James,
I felt compelled to write this letter response to Thomas K’s post from January 18th. I found his second point to be racist at worst and ignorant at best. I must first point out that I am not a politically correct minded
person nor do I wish my letter to come across as Jessie Jackson-ish rhetoric. I am married to a Manila-born Chinese/Filipino who moved to the US when she was a year old and has spent about the last 20 out of
her 27 years as an American Citizen. I had a chance to visit the Philippines in 2010 with her and her family and based on my observations there I would say that most Filipino’s would have an advantage over most Americans in a disaster. The first reason I believe this is that they already know how to go without the things that we Americans take for granted, such as consistent running water, electricity, and automobile transportation.
Secondly, Filipino’s are some of the most resourceful people on earth. Anyone who has been to the Philippines will tell you about the most recognizable form of transportation in the country which is the Jeepney which is basically a bus that was constructed from US military Jeeps that were left behind after WW2. This is just one example of the ingenuity of the Filipino’s. My third and final point is that Asian cultures as a whole place a huge emphasis on family and they will band together and help each other out in a disaster situation. Look at how Japan responded to the earthquake/tsunami last year and the Korea Town response to the Los Angeles riots as an example. Now I understand that there are some Asian gangs and criminals and there might be a high percentage in Anchorage as Thomas K. suggested. But this does not give him the excuse to write off all of the Asians in Alaska as thugs that will take each other out. I would be happy to have Asians as my neighbors during a disaster and I have a feeling if Thomas K. would learn a bit more about this amazing people and culture he would feel the same. – Josh H. in the Pacific Northwest