[-- this is a long post addressing some cultural misalignment originally occured here, here, here, here and here. It is irrelevant to most people with really bad taste. Jakartass, Indcoup, Patung and the Usual Suspects are all named and invited to participate.
I'm linking inline to the actual links where applicable and others i directly quote their previous comments in italic.
And, oh, students and alumnis from University of Indonesia who "echo the immature solipsisms of the generation(s) indoctrinated in the Suharto years" and "not offering the pluralist education that reformasi demands." might find this exchanges relevant.
I've always suspected there's something wrong about education in this country. Now I know better.
Also, please someone tell me what 'solipsisms' means? Ms Word doesn't know.
The rest of you, scroll further to find what wisdom you seek ---]
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Risking public molestation from the recognized expat authorities out there, I will try to make my post as concise as possible. I realize some of you will misunderstand me anyway, and uh, well…
The Glossary
Ayam should suffice as it is well understood by everyone. Personally I don’t really care if you want to call them ‘pembantu’ or ‘slutty’ or ‘exotic’ or whatever. This is political correctness running amok. Jump into Blok M or CJ’s in any random night, if you use the word ‘exotic’ then I’d suggest we start a new semiotic discussion, ‘lewd’ is much closer to the mark.
To suggest that the term ‘pembantu’ is class-ist probably rings true, but it is what it is, let’s keep things simple. Let’s not even pretend that this is an Indonesian specific trait: chavs, bogans, farangs or Courtney Love, call it what you will, we all know what it is. For my own personal preference, I will stick to ayam, aka. Chicken. Wildly popular across the world, we all know what it means.
Slutty: slutty means slutty. Ugly, classless, tasteless, misbehaved, ill mannered and fashion challenged. Slutty Ayams are the worst of this sub-species, aesthetically speaking. I don’t really care if you’re a cross dresser at home but there’s a time and place for everything.
Moving on...
There are two main issues in the entire discussion and some serious convoluted logic brings the discussion into an (almost) amusing debate if not for some really sad accusations being bandied around.
The original post was about how expats (in Indonesia) seem to be attracted to local Ayams. Maids ‘Pembantu’ in Dr. Thangs original post. This is a fact. Let’s not even try to dispute this by going the long way around inane semantics, you don’t have to go very far to see it in action. Indonesians find it mind-boggling that these supposedly well off, educated bule are going down market.
What they don’t really get, is that these really are not well off, educated bule at all. To quote Ong’s expression: This class is very visible in Asia. They are usually made up of aging divorced miners, social misfits back home, acned geeks and other losers who would probably not get a second glance from a woman back home. I couldn’t agree more. These guys travel in hordes and roam the city with an embarrassing smirk and an impregnable sense of self righteousness.
These are man blessed with bad taste for their magnum opus.
Why? Not a behavioral expert, I probably shouldn’t speculate, but I would say that because this group are the most socially challenged of them all. They’ve little else to impress but their funny habits and alcohol (in)tolerance. Water finds its own level, did you say? Yes, they flow down.
Or maybe they read Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Or Long Tail. Or some other new fad. Maybe slut really is the new black. Who knows.
Is this a good thing? I don’t know and I don’t really care. It’s probably a good thing. Those poor girls may have a better chance than most to a probable better life. It would’ve been a lot better if these social misfits are really in for real but truth is, most of them bugger off home when their contract expired, as Indcoup sums it up, four f: (find feel f*ck forget), this is quite typical. Most of them know how to take care of themselves so, really, they’re not my concern. I'm not big into social welfare myself.
All I’m saying is, guys, keep it in CJ’s and Blok M and Club 30 and BATS and do us a favor of not venturing out. You’re an embarrassment. I once dated a stripper, we don't always take the the pole to dinner.
Respectable establishments have strict etiquette on dress code and (mis)conduct and arbitrarily decide who gets to get into what. It’s time we introduce it here and we’ll have that sign right out front. This is appropriate and acceptable, just as I don’t let Ayams on my couch. Too messy.
Next...
Another issue raised in the discussions is much more important and a particularly sore point for me. Why is it that every time bule (mis)behaviour are addressed, you lot resort to ‘racism’, ‘reformasi’ and religion? How?
