Tolerance in the name of love

It's been a time of tense two-way traffic in letters from one supporter (so far) of Mr. Masli Arman and a group of people who stand against him. I myself do not expect to escalate tensions further, but rather wish to speak out all in the name of love (God's love).

As an Indonesian born Chinese who happens to have witnessed all aspects of life relating to racial discrimination, either by indigenous Indonesians toward Chinese-Indonesians or the other way around, I believe that this issue is not going to be solved even in hundreds of years to come if we go on living in the current system and policies imposed by the past (or current?) government.

In the name of God's love, I would like to suggest that every party introspect rather than express their own point of view, which could be very poisonous and disastrous and even bluntly cruel if one does not realize how far one has gone.

My point is that, rather than make accusations, it's better for one individual to practice trying to feel as another does. For example, me trying to feel as Mr. Arman, Mr. Arman trying to feel like other Chinese individuals. Mr. Susanto or Mr. Gunawan or Ms. Rahayu Ratnaningsih to feel like Mr. Farid Baskoro or vice versa. By doing this on and on, the results will be amazing. You will find out that the hatred, the condemnation, all the negative feelings will partly subside.

In the name of God's love we can try something nicer -- tolerance.

ANONG CHRISTIAN KADIM

Tangerang, West Java