offended because someone mentions he saw a Pinoy EC member promoting exclusivity?

No, that is not what offends me. What offends me is that this seems to be a discussion based solely on hearsay, because there is no evidence to support any of the accusations stated so far.

And the accusation was that some bloggers were SOOO exclusive they would NOT comment on other blogs, NOT drop on others, NOT open contests to other bloggers but those of their own community.

And as I have said, I have NEVER yet seen this kind of exclusivity in the blogosphere yet and so I do not think that it exists.

And you do have your own brand of trouble over there with the Moro headhunters and Abu Sayaaf which the US helps you combat. I am not mentioning this due to any problem with your country or you or any Filipinos.

Then why mention it at all? Perhaps you just had to say the “US helps you combat”? Are you trying to imply that because the US is helping us in some way, I am obliged to not be offended by an American? Sorry if this sounds out-of-topic, but your statement was DEFINITELY out of the topic.

I do have a problem with you portraying any of it as “lily white” to bolster your victim-mentality, your sense of offense, especially when we said this is not about Filipinos. What happened, did you only read the first 3 posts?

That’s it, I did read ALL of the posts looking for mention of any other blogger (or “race”) supposedly carrying out this exclusivity. Was there any? No, nada. And that’s an example of racism, Sam, when you single out one “race” and post baseless accusations pointing to just that one race. And saying “Oh this is not about Filipinos” is good and well, but then maybe you should prove that too by showing some other examples, otherwise that just negates your statement.

AND THE QUESTION HERE STILL REMAINS UNCHANGED – Should anyone, proud nationalist or not, be allowed to benefit from EC in a way that allows them to RECRUIT for blogs whose VERY NATURE goes against the principles that have BUILT and SUPPORTED the EC community all along??

Read my second post. If Entrecard wants to grow bigger and better, it HAS to allow for inner divisions. What is BlogCatalog without its groups? What is Youtube without its communities?

As one community grows bigger, you cannot HELP but have smaller communities within it. What if Entrecard had recruited bloggers who were already exclusive BEFORE they were even Entrecarders. Does that mean Entrecard now has the right to tell them not to be exclusive anymore???

If Entrecard chooses to dictate limits on how its members communicate and socialize with other people, then that is simply a recipe for disaster. Entrecard is about traffic. And yes, a sense of community as well. But ultimately Entrecard is only a service, and should not act like a dictator.

My last say on this is that I don’t think the forum initially meant to peg Filipinos as racist. But eventually, it started to look that way because Filipinos were repeatedly cherry-picked for supposedly being exlusivists. It didn’t help that one blogger took the first Filipino viewpoint in the forum and viciously attacked the defense of Filipinos without addressing the actual response on the issue.

I’m sure things would have been discussed more thoroughly, sides explained better, and the heat would have simmered down eventually. But Graham Langdon, the Entrecard founder, butted in and closed the thread without so much as a warning.

He said:

Closing the thread, suffice it to say Entrecard does not condone and will not facilitate racism (as if anyone thought otherwise).

And:

Entrecard is a place where bloggers of all races and nationalities can come to enjoy a good bit of blogging. If you feel that other members are impeding on your right to enjoy a good bit of blogging here, please let me know privately and we can talk about it.

Okay, so are we supposed to continue this forum in Graham’s inbox???

This was a pretty good thread that had been started, because it raised a serious issue (if somewhat nonexistent) that had people’s tempers flaring and minds humming. But that’s what a good debate does. I should know, I’ve gone through so many debates that ended up with people shouting (formally raising their voices) and then ending with a handshake.

This habit of Entrecard closing threads is getting old. It’s becoming more of an issue than the actual topics in the forums. Graham’s decision to close that particular thread was defended by this:

Interested parties are scrutinizing the site now and in the coming weeks, and thus I am faced with the business of running a tighter ship than usual for the interim. In other words, when the needle hits orange its time to close up.

Whaa…??? I didn’t even understand that last sentence. Sorry, I’m not American so I don’t speak your slang. I guess he means investors are coming and he needs to clean up the place. But go visit the forum, it wasn’t ugly at all. It was just beginning to get hot (as all worthy debates do).

If ugly comes, just delete it. No need to presume it will come. We all know what presumption did to America, right? Deleting or closing forums is a disservice to Entrecard’s members. The forum was placed for socializing. By terminating certain forums, Graham is terminating relationships. By not allowing issues to resolve themselves, Graham is ensuring they will continue to bother and irritate members, possibly becoming seeds of discord in the future.

Allow Entrecarders the right to free speech. If you don’t like how members are talking, why place the forum there at all? Rules against cussing, personal attacks, these are fine. But against personal opinion? That’s just sad.

I was just starting to like participating in the forums. But now, not so much.

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