Learning from each other<\/p>\n
We must give full marks to that great Italian crusader, Piero
\nRonci, for his dogged determination to, at every opportunity,
\nexpose his anti-British sentiment, whether it is denouncing all
\nfootballers who ever kicked a ball on UK turf, berating
\ncommentators who dare to use English when waxing poetically about
\nthe great game of soccer, conducting a single handed campaign to
\nprotect Indonesians from the \"corrupting influence\" of the
\nEnglish language. And now, the latest, highly predictable input
\nfrom him in attempting to further demean anything remotely
\nBritish is his gross oversimplification of the mad cow crisis.<\/p>\n
Other worthier commentators have taken him to task about his
\narrant nonsense about football, and his ratings about the English
\nlanguage, and I have no doubt that at this moment someone is
\npreparing to demolish his provocative comments about BSE (mad cow
\ndisease).<\/p>\n
My point in writing is, at this moment, not to engage in an
\nunseemly comparison of the merits of his home country versus my
\nhome country, as to do so would crassly insult the hundreds of
\nItalian expatriates who live here, some of them friends of mine,
\nand who somehow manage to live in harmony in this cosmopolitan
\ncommunity. No, my point, is to invite him to come clean over why
\nhe feels qualified to speak for the Indonesian people on such an
\nastonishing range of topics. Tell us, Piero, who are you? What
\nare you?<\/p>\n
Let us know through the medium of these letters so that, who
\nknows, we may learn to respect your opinions as someone who has
\nspecial skills, knowledge and experience. It is indeed incredible
\nthat Italy, that country of infinite beauty, an earlier cradle of
\ncivilization, and birthplace of so many painters, musicians,
\narchitects and so on, bringing civilization to the world, can a
\ngeneration or two later spew out such a contradiction as
\nyourself.<\/p>\n
BILL GUERIN<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/learning-from-each-other-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }