Filipino Americans: Prejudice, Discrimination & Immigration Experience

Cultural Paper- Filipino Americans
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Cultural Paper- Filipino Americans
History Related to Prejudice and Discrimination
As a Filipino, I have experienced a lot of prejudice and discrimination living in America. These experiences are not singular because I have heard of many Filipino individuals who have experienced similar incidences. The most common types of prejudice and discrimination arise because people think that Filipinos are Chinese or Japanese. As such, the racial prejudice suffered by other Asian communities also transcends into our Filipino society. The economic vulnerabilities of this demographic have received little attention, despite the fact that many Filipino Americans profess to work and live in poverty (Alvarez & Juang, 2010). Poor working individuals are also more likely to report horrible employment experiences, such as racial discrimination. Furthermore, although racial prejudice remains a substantial obstacle to political involvement, most Filipino Americans are more concerned with preserving economic stability and making ends meet in the United States. For them, generating money is more essential than participating in politics.
American colonialism of the Philippines prompted many Filipinos to go to America, either seeking higher education or working on Hawaiian farms, California ranches, and Alaskan fishing fleets. During the Colonial era in the Philippines, Filipinos faced ethnic prejudice. Like the Japanese and Chinese immigrants before them, Filipinos faced widespread anti-Oriental prejudice in America. Filipinos were seen as stealing white Americans' employment. An anti-miscegenation statute was passed (Alvarez, & Juang, 2010). The thought of a promising future influenced Filipino immigration in America, but they were compelled to live in poverty due to low pay. Currently, especially in the pandemic, Filipinos are insulted and racially discriminated against because of their Asian descent. The prejudice remains that all Asians are responsible for the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Immigration Experience
Between 1890 and 1920, America had a large inflow of immigrants from Europe and Asia. Even before that, in the 16th century, the Filipinos were the first Asians to come to California. Nonetheless, increased migration from the Philippines to the U. S. started in the late nineteenth century, fueled in part by the two nations' lengthy diplomatic, military, and educational links (Batalova et al., 2021). Several waves of immigration have occurred, but the trend picked up at the end of the twentieth century. In 2018, there were little over 2 million Filipinos in the US, accounting for 4.5 percent of the country's 44.7 million immigrants. The biggest number of Filipinos living outside of the Philippines reside in the United States (Batalova et al., 2021). The primary motivation for coming to the United States was economic. Stories of immigrants' experiences frequently focus on the difficulties accompanying a person's or family's first migration to the United States, but this overlooks one crucial aspect of the immigrant experience. Examining an immigrant's subsequent years reveals a transition process that fundamentally alters her identity. Academics overlook Filipinos partly because of their predominantly urbanized, industrial, and middle-class heritage and lives, which allow them to fit in seamlessly with the American environment. Indeed, as foreigners from a former US colony, Filipinos are more likely to be fluent in English and have previously been accustomed to American customs, cultural norms, and purchasing behaviors, to the point where their homeland's highly Americanized culture has already prepped them (Espiritu, & Wolf, 2001). Although some Filipino immigrant families are relatively successful, acclimated, and assimilated, ethnocultural, self-identities, and sentimental well-being indicate that many Filipino people repudiate the American integrationist identity; they have lower self-esteem and anxiety than other migrant communities.
Many nations' healthcare systems, including the United States, are riddled with racial prejudice. Patients and healthcare staff alike suffer as a result of this, with increased risks of sickness and, in certain situations, inferior treatment quality for persons of color. Discrimination may significantly impact a group's living circumstances and prospects, influencing sectors such as education, work, housing, and health. As previously mentioned, the poor socioeconomic background is among the significant determinants of adverse health effects (Espiritu & W...