Spare me the political correctness lecture, many of you have been blogging for years and you crossed that line ages ago. It’s impressive how even a self appointed bigot like Indonesia Matters posted repeatedly to politicize on the failures to impress the better crop. Aparently this is now a National issue.
You can’t get the hot chics, shut up already! It’s not even the economy, you're settling (stuck) with the lowest common denominator. Eat it.
While I read the posts at unspun and thang and the comments again and again, I am hard pressed to find where exactly it turns into racism. The esteemed Jakartass throws his weight as if he was nailed to a KluKluxKlan cross.
Ong there is only attempting to draw the obvious: a white man stands out in a brown crowd. A brown man stands out in a pink crowd. How could that not be obvious? Have you ever been to Bangkok? Did you ride the elephant?
It’s pathetic to try painting a victimised white man in Asia. Seriously, man, I do not for a second doubt nor question your parentage heroic contribution in history for fighting the evil Nazis, but being called a ‘bule’ does not equate to storming the beach of Normandy.
Your colleagues hit on ugly girls and misbehaved to a fault, they’re trying to get laid the only way they could, we’re not fighting the Evil Empire here.
The word ‘bule’ and its great conundrum have been blogged and discussed and dissected ad nauseum. Your friend the Reveller - himself a trained linguist with a special interest in semantics and semiotics - admits he doesn’t take any offence with it. Been in Indonesia long enough, such an educated man as yourself must’ve known this by now.
Tell me something, would you consider Bartele racist? After all, he runs a pub and named it ‘Bule Gila’? Are you condoning such a blatant racism by going for a drink there? Since Bartele is Dutch, do you also award him an imperial title? I think he’s a good sport. (Bule Gila is available on Amazon, btw.)
I’m advising caution in what accusations you are throwing around. Didn’t we discuss this before? (in case you missed it the first time, or forgotten already, here’s a definition of ‘racism’)
Not getting the hot chicks do not qualify as racial discrimination, i'm sure.
Next...
Another thing you mentioned was “the hundreds of other non-Indonesians who have, post colonial era, contributed so much to this country, is totally unacceptable and demands a response.” that Indonesia is still dependant “to a degree on handouts and altruistic bules?”
Man, you gotta be kidding me!
Spare them the humiliation and here’s a response you demanded. Sure enough there are many ‘non-Indonesians’ who have contributed to this country. Tell me again, how is it that a discussion on bad taste merits an argument on foreign contribution to Indonesia?
You want to discuss foreign influence in Indonesian history? (since you specified ‘post colonial’ I guess we have to remove 350 years of it, but I’m sure the discussion will remain colourful even in the period afterward, with the CIA and the IMF and EF and others).
When and where, are you pointing to with this line, is there any part I missed from your presentation? Whose contribution exactly are you referring to?
I know great many people with massive contribution for this country. I know a few 'non-Indonesian' personally. One thing I am sure is, I will not expect any of them to start listing people by whether they’re Indonesians or Non-Indonesians.
When we measure contributions; the ethnic origin will hardly be of any relevance. It will be disgraceful and demeaning to even try making that distinction.
Stop echoing the yell for ‘reformasi’ in every lost argument. It’s passé and oh-so-last-year already. Even Amien Rais had wised up by now.
Which students exactly, do you mean, when you ask if they “Must they echo the immature solipsisms of the generation(s) indoctrinated in the Suharto years.”? Are you talking of the same students who brought him down?
I will let the elitist pricklies in UI to answer for their alleged failures, they are very much capable to handle their own argument (it is in their elitist nature to lurk about quietly, and to them, I tip my bowler hat for the elegant approach), but for every other students on the streets that knows how to spell reformasi, I ask you one question:
Mr. Jakartass, where were you in those days if not locked up and stocked up behind your doors wishing for a plane home - with a hangover courtesy of an Australian millionaire?
Where was your contribution to them shot and chased across town for this ‘reformasi’ bullshit?
Next...
Please, pretty please, with sugar on top, keep the whole Ramadhan talk out of this before it gets out of hand. It’s uncalled for. Religion has the least to do with this rubbish. For a self appointed pundit on Indonesia, your comments merely confirms your shallow mind and dysfunctional logic. I would expect such bigotry from Indcoup and Patung, but not you really.
