Category Archives: Diversity

Diversity, Politics, Race Relations

JINDAL: “CONFEDERATE FLAG A SYMBOL OF MY WHITE HERITAGE”

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Bobby-Jindal-AP_877326297143-1024x682
Jindal (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (The Adobo Chronicles® ) –  He considers himself a tanned, white boy from Louisiana.

Governor and GOP presidential candidate, Piyush “Bobby” Jindal, 44, has become famous for a self portrait that hangs in the Louisiana state capitol –  a visibly Caucasian chief executive.

In a limited-edition campaign t-shirt for his 2016 presidential bid, he used a very catchy slogan that says, “Tanned. Rested. Ready.”Jindal-Tee-Shirt-150x150

Today, during an interview on FOX News on the topic of the confederate flag being removed from South Carolina’s statehouse grounds, Jindal proclaimed:  “Like the same-sex marriage issue, I believe this should be decided on by the states, not the courts. Let the people’s voices be heard. Like many others who hail from the great Creole state, the Confederate flag is a symbol of my (white) heritage, and that heritage has nothing to do with racism or hate.”

Is Jindal trying to be an opposite version of Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP leader in Washington state who came under fire recently for claiming to be black?

Nah, he really is a white boy who is just tanned. Or sun-burnt.

 

 

 

 

 

Beauty, Diversity, Politics, Race Relations

AFTER 63 YEARS, IT’S THE END OF THE ROAD FOR THE MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT

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The very first Miss Universe (1952), Armi Kuusela
The very first Miss Universe (1952), Armi Kuusela

MIAMI, Florida (The Adobo Chronicles®) – After 63 years of existence, the Miss Universe Pageant is coming to an end, thanks to owner Donald Trump.

(The very first Miss Universe was Armi Kuusela from Finland, who shortly after being crowned in 1952, married a Filipino Virgilio Hilario, now deceased.  Kuusela has since remarried and now lives in San Diego, California)

After Mexico and Paraguay pulled out of the pageant because of Trump’s racist remarks about Mexicans — calling them “rapists, drug addicts and criminals” — the Republican presidential candidate knew a bigger fall out was about to happen.  Other Spanish-speaking countries are also considering dropping out of the international pageant.

Then came recent remarks by Trump, this time directed at African Americans.  “African American youth had reached a point where they’ve just about never done more poorly, there’s no spirit, there’s killings on an hourly basis virtually in places like Baltimore and Chicago and many other places,” he said during a campaign stop.

Trump also criticized his opponent, Jeb Bush,  saying that, “If Bush gets in, China will absolutely eat our lunch.”

And so the bigger fallout began:  countries in Africa are also pulling out of the Miss Universe pageant, in solidarity with African Americans.

Many Asian countries are also backing out from sending contestants to the pageant because of Trump’s comments about China.

Realizing that only European countries are left to participate in Miss Universe, Trump decided to cancel the pageant altogether.

“No big deal,” he said, “I’d rather be president of the United States than be an owner of a beauty pageant.

Trump has risen to the number two spot, behind Jeb Bush, in recent polls among Republican candidates for president.  Apparently, his racial rhetoric is working in his favor.

 

Diversity, International, Local News

DALY CITY’S SERRAMONTE MALL TO BE CONVERTED TO WORLD’S LARGEST (FILIPINO) COMMUNITY CENTER

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Serramonte Center, site of the world's largest community center (Google Maps)
Serramonte Center, site of the world’s largest community center (Google Maps)

DALY CITY, California (The Adobo Chronicles ®) – Daly City is about to lay claim to a Guinness record for the world’s largest ethnic-specific community center, and it’s going to be a Filipino community center.

The Daly City Council this week approved the 200,000 square-foot expansion and redevelopment of Serramonte Center, an 895,438 square-foot shopping mall on Highway 280, just south of San Francisco.

The proposed community center, when completed, will have a total area of over 1 Million square feet.  It will house a boxing arena, a basketball court, a 2,000-seat capacity Karaoke bar, and a high-tech theater specifically designed for beauty pageants. Jollibee, the famous Filipino fast food restaurant has won the bid to be the exclusive food place in the center.

The current businesses and occupants of the mall — including giant retailers like Target and Macy’s — have been given a 30-day notice to vacate so that construction of the community center can begin immediately.

Daly City has a population of more than 100,000, with Filipinos accounting for more than a third of the residents.  The city is often referred to as the San Francisco Bay Area’s “Little Manila,” although “little” is considered an understatement.

Informed sources tell The Adobo Chronicles®  that the community center project is funded by private investors, including Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

It’s more fun in the Philippines, but so are the Filipinos – anywhere they are in the world. Especially in Daly City.