Political sparring on chat lines? Why not?
JAKARTA (JP): I didn't know how much people needed to share their thoughts, anger, sorrow and happiness until I sat in the operators' room at a communications company providing telephone chatting services. I used to think that chatting was a total waste of time and money, what with the high premium rate.
From complaints in the reader's forum of several newspapers, I understood that the mushrooming business of premium calls had some bad outcomes, most notably telephone bills.
One mother complained that her telephone bill suddenly went up 1,000 percent after her daughter spent hours chatting on the phone at a rate of Rp 3,000 per minute. A small-scale company was billed an extra Rp 50 million because some employees spent their spare time chatting. And state telephone company Telkom has been lobbied to close this premium call business with complaints that it only caused disaster.
Now I know why people spend a huge amount of money just to talk. A few hours in the operators' room gave me insight into the problems and pleasures people want to share. And the operators, with their consoling voices, are the perfect shoulders to cry on.
Sitting in the operators' room, I felt I was at the wrong end of the line. What amazed me was the kind of people who called. They ranged from five-year-old children to the very old people. And such a large variety of occupations -- housemaids, drivers, managers, security personnel, housewives, students, and (you've got to believe this) military officers.
Chatting anonymously is one way of sharing problems without losing face. A top government official once vented his frustration: "I don't know what to do. My occupational vows oblige me to release this person because he is not guilty. Any idiot can see that he has been detained just for political reasons. Yet my boss insists on detaining him. I'm so frustrated that I could run naked in front of the presidential palace."
And the operator, who knew nothing about politics, made a suggestion that even those in the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA) couldn't come up with. "Oh, c'mon, Mr. Polan. Don't be so hard on yourself," she consoled him with her pleasant voice. "You only live once, and you've got to make the most of it. Don't let somebody else's destiny ruin your days. Leave it to God Almighty. Now, I have somebody who would be happy to talk to you ... "
She then connected the officer with another caller. They chatted gaily, forgetting the time and the telephone bill. By the time they ended chatting the officer felt a lot better.
A policeman complained that people no longer trust his institution. He recently rushed to a house where a robbery had just taken place. The owner thanked him for showing up but then dismissed him, telling that he didn't need any help from the police. For good measure the owner gave him some money and politely asked him to stay away from the case.
"I felt insulted. It seems that a policeman's job is always related to bribery."
He can say that again. A friend of mine, for instance, keeps a Rp 20,000 bill attached to his car license. Every time he is stopped by a traffic attendant for an inspection, whether he feels guilty or not, he just produces the license and pretends not to notice what the attendant does with the money.
Back to the chat line. I think it is some kind of catharsis or a safety relief valve, if you like. Politicians and government officials who are in an endless chain of battles, could make use of chat lines to vent their anger, and at the same time, maintain a cool political atmosphere.
They do not have to launch their attacks in public and cause depressions of the rupiah and national instability. On the chat line, accusations, condemnation, and humiliation could be done in total secrecy. Nothing could leak to the press.
And, oh, don't worry about the cost. You can charge it to the peoples' account. I think, instead of having to stomach the disgusting political struggle on TV or newspapers, people would be happy to finance the chat lines. This way, the House of Representatives could function as it is intended and the people in the government could actually perform their duties. And, hopefully, as a result, this nation can make its way out of crisis.
Amen.
-- Carl Chairul