Colsie Posted July 9, 2022 Posted July 9, 2022 (edited) Most white male foreigner's that have visited the Philippines have come across this remark from Filopino strangers often accompanied with their laughter. It's been said that it's a term of endearment for their Americano brothers originating from WWll and the influx of American G. I. Joe's. The problem is that I'm not American and my name isn't Joe. I am a white male and that alone justifies total strangers calling out "hey joe" not occasionally but sometimes a few times a day. For me it's racist, not unlike in the UK were people have been called Paki, even if they came from India... But, after living here for many years, I get that its all light hearted fun and I smile and laugh with them and shout back "hey Negro"... How do most expats feel about Hey Joe, is it more acceptable if you're actually American? In Thailand foreigners are often referred to as farang ( which is guava in Thai , a bulbous looking fruit). Edited July 9, 2022 by Colsie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJReyes Posted July 9, 2022 Posted July 9, 2022 A friend, an American who first name was Joe, would get irritated whenever his name was shouted. We convinced him to change it to Daniel in the Philippines. It is considered just a friendly greeting. Unlike in Great Britain where a proper introduction is necessary before anyone would even acknowledge your existence. Best not to return it with an insult. You don't want to end up with several knife wounds. Best to just wave to acknowledge the greeting and move on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted July 9, 2022 Posted July 9, 2022 Its been going on for a while. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Mike J Posted July 9, 2022 Forum Support Posted July 9, 2022 I am seldom referred to as "Joe". But the few time that it happens I smile and wave just as Dave suggested. What I just love is when Filipinos I may not know call me by name. A few years back I was riding my scooter on the way into town. As I passed three young girls they got excited and cried out in unison "Hello Sir MIchael Johnson". Turns out it was three of the little "love sponges" I knew from church where kids like to sit on my lap. Last week my wife and I went to a building supply center to buy paint and ceiling trim. The young man in the paint section said "Hello Mr. Johnson". My last visit to the store was two years prior when buying 80 meters of new tile for the deck. I was both impressed and humbled that he would not only remember me but also remember my name. I have found Filipinos to be a warm, gracious, and welcoming people who have a genuine desire to communicate with "kanos" as long as we treat them with the respect they deserve. My opinion and experiences of course. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBM Posted July 10, 2022 Posted July 10, 2022 I find its more of a self esteem measure for many, rarely it happens during a 1 on encounter, if there happens to be a group one loves calling out Hi Joe followed by the infamous raucous loud laughter. Does not happen much in Bacolod as so few foreigners here, when it does I just smile or often pretend I don"t hear. With my hearing probably happens more than I realize. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimeve Posted July 10, 2022 Posted July 10, 2022 Been called a lot worse, Don't bother me at all I just smile and move on. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted July 10, 2022 Posted July 10, 2022 13 hours ago, JJReyes said: Unlike in Great Britain where a proper introduction is necessary before anyone would even acknowledge your existence. Not sure which social circles you move in but this certainly isn't accurate in my experience. We're not living in the 1950s anymore! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted July 10, 2022 Posted July 10, 2022 14 hours ago, Colsie said: Most white male foreigner's that have visited the Philippines have come across this remark from Filopino strangers often accompanied with their laughter. It's been said that it's a term of endearment for their Americano brothers originating from WWll and the influx of American G. I. Joe's. The problem is that I'm not American and my name isn't Joe. I am a white male and that alone justifies total strangers calling out "hey joe" not occasionally but sometimes a few times a day. For me it's racist, not unlike in the UK were people have been called Paki, even if they came from India... But, after living here for many years, I get that its all light hearted fun and I smile and laugh with them and shout back "hey Negro"... How do most expats feel about Hey Joe, is it more acceptable if you're actually American? In Thailand foreigners are often referred to as farang ( which is guava in Thai , a bulbous looking fruit). Yep...like most stuff it's not the words used but the intention behind them. I've experienced it plenty times here, we all have, and it's probably 80% friendly and 20% not so much. I don't get upset about it as we're kinda familiar with the 'Jock' expression back home where the intention is mostly friendly - mostly! I was in Hong Kong a whole and the locals called us Gweilo - white devil. Somehow this term has been classified by courts there as non-racist - yeah, right! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colsie Posted July 10, 2022 Author Posted July 10, 2022 13 hours ago, JJReyes said: A friend, an American who first name was Joe, would get irritated whenever his name was shouted. We convinced him to change it to Daniel in the Philippines. It is considered just a friendly greeting. Unlike in Great Britain where a proper introduction is necessary before anyone would even acknowledge your existence. Best not to return it with an insult. You don't want to end up with several knife wounds. Best to just wave to acknowledge the greeting and move on. Hahaha...from my early days living in AC I used too use two names, John for all the bar girls and my real name for my girl friend...a few times the girls would shout out "hi John" when I was out with the GF and I would just shrug my shoulders and say I don't know her There's two things at play here, first it's there's the name calling, which to me is to be expected and isn't so much an insult. But the other thing, being that they are considering me to be an Americano is... That being said, I understand that the vast majority are ignorent uneducated peasants that have little or no education in geography or history. Their remarks are not meant to be malicious... but just for fun...and nine time out of ten I simply ignore them, but occasionally I like to share in the fun around Similarly, being of a certain age now, I'd be out minding my own business and a group of young girls would shout out "hi daddy" followed with raucous laughter from the group, then I would shout back at the girl "hi mataba babae" if she was at all fat, or "hi pangit babae" this too was be recieved with even more laughter from her friends... Just to recap, its not being called Joe that grinds on me so much, but rather to infer that I'm American 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colsie Posted July 10, 2022 Author Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, jimeve said: Been called a lot worse, Don't bother me at all I just smile and move on. Me too brother, but not usually several times a day, day in day out Usually by my GF Edited July 10, 2022 by Colsie 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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