Expats are (still) Miserable in Indonesia

Okay, guys, tired from slow loading comment I’m initiating the sequel here. This is the from the previous post, so if it doesn’t make too much sense, well, read below (it’s looooong, with the comments and all).
I do think this is a point worth discussing for better and more harmonious living among people from different colours and religion. Ironically it also gets me worked up like never before, for a completely different reason.

I will address the most general concerns first – and respond to individual comments later, they’re quite amusing, really.

To oigal, indcoup and jakartass, since you guys are so riled up, please, please, please, pretty please with sugar on top, show me where exactly did I get personal in my original post to specifically accuse any three of you (of anything at all)?

My friends and my family and myself are expats – that is to say strangers – in strange lands, for our own personal reasons and within our own free will. Many are happy, some are not.
The trend is most noticeably among people who write – obviously, since those who don’t write we wouldn’t be able to tell, right? Most expats whose blog I read sounds miserable and full of incessant whinging.

My theory is that they miss home. We all do. We always do. I know I do. Many who commented in the previous posts recognized the distinct feeling of alienation when living in foreign land.

So I said that: expat blogs sound miserable. It sounds sad.

In many occasions, expat blogs use the words racism, radicalism, Islamism, hypocrites and whatever else rather liberally to express this unpleasantness. I disagree to this semantic abuse. I consider them to be serious issues in modern day living and currently acceptable standards of civilised society and thus such words must be used with care.

To claim that Indonesia exercises “Skin Tax” implies that there’s a systematic institution/society that exercises racial (thus skin coloured based discrimination) on particular group. I don’t think it amounts to racism. I don’t think it qualifies a Nation/culture for racism. I don’t know what word to use, tribalism/xenophobes/individual preferences, whatever, I’m not sure, but I don’t think it warrants the racist label (and thus the term “skin tax”).

I think this is a social issue. Economic disparity and cultural failings among the different distinct ethnic groups – not exclusively directed or imposed upon Caucasians. It’s an economic problem: an extra (moral) tax upon the rich
Prolonged corruption and systematic robbery endemic in the last 60 years give the disfranchised a moral high ground to impose special premium on the group perceived to be getting the more favourable treatment.
The concept is simple, the fancier your car, the more you tip, people in. People in WC post codes most likely earn more, thus you ask for more. this article discussed this (also on the side panel).

Is the system cruel? Yes.

Is the system unfair? Yes.

Whose fault is this? Obviously Indonesian incompetent government, most of the time anyway. They’re corrupt and dumb and cruel most of the time, I’ve said that repeatedly in many different forums and so have many other Indonesians.

Does the system favours particular minority group? Yes, that is by its very definition, is the unfair system. It favours the Chinese for a long time, it favours the armed military leaders and it benefits the better educated Westerners and western companies.

Is it their fault that it benefits them? Of all these groups, the Westerners are probably the most remote from directly participating in establishing the crooked system, I wouldn’t say it is. But it does benefit them.

In my humble opinion, to turn this around and bag the disenfranchised group further for a group of racists is a misguided chemical bomb with radioactive damage. It address the wrong problems while simultaneously creating a new one. It’s bad and ugly at the same time.

How could you possibly use the word racism for discriminatory cultural behaviour that almost consistently benefit the said group simply based on the extra parking change that you’re made to pay each time? That’ll be like calling chinatowns racial ghettos.

If Jakartaass seriously stands by his repeated statement of expats in average to be not earning a significant disparity to the locals then do check this out [Salary Standard Guidelines for Foreign Workers or check here – courtesy of expat.co.id] and this is the Indonesian salary guide survey done by a reputable HR firm.
At a glance, it looks pretty obvious to me, 3x in most cases, more than 5x in other fields, never even comparable.

Is this the Westerners fault? Not at all. Some probably deserve to get more. I have some on my payroll and I always get extra when I work overseas. I’m guessing that’s the compensation for being miserable overseas.

