Making mountains of molehills

It's amazing how people have been dealing with things lately. Even a small matter can be turned into a big problem.

Suspect someone of stealing, beat him to death. Hate the way someone is looking at you, then hit him. Find your lover cheating, then kill her.

You only have to watch the crime shows on television to see what I mean. It doesn't matter that fake blood or actors are used in the recreations, they deliver the same nasty messages about human behavior.

But watching these awful stories unfold on television or reading about them in the newspapers is nothing compared to having such an experience yourself. For one thing, you can't switch channels or throw out the paper.

In my case, it all started with a smooth ride in a taxi on the way to work, which turned into a nightmare.

At that time, I was nowhere near the five-star hotel where a bartender was shot dead by a wealthy businessman, or near the Senen area where crime is all around you.

But I was right "there", approaching one of the many u-turn spots in the posh Pondok Indah residential area, when a man pointed a gun at my helpless, unarmed taxi driver.

And, believe me, it all started over a simple thing. When my taxi was about to go straight and pass the u-turn, a blue Kijang van sped up and made the turn in front of him.

Shocked, my taxi driver hit the brakes and the taxi skidded to a stop. The van also stopped.

It could have ended there, with both drivers moving on, putting the near miss behind them. But there were to be no happy endings that day.

Clearly upset, the Kijang van's driver wound down his window and yelled at my taxi driver, who had also lowered his window. It was at this time, the Kijang driver pulled out something and, to my surprise, pointed what was a gun.

"Move away, now!" he yelled while he kept the gun on my taxi driver, whose face, like mine, had turned pale.

That was enough for my driver and the car lurched away from the scene before someone was shot.

It could have been my imagination, but the two men in the Kijang van did have an army look about them and the van, although it had a civilian number plate, did have a military sticker on the back.

In this kind of situation it's hard to be cool or objective -- but pointing gun at harmless people? And in a public place where many other motorists are watching? Come on.

At the time, however, I was speechless. I felt like I had just stepped out of real life, right into a scene from a Hollywood action movie.

I still don't understand why that man had to wave a gun to deal with what was a simple matter. Is it because possessing a firearm gives an "I-can-do-anything" power to people, or perhaps they think it makes them immortal? Maybe this is so. Besides, as we all know now, one only gets seven years, instead of a life sentence, for shooting a man, and a few years for the possession of an illegal firearm; maximum penalty, death.

But I'm not the only one feeling insecure living in this crime-filled, concrete jungle, where a gun can be pointed at you any time or a bomb may explode at another.

Just the other day, my friend complained to me that she could no longer spend time with her children in shopping malls during the weekends for fear of a bomb attack.

"People say not to take the threats seriously, but what if they are for real?" she asked.

She has a point. No one will ever forget the horrible sights following the Bali bombings, or those at the J.W. Marriott Hotel or outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Well, perhaps only the bombers or the terrorists can easily forget, as they tick off another tragedy on their list of targets and move on.

Another friend of mine says such threats are made because many people stop listening, preferring to hear what they want to hear.

"There are many people out there suffering, but no one to talk to, let alone to come up with solutions, so they're trying to get attention with such threats," my friend says.

This may be true, but I'm still scared. About the people here who use terror, and end up making mountains out of molehills.

They should get real.

-- Stevie Emilia