Maintaining image or vanity?

JAKARTA (JP): Tantyo, a fellow worker, spends his life worrying what people might think of him. Image is his main concern. When the air conditioner in his car broke, for instance, he had to drive in formidable heat because he refused to keep the car windows open.

"If I opened the windows, people would think that my car did not have an air conditioner," he reasoned. "They would think that I am in financial straits and that I cannot afford to have my car air conditioned. This could ruin my image."

When our children needed more money for their studies, and having a car was no longer economically justified, I sold our old family car. It was more practical and cheaper to go to the office by bus or, when necessary, by taxi. After all, I was not a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) or a public relations manager who needed to show some kind of style.

Everybody in the office soon showed their concern when they knew I had gone back to my old habit, traveling by bus.

"What have you done?" they asked in unison as if I had walked naked in front of Plaza Indonesia. Suddenly I was not "one of them". Suddenly, the warmth of friendship sank to a low level.

"With your commuting by bus, people will think that the company is peanuts, and that we are paid chicken feed," one of them complained. "We have to keep up some kind of image."

"I'm paid chicken feed," I retorted. "I can't afford a car. It's as simple as that."

"Then buy one on installment," he insisted as if he was my keeper and responsible for my welfare.

The reaction made me realize that to be a friend of somebody in Jakarta, you have to fulfill certain qualifications. One of them is ownership of such modern conveniences as a car, a telephone, or a television. Otherwise, you won't be welcomed.

Apparently, the linkage between possessions and need has faded away in this era of prestige. When the antena parabola (disc antenna) was introduced, everybody talked it. Whether or not the new equipment was needed in a household, people competed to be the first to decorate their house with a disc antenna although they had to sacrifice something of higher priority.

Marianne Pereira could have missed a point when criticizing Miss "All Important" in this column a while ago, resulting in a series of protests from the readers. But, in a way, she was right. People feel more important that they really are when they're equipped with modern perks such as handphones. Only, this kind of vanity sometimes emerges in an awkward way.

Vanity makes people find it hard to deal with bad times. Take Tantyo, for instance. When he was dismissed, and could not find another job, he had to borrow money at a high interest rate and mortgage his house to make ends meet. Actually, instead of borrowing money and paying a handsome amount of interest, he could have sold his car. After all, he didn't need it and he could not afford the gas. But, letting his car go was a nightmare to him.

"People will know that I'm broke," he reasoned. "I need it to keep up my image."

At this point, I began to doubt the meaning of the image people insist in maintaining. It must be their vanity that prevents them from thinking in a logical way.

-- Carl Chairul