Guests in this country

I feel I must reply to Craig Swanson's letter of Jakarta Post Sept. 22 entitled "White youths' behavior".

He takes issue with a previous writer's letter, because he feels that the behavior of "white youths" is being singled out, and that some local youths are guilty of the same type of behavior.

Surely the point is that the expatriate youths do have a greater obligation to adhere to good standards of behavior for two reasons.

Firstly, they are guests in this country, as are we all. It is irrelevant that we occasionally meet with rudeness. That merely reflects back on the person being rude and can not be used as an excuse for us to lower our standards. Have not these children been taught that guests behave politely in someone else's house?

Secondly, like it or not, they are ambassadors for their countries, and kids old enough to go to the movies on their own can certainly understand this concept. My own children groan when I point this out to them, but too bad. They must understand that it's the price they pay for the privilege of being here.

As well, I presume that expatriate children living here all come from families where "hooliganism" is not regarded as acceptable behavior, either in their home countries or anywhere else. It is surely no great hardship, therefore, for them to avoid such behavior.

If they can't or won't adhere to these simple standards, they shouldn't be here.

LINDA SCHWASS

Jakarta