Last...
Many expats here are social rejects armed with bad taste. They stick out like Cheap Pink Hyundais in bad traffic. It’s aesthetically unpleasant, but it’s their choice and their bad luck to live with. Let’s not make a big deal out of it. If yours isn’t pink, then bless you. Be grateful for it. Nobody makes you drive a Pink Hyundai. Nobody will even try!
Me?? I am Laughing My A** Off*
At the very least, they should learn to drive, we share the same stretch of road. Traffic’s bad as it is.
It has to do with their bad taste. It has absolutely nothing to do with Racism or ‘reformasi’ or this Holy Month.
Surely, that’s a tad heavy for this chauvinist discussion?
Now, really, pass the vinegar along, will ya?
PS: With so many card carrying native speakers floating around in those places, do feel free to improve my language, i think need help.
PSS: First person who called me a racist win a bowler hat.
*I'm in love with Keira Knightley.
22 comments:
Overall, a balanced and reasonable, yet well argued and forceful posting amidst, as you pointed out, a flurry of emotional accusations and name-calling.
Some short comments:
Firstly, "Bule" is no doubt a racial term, meaning "white". Indonesians will tell you that it's not derogatory, just descriptive. "Bule" is certainly nicer than words for caucasians in other parts of Asia like Gaijin (Japan), Gweilo (Hong Kong), Ang Moh (Singapore).
The point is, Bule identifies people by a people by skin-colour. It's a category that exists in relations to others. Now Bule, might not be insulting, but what about Cina, Inlander, or Negro, let alone Kike, Gook, or Nigger ?
Wouldn't it be better to use the Javanese "Londo" from Belanda or even just "Orang Barat"?
Secondly, Bules are a pretty small minority. I think there are less than 70,000 in the country overall, with only about 30,000 in Jakarta, including Diplomats. That makes them .000136 % of the human population here. (Corrections welcomed on these numbers, but the point stands).
Why are so many comments on the sexual preferences of an even smaller subset, the divorced miners and social misfits, which is probably .00005 percent of the population ? I suspect it might have something to do with the:
* 350 Years of Colonial Repression. Indonesian historian, the late Ong Hok Ham claimed the three centuries is a bit of a myth. It was only in about 1908, after the Puputan in Bali and conquering Aceh that the Dutch really controlled the ports. That would make it about 40 years of colonial rule. (Once again, corrections on the Aceh and Bali dates welcome).
Pak Ong also said in the interrim, from the arrival of the first V.O.C. ships, the Dutch (and English and Portuguese), mainly ruled through building allianeces with various local kings, ningrats, sultans and overlords. In other words, according to one Indonesian political scientists "we colonised ourselves."
That's not to belittle the evils of the Kultuurstelsel (spelling - culture system in Java), or Westerlig's massacres in the 1940s, let along the Dutch "police action" from 1945-50.
Sukarno would probably have hated Pak Ong for trying to bust this most cherished of nationalist myths: it's so much easier to blame the Dutch. Or the Bules.
4. BUT at a time when Moderate and Conservative Islam are tugging at each other , tsunami aid is not going well in Aceh, there are 40 million under and unemployed, and a national water and power crisis brewing is it even worth discussing Blok M bules and their girlfriends, or even deconstructing the issues ?
bravo!.. at last, someone discussed this with much more brain's volume! very well written!!
okay, that's a long post. I don't understand half the shit you talk about there seem indonesia to me, never been, but i agree that that don't count as racism.
it's too far. i prefer chinese girl to black girl, am i racist? i prefer boobs to legs, what does that make me?
when we go to asia it's obvious that we will stand out and some people might take offence with what we do. or don't always get our preference.
what's the fuss with them old miners anyway?
Overall, a balanced and reasonable, yet well argued and forceful riposting, Sudogiman. Thanks.
Solipsism: 1 the theory that the self can be aware of nothing but its own experiences and states. 2 the theory that nothing exists or is real but the self. - solipsistic adj. - solipsist n.
Websters New World College Dictionary
Jakartass "esteemed'? Thanks T.
