Most everything that comes out in Rafe’s blog is a must-read (except for the clips of him singing, only his screaming fangirls would enjoy those), but his latest piece, I feel, is particularly important. In it, he calls out PBA analyst “Dr. J” Andy Jao for making a racist comment about Topex Robinson and Jason Castro in an Alaska-Talk N Text playoff game last week.

[Context: Alaska is about to pull away from TNT. LA Tenorio played a great first four and a half minutes of the third quarter, and Tim Cone subs Topex Robinson to give Tenorio a rest.]

Andy Jao: I think also [Tim Cone] wants to match up Topex Robinson against [Jason] Castro. [pause] Same color.

[Two long, awkward seconds pass, while Mico wonders how to respond.]

Mico Halili: [murmurs] OK. ... [recovers a little] ... Partners!

Jao: Parehong malakas tumalon! Parehong mabilis! [Same hops! Same speed!]

Halili: [desperate to change the subject] And here's DeVance!

I was watching the game at the same time, and cringed too after that exchange. I don’t think enough people took offense to it; we were tweeting about the exchange while it happened, and no one among the people who follow me reacted. And these are the same people who react to the most mundane things.

So I’m glad that Rafe is pushing the conversation forward, because honestly, I couldn’t. I think I’m a smart guy, and I guess I’m thoughtful enough to at least appreciate the issue. But I’ve never had to handle something like this head on, and I grew up in a culture where it was ok to laugh at Whitney Tyson just because she’s black. I’m still a work in progress. I just don’t have the breadth of perspective about an issue like this, so there’s always the opportunity to learn.

But Rafe’s one of the few people who have a thoughtful understanding of both American and Filipino cultures, the context that racism can happen in both cultures, and most importantly – working knowledge of how to correct these and move forward:

Topex Robinson and Jason Castro are both half-black basketball players raised in the Philippines. Robinson is from Olongapo, the town that abutted and indeed grew around the U.S. Naval Base at Subic Bay. From what I've seen, Castro is from Sasmuan (officially no longer Sexmoan) and Guagua, neighboring municipalities in Pampanga, the province that was home to the U.S. Clark Air Force Base. Zambales and Pampanga, particularly the areas around Olongapo and Angeles Cities, are known for having large populations of half-American Filipinos. Also, because both cities are home to extensive sex industries and fairly seedy reputations, people are quick to assume -- often incorrectly, but also often correctly -- that half-American Pinoys from these areas come from ignominious unions. Racial attitudes in the Philippines toward African Americans definitely have an ugly side. They're the same ugly stereotypes that exist in America, only amplified and more acceptable when expressed publicly. So people may be even quicker to assume the worst about half-black Filipinos from Zambales and Pampanga.

So there's definitely something menacing and inappropriate about Andy Jao's chortling joke that Topex Robinson and Jason Castro should be matched up because they're the "same color" with the same jumping ability and quickness.

…

Would Jao have said the same thing if Norman Black was on the panel? Sadly, there's a decent chance he would have. Slights like this would be nothing new to Coach Norman, who has endured plenty of them over the years (I remember an ugly column calling him “A black coach named Black”). Still, neither he nor Robinson nor Castro should have to just put up with it as if being the butt of mildly racist jokes is just a fact of life. Attitudes can and do change over time, and while I don't think Jao should be made to do some American-style media perp-walk with a forced apology, I think his employers at Solar can and should remind him that jokes like the “same color” line aren’t cool.