Will freedom of press replace gossip?<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): My weekly visit to the mall is not just for
\nshopping, but also for a visit to my hairdresser. My hairdresser
\nis the old-fashioned unisex type, where people of both sexes can
\nget their hair done by male or female stylist of their choice all
\nin the same space.<\/p>\n
I have received many invitations to go to newer and better
\nones, with modern comforts and special sections for men and
\nwomen, but no, I stay with my old salon, even though other
\nclients' smoking sometimes bothers me.<\/p>\n
The reason is not only that my stylist does it better, but I
\nalso have special needs. In the first place I prefer a male
\nstylist because I need his flattering words, like: \"Tante (aunt)
\nyou look so bright today, is it your birthday?\" Or he may
\ncompliment me on my dress by telling me it's just right for me
\nand the colors match my hair so well.<\/p>\n
There is something special that I go there for, which used to
\nbe one of the sources of extra information in the days prior to
\nfreedom of the press: the gossip. Nowhere else can you get more
\njuicy and funny gossip than from these hairdressers. He used to
\nsay jokingly that hairdressing was his business and gossip was a
\nbonus.<\/p>\n
His bits of gossip have always been first class. Not because
\nit involved the former first family, but because it is usually
\ngems that nobody has ever heard. He usually adds a little
\nphilosophy in his remarks that beats the best social criticism.
\nIf he was in Hollywood he might be able to fill a gossip column
\nlike Elsa Maxwell or Sheila Graham, or if he was in Washington DC
\nhe could fill the Washington Whisper column. If he could write he
\ncould possibly even outdo Kitty Kelly.<\/p>\n
He usually starts with whispering in my ear: \"Have you heard
\nthe latest scandal?\" Then he tells me the gossip, such as the one
\nabout a lucky woman who will finally get married, even though her
\nchild is already attending kindergarten.<\/p>\n
I would never have known the people who were involved in the
\ndrug trade or even the names of the drugs, or the names they are
\nknown by here, like shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) or
\necstasy. But now I am as familiar with them as I am with my daily
\nmakeup kit. There is practically a whole encyclopedia full of
\njuicy bits of scandal concerning people around me. I could
\npublish a Who's Who of the mistresses, with whom they sleep and
\nwhere they built their new mansions.<\/p>\n
A few months ago it was about spending. \"It's amazing how much
\nmoney is spent on jewelry, Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany, you name it
\nand they buy it,\" he complained.<\/p>\n
\"People have done it all the time,\" I remarked. \"I know lots
\nof people who only buy expensive jewelry, some even take pride in
\ncalling themselves collectors.\"<\/p>\n
\"That's different,\" he answered, shaking his head, \"a few
\nyears ago we were rich, nobody cared what you bought. You would
\neven be chided for not spending money, but now we are poor.
\nBesides, this is the time of reform and krismon! People are
\nhungry and people want justice. And they are so stupid, they make
\nmost payments by cash, hundreds of thousands of greenbacks all in
\ncash!\"<\/p>\n
\"You mean that they take their greenbacks in cash with them
\nwhen they travel to the States? Tens of thousands? What about
\ncustoms regulations and pickpockets?\"<\/p>\n
\"Tens of thousands, Tante you must be kidding! They take
\nhundreds of thousands with them or maybe millions! There are
\npeople who are above the law, they can never get caught and their
\nbodyguards scare off any pickpockets.\"<\/p>\n
When I visited him last time he had much less to tell me and I
\nasked him why. He shook his head and said. \"All this freedom of
\nthe press is taking the business away from me. If it is not in
\nthe usual papers, the tabloids will publish it or people may buy
\nthe photocopies. And then there is something new, the something
\nNet or the Web, I don't understand what it is, but now my clients
\nknow more than I do about the scandals, the divorces, the drugs,
\nall of the things that I used to tell them.\"<\/p>\n
\"But you are a better storyteller and a good hairstylist,\" I
\nsaid in an attempt to comfort him. He just shook his head and
\nsaid solemnly: \"Yes, but there is one thing with which they beat
\nme, always. They give their readers a special bonus: nice
\npictures of beautiful girls supposedly wearing body stockings.
\nBut poor me, the gossip used to be the bonus I gave to my
\nclients, what more do I have to offer?\"<\/p>\n
-- Myra Sidharta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/will-freedom-of-press-replace-gossip-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }