Despite arrest, 'kolor hijau' all in the mind<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
While most capitals in the region are battening down the hatches
\nagainst bird flu, a creature of another kind has sent Jakarta
\nresidents into a tizzy.<\/p>\n
From gossip at office water fountains to talk in traditional
\nmarkets, the city has been abuzz in recent weeks with stories of
\nattacks committed by a half-man, half-beast.<\/p>\n
Frightened neighborhoods set up special patrols and decked out
\ntheir homes with traditional talismans to keep the kolor hijau
\nintruder -- so named for his penchant for wearing nothing but
\ngreen underwear -- at bay.<\/p>\n
TV stations conducted investigative reports and some
\nnewspapers ran columns by paranormals, predicting the menace's
\nmotivation and his likely next strike.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, despite Jakarta police assertions there was no
\ntruth to the rumors after most of the handful of \"victims\"
\nconfessed they made their stories up, several popular dailies
\nreported that a 20-year-old man, Andi alias Gogol, was arrested
\nby Bekasi Police on Friday as the suspected kolor hijau intruder.<\/p>\n
The man admitted in preliminary questioning to being part of a
\ngang of burglars who wore green undershorts during their crimes,
\nand the police confirmed they found a pair of blue-green shorts
\nin his possession.<\/p>\n
While some may be amused by police officers' being asked to
\nidentify the color of a suspect's underwear, not everybody sees
\nthe funny side of the situation.<\/p>\n
\"At first, it was interesting, but the more you saw the
\nreports, and particularly the poor women who reported the
\nattacks, it became kind of sad,\" said one Jakarta office worker.<\/p>\n
All of the women who claimed they were attacked came from poor
\nneighborhoods; several had a history of mental illness and some
\nconfessed that they were trying to draw the public's attention to
\ntheir plight.<\/p>\n
One young woman cut her arms with razors to mimic the man's
\n\"claws\", later acknowledging she did it in a bid to get money for
\nher story.<\/p>\n
Psychologist and social observer Sartono Mukadis was dismayed
\nby the hold the rumors exerted over the public in a form of mass
\nhysteria.<\/p>\n
\"It's shocking that a natural disaster like bird flu doesn't
\ncause panic, but something so stupid spreads like this,\" he told
\nThe Jakarta Post on Saturday. \"It's totally irrational.\"<\/p>\n
He said the report of the intruder could be put down to sexual
\nfantasies, with the attendant shame causing the women to blame a
\nrapist. It could also be a primitive need by the women and the
\nman who \"confessed\" to be recognized by others and get attention.<\/p>\n
Mass reports of strange occurrences often occur in a cycle,
\nSartono noted, especially before periods of uncertainty, like
\nthis year's elections, where people feel helpless to control the
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
The superstition and ignorance fueling the mass hysteria also
\npresents a prime opportunity for exploitation by \"crooked\"
\npoliticians, Sartono added.<\/p>\n
\"They systematically and cleverly nurture irrationality in
\nsociety, because they would be defeated if it (the public) was
\ncleverer.\"<\/p>\n
He warned the politicians that the same \"fertile ground to sow
\nstupidity\" that helped them con their way to power also left them
\nprone to chaotic consequences among an irrational public.<\/p>\n
\"We have never been allowed to ask, to (develop) critical
\nthinking,\" Sartono said.<\/p>",
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