People to people (1)

People to people (1)

Be polite or impolite? I am referring to the correspondence in
the letters column of The Jakarta Post on Oct. 30, 1996 and Nov.
2, 1996.

I am of the opinion that it is not in good taste to suggest
being impolite to Indonesians. Being guests of this country,
foreigners should do well not to adopt a negative attitude. By
being impolite, we only end up making the situation more
difficult. I strongly believe the cure is worse than the disease.

Whenever someone in Indonesia calls you "mister," most of the
time it simply means "sir". When traders say "mister," they are
just inviting you to look at their wares. If a telephone operator
mentions "Mr," this again is not being said in a derogatory
manner.

There are times in public places when you may encounter some
youth calling "hello mister". It could be that he only wants to
be friendly with you or would like to show off his newfound
English knowledge to his friends.

One need not be a Roman in Rome, but at least one can try to
be a human being anywhere. It is difficult to be like Mahatma
Gandhi, who advocated showing the other cheek when someone slaps
you in the face.

By the tone of someone's "hello mister," we may reasonably
judge whether it is a simple greeting or a sarcastic delivery.
Mostly, one should be able to return the "hello" jovially or, if
the situation really demands, we may even ignore the greeting and
move on. Seldom a foreigner is pursued vigorously and
irritatingly.

By and large, I reckon Indonesians are still friendly and show
tolerance toward expatriates. Although, of late, the rat race for
survival in this highly competitive environment might have
reduced their innate natural qualities. yt is a price a
developing country has to pay for globalization.

Aren't we wrong in assuming unfriendly connotations behind
smiling people? Why should we consider that a smile will always
be followed by snide remarks? Courtesy is a two-way street. Once
in a while, at least, why don't we start smiling and show a
cheerful disposition toward these countrymen?

"I like you. You make me happy. I am happy to see you" --
these are all messages a sincere smile conveys. According to a
scholar: "What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity."

Lastly, I would agree that people express their opinions from
their personal experiences and perspectives. But still, basic
human nature, which is essentially good, cannot be far too
different anywhere in the world.

D. CHANDRAMOULI

Jakarta