Indonesia and the Whole Shit Show
Pandemic has really brought the worst in us. For some people, they show their true colors — and albeit how genuine that may feel, it actually opens up an entirely different personality attached to the person. And the shittier they are, the better they cover it up, the worse the build-up will be. And for the news outlet, these kind of people are the perfect specimen for stirring up some bad blood…I didn’t want to react immensely to it, but I also cannot stand still while it happens ( at least I write about it ). This is Indonesia, and the whole shit show during the pandemic years.
Corruption; From Vaccines to Social Services
Ever stopped at some point in your life and thought, “Was I the villain?” And have you ever thought that the actual villains thought of that, too? Turns out, no. Some politicians has had the guts to steal some for their pockets for the vaccine projects and the nationwide virus testing and everything else in between. Even from social services. At about 12 billion Rupiah being stolen, the money could feed 800.000 people at a day. Twice. I never have had any feelings whatsoever towards politics and all the shady things behind it, but what kind of man swindle off money from the people that are literally dying? The hell’s the limit when we are talking about the length someone can goes to satisfy his gluttony. And it is easy to mute the sounds of the unheard, even better when you are covering yourself behind the high walls made of marble and the mansion that is a thousand meters away from the ground — even jail time is a luxury in and of itself for these sinful few. Corruption is the roots for all corporate, bureaucratic, white collar crime…and still is, for eons ahead.
Bombs Dropped, both Literal and Figurative
This country had seen it’s fair share of terrorists. The infamous Bali Bombing I and II left a scar unscathed, a wound left behind. And following the trails of the terrorists were the divided, scattered and unleaded followers. The condemned attacks on churches and mosques alike in Indonesia sparks an important questions; about tolerance and the bad blood between each other. As a Christian myself, at the second biggest Muslim country in the world, seeing politicians favoring the big blob of the pie chart rather than the microscopic number is a normal thing that almost all my friends and families know. And even going as far as to discredit accomplishments and accolades just because they belong in a minority group — dropping the bomb on someone’s career and watch it shatter to pieces without doing even remotely any trivial or petty crimes. And I even wonder sometimes, how long is the fuse for the bigotry we know about to happen, and the sense of pride of those who step through the few to satisfy their ego. Decades? Years? Probably won’t be that long.
The Poisonings — the Intended and the Unintended
Poison has been a vocal type of homicide, precisely because it was done with the sole intent for everybody to know. From the infamous poisoning of Indonesia’s most famous activist Munir, to the cyanide coffee delivered right at the heart of Indonesia’s biggest mall — it is certainly something worth noting that these events were years and years apart, but it does happen at times. Recently, an online driver delivered food that the client cancelled, and ends up poisoning the entire driver’s family — his son and wife. The backlash was less than the bodacious news, but still a tragedy nonetheless. Best hope for the families left behind, and may this never happen again. The poisoning has been perhaps, one of the most outspoken cases of homicide, apart from assassinations and accidental murders. Knowing fully well that assassination must comes from someone of a higher status — it could be from a military to the son of the governor, it was seldom talked about. But poisoning? It attracts both the crowd and the unwanted attention from the police and the media, and such risks could only be ordered to be taken out by another civilian. That means people like you and me both.
Dignity of Free Speech
So a law has been passed so that you couldn’t mock the President, or the government, for that matter — and also prohibits the electronic information to be transmitted without permission. On one side, this law made it harder for people to hate speech or blurting out racist or bigoted comments, but on the other hand…this law also injures severely your opinion for any topic, making it that you have to be careful and considerate to not by accident made any offensive remarks. Whilst you can do just that, some people can take you down by any means if your stance doesn’t sit right with theirs. That’s the problem. From an honest reviewing of a poor service by a beauty clinic that bounces back as a defamation lawsuit to the capturing of various citizen for remarks on social media — this has certainly made me think a thousand times for even tweeting random stuff on my life. Lawful? Yes. Dangerous? Also yes.
The Final Verdict
Ever look at the unscrupulous, devilish act of human in history? Yes, it has been a pattern of repeated foul act after another. I figured it’d be good if I could spread some light on what has happened in this country lately ( by lately, I meant at the last couple of years ). And by writing so, hoping that such heinous act will not be repeated in the future. Who knows? Even my mom and dad is still celebrating voting day, especially after they spent more than 20 years under a tyranny. Democracy is something that sometimes I take for granted, especially since this “privilege” that I enjoy is there since I was born. Growing up, it’s easy to look at some things that your country did and said “I could have done it better”.
The card is on play and life goes on — remembering these series of events help us to move forward a little taller than before. After all, hard times creates strong men and women. And with all the nicks and dents on our soul, it hardens so much that it can tackle everything that is coming for us…and that includes the entire shit show ahead this country has to offer. Godspeed for us all.