'Steamed' is more like it, particularly as, I commented somewhere, this is an issue that reoccurs with some regularity, as you know seeing as how you give a link.
It's tired old claptrap and I'm not going to re-enter the fray. In fact, I'm deleting my post. There are a lot more important issues we should be focussed on, and I don't mean the latest bar.
sudogiman: sound like the teacher comes out to grade my work now. it's not name calling, people write, i respond. some people should be held accountable and responsible to what they said in public. if you're too scared to be accountable for anything, then go to a cave.
i know what bule means. it's a word that define certain group of people by their skin colour. it's a neccessary word and important word. Racism in social context is an entirely different thing. we're not playing scrabble here.
i don't see why we should go around into historical details to dig for this. some people are just too proud to be told that they're in fact, embarassing. it's a simple thing.
then they go the long way around with fancy stuff to make them sound normal, or even victimized.
i really don't understand where you're going with that, whoever blamed anyone??? i said they're embarassing. so they can.
i don't blame people for being stupid.
they can't help it.
how did westerling get there???
westerling, sukarno, suharto, donald freakin duck. they've got nothing to do with this.
mer: popping by! still in oz? have fun! i did there!
royal arse: just wait :p
all my family too. Now, a few months later, after finding this dog training system, I feel much better. It increases the good behaviour of my dog, helps control its gluttony, in some cases, reverse its
jakartass: you're not responding to any of the questions?
ah, i was expecting you would since you comment regularly about people being accountable and all that other stuff.
Deleting, is one way of course, to deal with accountability.
you know, set example for those suhartoist students to be more accountable for what they preach in public.
you demanded a response, well you got mine.
thanks for the solipstuff. i am now a learned man.
you are so not getting a bowler hat. but you've your own!!! how cool! we can compare hats!
fellista: okay. a bit confusing now you moved around to leave comments. you can just email me, you know!
Treespotter: Hear, hear! if I had said what you did, though probably not as eloquently, I would have been tagged a racist again.
Sudogiman: Ong Hok Ham, the last time I saw him, was still very much alive. Though unable to walk, he was still lucid and able to partake of his favourite beverage with the aid of a straw. So, reports of his passing on have been a bit premature.
unspun: i was wondering about that. i even offer a bowler hat for people who call me racist. I guess some people already have their own. Mine's looking a LOT cooler tho, don't you think?
Brilliant! I truly love the rage and the passion in the way you write. It's a long post, as you warned for ahead, but you dragged me thru effortless.. What a gem of a posting.
Oh, and about the bule+ayam.. I believe you are already familiar with my point of view.
I don't know much about much, but there is a proverb of sorts that goes something like this: 'Never cast stones WHEN you live in a glass house.'
The saying could just as easily be: 'never bitch about girls with dark skin and bad teeth OR white guys with beer bellies and a taste for ayam WHEN you are a slimy little slope-headed, pock-faced, sexually inadequate creep with the tiniest hands of any men on the planet.' (I don't mean a thang by this, I'm not racist, I'm just pointing out what I see)
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There are lots of responses to this by loads of 'liberated' Indonesian gals condemning all you ignorant children here:
http://www.jakchat.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=33784&page=1#Post33784
Wow, another world! Never heard "Bule", I'm picturing a pretty unattractive sort of person. I was once a waitress for a house party thrown by some rich Pakistanis in London. They were pretty much Bules, if it is not a racist term.
Love the link, whatever the reason is, Tibo's and Bule's sounds balanced and reasonable for me.
Am get use to become the minority in this country even though my husband is a moslem.
Second, there's no differentiation between indonesian man to "bule" or Indian or China or whatever.
There are several reason why Indonesian woman decided to marry expat or vice versa. Even though there are a lot of expat choose Indonesian "exotic woman" there are also a lot of expat choose Indonesian modern woman. If it comes to love then we can't say much. Unless if it comes to "economic status".
Third, why suddenly you choose this kind of topic ? There's must be something bothering you.
sam: he he :D thanks.
preman: really, smallest hands? you see them, do you? i truly wonder what you do. unless of course, you're not being smart there and really were only looking at real 'hands'
what a strange habit!
