Irrationality is enticing

Irrationality is enticing

Visiting the "haunted house" on Jl. Metro Pondok Indah in South Jakarta is much better than sitting around complaining about life's hardships. This could be what is on the minds of the many Jakarta residents who have flocked to the empty house in the luxurious housing complex in Pondok Indah.

Visiting the "haunted house", people can talk about anything related to superstition.

The rumors about the house being haunted must be taken for granted, since no one can clarify them.

These (irrational) rumors about the haunted house have developed and spread very rapidly among the people.

According to experts, irrationality is part of the nature of humans. But in Indonesia, where people have been living in uncertainty for so long, it seems easier for people to become irrational.

Some years ago, rumor had it that women wearing jilbab (Muslim headdress for women) were roaming about and poisoning food at traditional markets on the outskirts of Jakarta. Because of the rumors, people felt justified in arresting anyone they thought fit this profile.

So we are familiar with how strongly some people respond to irrational rumors. The cases relating to the alleged graft by the owner of the Sukabumi-based PT Qurnia Subur Alam Raya (QSAR) in West Java, an agribusiness firm, and the Batutulis historical site in Bogor, also in West Java, are proof that we are vulnerable to rumors.

Such rumors are enticing. They can override our common sense. We can enjoy rumors while we "get dizzy", but they must not trap ourselves.

-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta