Richards was entering the department store to shop last month when she allegedly overheard a male employee say “Mail order bride,” and then giggled with another co-worker. According to Quon, after some time, she asked where she could try on some clothes, while the same employee said, “Can’t you read? It says fitting room,” in a mocking way. Walking away, she heard the employee say, “Ching. Ching. Chong.” In the lawsuit, Richards claims that H&M created a hostile work environment with harassment based on race, national origin, martial status and sex.

Now, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) is filing a $500M class suit against ABC Network, saying the apology they offered was not enough.

Honestly, when I first heard about the lawsuit, I thought it was somewhat ridiculous. I’ve actually never watched Desperate Housewives, but I gather it is about a group of wealthy, white women who live in the cultural isolation that most rich white women in America live in. In that context, the character’s offensive comment makes sense to me. It seems like something that character would say and it resonates with the experience I – and my community – have had in our interactions with White America. In doing some research, I gathered in the storyline that it wasn’t just Hatcher’s comment but the whole set up of the Filipino doctor’s office as being subpar.

One Filipino lawyer said the class suit is needed to protect the reputation and credibility of Filipino doctors.
“The reputations of doctors are affected, their income is affected and this is a major damage inflicted not only on them but also the universities in the Philippines," said lawyer Ted Laguatan.

Am I being naïve because I think that this statement is extreme? The NaFFAA is arguing that because this statement is being made in a vacuum of no Filipino American representation on television, it is especially damaging. I agree with this, but is a lawsuit the way to fix this?

And I can’t help but think about the art of writing fiction. Other storylines in the fantasy universe of Desperate Housewives include a woman faking her pregnancy, or an African American family who hid their mentally disabled son in the basement, not to mention egregious murdering and adultery. In this skewed world, doesn’t Hatcher’s over-dramatized, ridiculous experience make some kind of (non)sense?

And, in terms of organizing, how much do you think the lawyers leading the $500M litigation are costing the Filipino American community organizations? Could this money be used instead to deal with larger problems in the Filipino American/Asian American community? Filipinos are supposedly the fourth largest group of undocumented immigrants in the United States. How can the wealthier, more influential members of the Asian American community – the doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc., who came to this country in the 1970s as professionals – help those who are coming now and are suffering under stringent anti-immigrant laws. Now, I could get behind a $500M lawsuit taking on the Department of Homeland Security.