4/18 Betrayal, class fantasies, and the Filipino Nation in Dalty City


Benito M. Vergara Jr’s article discussed the root, identity, and culture of Filipinos who made their home in the United States. In the beginning of the article, he points out that a large number of Filipino population make their home in Daly City and many of them were born overseas. This reminds me the Chinese immigrants. I am a Chinese and before I came to the United States, I had heard of Chinatown or saw it in movies. My friend Lucy Zhang and her family are Chinese immigrants who live in San Francisco. Similar like those Filipino immigrants, a lot of Chinese immigrants can’t fluently speak English and they eat Chinese foods everyday. Even though they live in here for many years, they still can’t get rid of their culture. One question has been pointed out in this article is that if those Filipino immigrants really betray their home country? And why they want to leave Philippine and come to the U.S? I personally disagree with that leaving our home country means betray our home country. A huge number of middle-class Filipinos came here for the American dreams and want to improve their next generation’s living standard. In post 1960s, most Asian countries are very poor. People don’t have a lot of money and a good living standard. Thus, a lot of immigrants come to the United States looking for more opportunities.

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