If your racism infers to the liberal use of the Indonesian word “bule” then where my understanding of the Indonesian language is correct, the same word is used with abandon as an adjective to describe white – pale – fine skin colour, in many cases synonymous with beauty. Practically all Indonesians current models and ‘local’ beauties can be described using this word and it will not at all be patronizing.
Some girls take offence when accused of excessive tan or touchy about being blonde, does it amount to racism? I think not. It’s condescending at times, rude at worst, but not exactly a racist behaviour.

We’ll do islamist and hypocrites later if you guys still insist. i'm tired and miserable.

Now, let’s do the second part
[this part wouldn’t make sense unless you were involved in that mess before, feel free to skip]

I stand by my statement that I wasn’t personally attacking anyone. You guys jumped at me like a bad trip. I’m only responding to comments. Let’s keep things here lest things get personal again.

Indcoup/Oigal: If I want great rosy fantastic beaches, yes, I’ll get to Indonesia. Bali perhaps. I don’t need a travel brochure, I’m already here.

Indcoup wants to educate me on his critical thinking, by all means, please do. Gimme a critical thinking. One will be good. I’m all ears. You wanna call me twisted and convoluted (that’s how it’s supposed to be spelt), go ahead, don’t just jump and bitch, show me where it is. One is enough.
To paraphrase Mr. Blue, “are you gonna bit little doggie, or are you just gonna bark all day?”
You think you can make Indonesia a better place? Better for who? How do you know what’s better for Indonesians? There’re 220m of them, do you know? Do you speak the language? Do you know what culun means?

you wanna poke on my family or infer to one thing or another, here on the Internet, well, then I’ll let the Internet be the judge of that. I won’t even go there. It takes me a long time to calm down after that particular spat. Leave my family out of this. They’ve got no business in this shit. You ain’t even worth it.

Oigal wants to say its okay if people blow others in Belfast so long as they don’t blow people up in Bali or Madrid, I will let my Irish friends respond to that. I know that when you lose a dearest one to a fucking bomb, you care very little whose God was it that blow him to small pieces. This is just ridiculous. Why do you think Moslem bomb hurts more? Go read this piece from Slate.

Jakartass: please don’t tell me not to get personal when Mr. Boy London there gets kinky on me.
The difference between you and me here, is that I see no such thing as expat fence. I'm never told to choose what side to be on before. I know it when I see it.

I don’t mince words and play around, if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, then I’ll shoot it like a duck.

When I go somewhere and I call it home, I prefer not to have fences. In fact, the one in England didn’t have fences. I’m trying to tear my own down at the moment. Right here. Only my dog is very bad outside.

What gets me here? it’s that everybody use Fox buzzwords for a sigh. It makes me feel very uncomfortable.

As for me fixing your template or whatever, i wouldn’t even say. I don’t categorize my links based on ethnic group or country of origin. I fixed your template and it worked before. I built websites much bigger than personal blogs, trust me. I did fix it before. Not that I mind at all, you broke it again, may be, it wasn’t my failure. Let’s not even go there…

Why is it so important for you to tell where I fit in? I don’t think you care much, not that I need that. You want me to point fingers, I’ll point one, the one I really had in mind, go ask Indonesia Matters where he does fit in. I can’t see him fitting anywhere except probably in the attic of Nixon's White House. Ask him what fence he's building.

All I was asking was, why is it so miserable all the time? Why so jumpy?
They told me I might be pregnant, I should probably get three more test packs.

I’ve been told to cheer up, but even I get to be happy from time to time.

Indcoup, out for good times you said? Why do we never heard about good times? You don’t want people to know what good times you been having? Shoot. You started this crap. Where is the great times you been having so much? Care to share?
At least she was sincere if she wanna make fucking tempe or feel bad for tsunami or whatever else, at least she wasn't so fucking miserable.
You should try that for therapy, probably help with your critical analysis.

I’m off tearing down my fence. I’m as chill as I ever am man, my living room is ultra comfy.

Good night.

Here’s to the rest of you.