Patron Saints of Nothing

by Randy Ribay

“Man,” he says, shaking his head, “I forgot you’re Filipino.” “Huh?” “You’re basically white.” I stop, stung. “What do you mean by that?” “Sorry, dude,” he says, backtracking. “Never mind.” “Tell me.” He hesitates. “Seth,” I urge. “I don’t see color, man,” he says. “We’re all one race: the human race. That’s all I meant.” “No, it’s not,” I say. And even if it is, that’s kind of fucked up. First, to assume white is default. Second, to imply that difference equals bad instead of simply different. “Promise you won’t get offended?” “No. But tell me anyway.” He lets out an exasperated sigh. “I just meant you act like everyone else at school.” “You mean like all the white kids?” “Dude, our school’s all white kids, so, yeah.” Except it’s not. The majority are, for sure, but his generalization—spoken with such confidence, such ease—makes me feel like he’s erasing the rest of us. Seth goes on. “You talk like everyone else. You dress like everyone else. And you, like, do the same stuff as everyone else. That’s all I mean. Chill.”

So much to unpack here. Especially the erasure of other people and specifically how easy it is to "forget" that someone is half-Filipino because they're white passing and the problems that brings. Like how we discussed in class the problems of assuming characters are white unless they're described. That being the "default" is wrong.