PS: thanks for the invite for the support group. I am glad you find help and support to pat each other on the back. Not really my kind of place tho, maybe later.
i'm glad he didn't get how to do link tutorial from yday. LOL
helga: bule can be very attractive. we will need a full definition of this word once again.
tere: Tibo?? you refer to the two posts at Thang's?
i been known to have some social commentary skills from time to time when i'm well fed. ths is one. regular blogging will resume after the outburst.
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Solipsism in my understanding was sort of empirical thinking taken to its next level.
It is the theory that you can only KNOW yourself, and the things that you have directly witnessed.
Example: Do I "know" that man has landed on the moon? All I have is some grainy footage and some rocks. How do I know it wasn't a conspiracy?
If you start thinking this way, you question everything, which is probably the opposite of religion--so it could be said that it is an anti-religion religion.
hey, I just got a free $500.00 Gift Card. you can redeem yours at Abercrombie & Fitch All you have to do to get yours is Click Here to get a $500 free gift card for your backtoschool wardrobe
What exactly is the point of this semi-literate rambling? He says he "doesn't care" about the topic of bule men and their choice of partner and then proceeds to launch into thirty odd (very odd) incoherent paragraphs about this very subject!
What the fuck is it with you people? What is it about the choice of partner of a group of people whom you all insist you despise anyway that gets you writing screed after screed? If you despise the low life bule so much how come you're all so bloody obsessed by their sexual preferences?
I'm mildly surprised at the wealthy Indonesian men who pay several million rupes for fat arsed dyed blonde Russian tarts or the old Chinese blokes who take ecsatsy and like to screw underage Indramayu girls in Kota knocking shops but I very much doubt that I could whip myself up into such a frenzy as the author of this blog does about oil guys who like quick and dirties down the Blok.
I can only imagine that far from despising the "low life" bules this blogger and the Vietamese plonker and that other fuckwit over at Unspun actually secretly worships them, they just can't get away from their racial inferiority complexes when it comes to white men can they?
CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER
Meaning
Having a harboured grievance or sense of inferiority and being quick to take offence.
Origin
This is reported as originating with the nineteenth century U.S. practise of spoiling for a fight by carrying a chip of wood on one's shoulder, daring others to knock it off. This has more than the whiff of folk-etymology about it, but in fact it is the actual derivation of this phrase. The two earliest printed citations that refer to chips on shoulders bear this out.
Firstly, in 1830 the New York newspaper 'The Long Island Telegraph' printed this:
"When two churlish boys were determined to fight, a chip would be placed on the shoulder of one, and the other demanded to knock it off at his peril."
The actual phrase 'chip on his shoulder' appears a little later, in the ' Weekly Oregonian' 1855:
"Leland, in his last issue, struts out with a chip on his shoulder, and dares Bush to knock it off."
Perfected by Treespotter
Whew, hello.
Sure am glad I stopped by. I was an outsider in understanding until I got to the part about solipsism (Tree, that's been under my header for some time, *cough) and those last words by Mr./Ms. Anonymous.
Whoever you are, your point was clearly articulated. What a shame if that is the true motivation underlying things said in this post. Hope not.
fellista: okay. thanks. i will need some dog collar and behavioural training in the future perhaps. at the moment, my dog is VERY well behaved.
wizard: thanks!
whateva: send it to me, i can't be bothered to click around. this guy's nice.
anon: impressive analytical skill and articulation for someone who couldn't digest the actual post my friend. you wrote the longest respond, and yet you don't even understand what you are responding to. i put up a visual aid for you out there. thanks for coming, keep coming back (oh, pick a name, too, too many anons around).
2nd anon: with so many anons around i need to number them, why can't you lot just pick a name? really, it's easy. you can even number yourself!
you win the prize for first noting the vinegar! really, do pass me the vinegar.
therapist: i am sorry that this post really is Indonesian specific, the issue of hormonal imbalance and funny upperskull aren't. Do stick around, we will need your expertise around here.
about solipshit there, well, yes, one of them already pointed out that i may have language problem. i don't really care. i want to play scrabble.
Ayam phenomenon is everywhere. Even here. You can find tons of this particular kind here. The slutty type, that is.
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