An E-mail I received about corruption and hypocrisy that needs to be exposed, and my reply

Note To Dave  Date: 5/23/99 14:30

I see you fail to comprehend the blatant and endemic corruption and hypocrisy this is a part of the makeup of Philippines.

I can imagine for a straightforward person such as yourself all this seems a mass of hypocrisy and lies and to be quite direct it is. You will find it funny to know that at least as far as the women emigrates are concerned they consider north america morally bankrupt (I've heard variations of this speech for a decade and informed some "if they don't like it here they could go back where they came from") on the same token its there country and they can run it in whichever manner they feel like its up to us tourists and investors to decide whether its worth it or go elsewhere which as you state has happened to some extent.

Stating this there is one aspect that pisses me off and probably the "ONLY THING" you can actually confront which is:

All those hypocritical feminists in Philippines going on and on about the horrible western sex-tourists etc. etc. all the while being actively subsidized by the local and national officials who have an interest (its called scoring points) in embarassing us and having something 'over us' as well as north american femnazi organizations.

So since you state you have no interest in ever returning you have 'nothing to lose' and can rip right into them OR can take one more trip and expose this hypocrisy.

First your focus shouldn't be on Fields ave bars which are mainly owned by westerners rather head further on to 'the area' where you will find all sorts of abuses, underage girls, girls held against their will, all in the worst working conditions and on and on. Next on to Dao province where with your hidden camera first take pictures of the western owned Diamond and Gold and then proceed to the Philippino owned bars where I guarantee you will find far more nudity and goings on, do this in several other regions and upon your return publicise your EXPOSE bigtime and while I TRULY believe the Filippino officials will do NOTHING about local abuses it will shut them and the gov't patsy feminists for a long long time, it just might shut the holes of north american feminists regarding sex tourists (as they never want to confront those from 3rd world nations prefering to harp on the big bad horrible western sex-tourists con child pornography etc. etc.) but I wouldn't hold my breath over that one.  

MY REPLY

Your right, especially before my trip I had no idea of the blatant, endemic corruption that is so much a part of the Philippines culture. But as you say, that is their choice to be that way and us foreign tourists have no right to attack it. 

My shock makes me want to report on it and warn others so they can make up their own minds if they want to support such a culture with their travel dollars etc.  I can't imagine PI ever being a U.S. state, with such an extreme difference in attitudes about corruption, attacking those that speak the truth etc.

I have neither the time nor interest to be a crusader exposing the problems I see in PI.  All I wanted to do, is enjoy Manila/Angeles and share my experiences with others to help them if they decide to go, or help decide whether to go or not by sharing my experiences.

I never dreamed that simply sharing my experience would cause sort of an International incident, especially for example on the Angles2 board and with some bar owners.  I posted on Angles2 last night a response to a thread about Angeles vs. BKK.  It said most of what my message you replied to said.  Within a few hours it was removed from the board.  I also receive one hate E-mail from some macho idiot in Manila that was basically just swearing at me and telling me what to do with certain body parts of mine! When I'm use to intelligent discussion with respect, it is hard to understand the PI culture. 

Their culture is their choice.  As you say we can decide to accept it or move elsewhere.  I look forward to moving elsewhere, never return to PI and warn others via sexwork.com about it, which is simply honestly sharing my experiences. Of course this is a terrible sin to be so honest in PI culture.

I agree with you about the hypocrisy related to the feminists, the attacking the Field Ave bars mostly run by Westerners in very fair ways when the PI locally run bars in the "Area" at least use to be a great example of mistreatment of women, children prostitutes etc.  The Western Fields Ave owners seem to want to have no part of that, are for the most part very nice to work for, etc., yet sex options can't be discussed even when done very morally. 

Again, I'm not trying to be a spokesperson to expose the PI ways, but I do enjoy my First Amendment Right in the US to honestly expose my experiences, which I will do when I get time to complete the site.   Too bad in PI you can be arrested for such freedom of speech, which is why I never plan to return.

I have never been to the "Area" so I'm not going on a crusade to expose it. That should be done by investigative reporters if they wish.  I simply share my own experiences, which are so attacked by many in the Philippines.  I now realize the corruption and dishonestly of the culture.  Sadly PI has so much to offer it wasn't so offensive to others who value straight talk and honest dealings.

Dave in Phoenix, sexwork.com

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