The other side of the campaign

When the election campaign began a couple of weeks ago, we might have viewed the across-city parades with slight amusement, I know I did. It was amusing to see people with their faces painted bright colors or with their heads shaved so that what was left of their hair was shaped into one of the three campaigning parties' logo.

After a week, that amusement turned to boredom. The thought that came to mind was: "Don't these people have anything better to do?"

Two weeks after that, this boredom has turned to anything from fear of leaving the house to dislike of the campaigning party for causing such a traffic jam. What seemed to have started out as a simple drive across towns, with people waving banners of all sorts, has turned into a show of force. This was definitely the case in my home town of Bogor.

Imagine, one of my regular trips on a public bus in Bogor usually takes about twenty minutes. Because of the campaigning, to travel the same distance took well over an hour and a half.

The weight of traffic allowed the cars to move at only a crawl. Had I not known better, I would have said snails traveled faster.

From my personal experience, even a leisurely walk around the Botanical Gardens only lasts an hour. "Why," one might logically ask, "not simply walk to where you're going, instead of sitting idly on the public transportation?"

A very good question indeed, which requires a good answer. The answer is simply that walking might prove more hazardous to the health than staying in the vehicle.

Why is it more dangerous? Isn't walking the safest form of exercise? Yes, provided you do the walking at a safe distance from the campaign. Walking in the middle of a political parade, however, might result in some serious threats.

For example, you can get kicked by a dangling foot of one of the fanatics who feels superior sitting way up on a truck, or get hit by a flying bottle (consider yourself lucky if the bottle is just an empty, plastic mineral water bottle) thrown by fanatics who have no respect whatsoever for the environment, much less for the safety of the innocent bystanders.

Another thing that might happen, less physical but annoying just the same, is having somebody shout in your face just because you refuse to hold up a certain number of fingers.

Nevertheless, we must give these die-hard fanatics credit. Imagine, they're willing to risk skin cancer just for a parade across the town under the blazing sun. Some were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the campaign.

Are these people completely useless? No, not at all, I didn't say that. At least I got something out of it. I think I managed to shed a pound or two of sweat on the public bus while stuck in the traffic jam for an hour and a half accompanied by shrieking sirens, blaring horns, and people bellowing under the burning sun. But then again, one does not have to wait for the next campaign to lose some weight.

LAILA F. FAISAL

Bogor, West Java