Caring more about packaging than...

Caring more about packaging than...

JAKARTA (JP): I look around and notice that these days people
care more about the packaging rather than the content.

Just take a look at some ladies decked in their Armani suits,
Gucci shoes and Prada handbags. They want to show that they are
somebody. Most of the time, if you talk to them, they don't know
much about what's going on around them, let alone talking about
what is happening in this world. These are what we call "EGP --
Emang Gue Pikirin (do you think I care)" or "HIV -- Hemang Ike
Vikirin" ladies.

I know a lady who wanted to register her son in a prestigious
high school on the East Coast of America wearing all name-brand
stuff to the interview. She did not realize, however, that people
in the intellectual society of the East Coast do not care about
the outside cover-up. It was what she could say about herself,
her son, their accomplishments and their way of thinking that
would ensure the acceptance of her son in the school. On top of
that, wearing high-heel Gucci boots does not help in walking on
icy sidewalks during winter time. When she was advised to take
off those garbs, she paled and lost all her poise.

Look around and you might see a young man in his Hugo Boss
suit, Testoni shoes, Versace tie and the ever present Ericsson
handphone. He looks so suave continually talking on his
handphone, even though he has somebody in front of him. Try to
talk to him about the business that he is doing. Try to have a
more in-depth conversation with him. More often than not you
cannot pass the "Hi...Hello.." phase. A friend of mine calls this
kind of person "keberatan jas", or "his suit weighs more than his
brain".

Another man that I know has many cars. Sometimes his wife is
confused about which key goes to which car. Once we went shopping
together. When we got to her car, she could not open the door to
her car. We were flustered. Apparently, she took the wrong key
from her handbag. She told me that she would really like to have
a simple life and teach her children about being moderate. She
always books her flights on economy-class and takes the taxi from
the airport to the hotel. But if her husband finds out, he
changes the booking to first-class and makes sure a limousine is
waiting for her at the airport. All of this is okay, I suppose,
if her husband has enough money, but her husband is one of those
bad credit borrowers. He needs all his children and grandchildren
just to pay off his loans. We call this guy "Mr. Peacock",
because he always wants to impress people around him at all cost.

A girl I know, who comes from a not-so-well-to-do family and
did not finish high school, married a well-educated, high-paid
executive. A few months after the wedding, she convinced her
husband to buy her a Mercedes-Benz. One afternoon she asked one
of her drivers to take her in the Mercedes to the house of the
people who used to make fun of her for being poor.

This girl also spends a lot of money and a lot of time buying
brand-name clothes and jewelry. She bought a Bulgari watch the
other day. She told me that she likes it because it has the word
"BULGARI" around the time piece, so that people can see that she
is wearing an expensive watch. We call this kind of lady a
"Madam."

If you notice, there is also trend of successful businessmen
marrying or keeping brand-name women, namely famous and beautiful
ones, and of course young fashion models. More often than not,
these men throw away their first wives, like an outdated,
unfashionable suit. We call these men "cowok merek" or "men who
are crazy about brand-name products", and the girls "cewek matre"
or "material girls".

These are examples around me which show that people care more
about the packaging and the outside wrap. They don't really care
whether a person has accomplished a lot in helping other people,
whether a person has studied hard to be knowledgeable, or whether
a person has a good heart.

I do not know whether these people are the product or the
reflection of our society. What I do know is that their existence
is noticeable and, to a certain extent, appreciated. Some even
consider these people to be panutan or role models.

-- D.J.