The danger of stereotyping<\/p>\n
The article Ethnic Chinese at fault for riots by Masli Arman,
\nwhich appeared in this newspaper yesterday, really shocked me. He
\nhinted that he did not wish his article to be followed by a
\npolemic, but I believe if one is not open to exchanges of views,
\none should not publish anything at all.<\/p>\n
Pak Masli, have you ever heard the word \"stereotyping\"?<\/p>\n
Here, in Jakarta, we're quite familiar with the term Padang
\nBengkok (the unscrupulous Padang people). Naturally, this term
\nwould have never come into existence if there had not been so
\nmany crooks among the Padang people -- or more appropriately, the
\nMinangkabau -- that Jakartans have crossed paths with. However,
\nis it justifiable then to think that because the term exists
\nevery Minangkabau is bengkok? You know very well that for every
\ncrooked Minangkabau there are hundreds, maybe thousands of honest
\nMinangkabau. As two people who come from West Sumatra, both of us
\ndo not want to become victims of the Padang Bengkok stereotyping,
\ndo we, Pak?<\/p>\n
Stereotyping is dangerous, for it simply disguises the fact
\nthat humans are humans. There are good people and there are bad
\npeople everywhere, regardless of whether they are Minangkabau,
\nAcehnese or Chinese. I don't know what has caused the obvious
\ngrudge you have against the Chinese, but in your article you
\nstereotype the Indonesian, Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese as
\narrogant, etc. so excessively that you seem to have forgotten
\nthat there are also good, humble and kindhearted Chinese. Pak
\nMasli, if all Chinese-Indonesians are as bad as you say they are,
\nhow come I have so many Chinese friends who are like my own
\nbrothers and sisters? And how come I've been able to build such a
\nhappy marriage with a wonderful woman of Chinese descent?<\/p>\n
Racial tension is one of Soeharto's most deplorable legacies,
\nPak. It has evolved into a very complex and multidimensional
\nmess, and one of the reasons it has been so difficult to untangle
\nis our very strong tendency to stereotype. I agree that there are
\nsome Chinese-Indonesians who are arrogant, who look down on
\npribumi. But, don't you understand that they look down on other
\nChinese-Indonesians, too? One of my Chinese gurus told me many
\nyears ago how some Chinese people from the Pluit area made fun of
\nhim, thinking that he didn't understand Mandarin. He actually
\ndid. They looked down on him because he lived in a garage.<\/p>\n
And don't you know that a lot of Chinese-Indonesians also find
\nthe way these other Chinese show off their wealth and treat their
\nservants totally obnoxious? John and Siska, my very close friends
\nfor more than 20 years, furiously called their neighbor Cina
\nLoleng for having locked a servant inside his house while
\nvacationing abroad. Both John and Siska themselves are Chinese,
\nand they organized their RT to free the food-deprived maid from
\nher confinement.<\/p>\n
Just like the Minangkabau, the Batak and the Javanese, there
\nare also magnanimous Chinese, too. We simply must not generalize,
\nlet alone nurture prejudices based on stereotyping. The riots
\nwere caused, among others, by our people's failure to avoid
\nstereotyping.<\/p>\n
And, by the way, toward the end of your article you talk about
\nthe financial assistance that you extended to your Chinese
\nfriend. It reminds me of my late brother who told me that, if our
\nright hand gives out something to help others, even our left hand
\nneed not know about it. Hasn't anybody told you that?<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, I think we all should thank you for the article,
\nbecause at least we know now that stereotyping does happen even
\namong our educated people.<\/p>\n
ZATNI ARBI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-danger-of-stereotyping-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }