My Beautiful Indonesia: The First Impression

I've been here in Indonesia for almost seven months now, and there are some major differences and minor differences and, of course, similarities between this country and the United States. But the most startling of the major differences is that Indonesian youth actively discourage each other from being:


1) passionate
2) angry

3) emotional
4) disappointed
5) basically showing any strong emotion

Indonesian youth have a very strong tendency to dismiss all of these things as being "baper," which I guess has become a catch-all term for "sensitive". I've heard from more than one person my age that I shouldn't be "overthinking things"--why overthink when you can just live life freely, without worries? I mean, they've said it right out: "Rin, why are you thinking so much about this? There's no point in thinking too much about anything; it'll just give you a headache." Contrast this with so many American youth (not just my friends) who are always thinking /more/. In fact, they'd go to war for the right to think freely. They're always striving to do better and greater. These kids go home and they cry or they sing or they write poetry or music, they read books or work on Web comics or do their own research about social trends. So many of them. They're passionate, they get angry, they fight for their beliefs, they get out on the Internet and write angry diatribes--not at the object of their crush but at the government/parents/other students. American youth are engaged in their society and strive hard to have a voice even though adults try to shut them down much the same way adults shut down youth here. They are not afraid because they know that the world is their birthright, so they are starting early to make their inheritance a good one. They defend their voice. Indonesian youth...don't. They dismiss the horrible things going on in the world as someone else's responsibility, seemingly forgetting that they will inherit Indonesia the way the kids abroad will inherit the United States. And all of you, all of us: we are inheriting the world. Why aren't we trying to make it better?


If there was a motto for the Indonesian youth of today, I feel like it would be "don't be baper." And frankly, I don't understand it. Why are youth actively discouraging each other from these things? Isn't the whole hallmark of youth to be young, vibrant, emotional, and ecstatically alive? Being here in this culture has been hard. People always say I care too much. So many kids practice this cold detachment from what they love, whether it be music, science, family, or friends. Friends in Indonesia are less of a platonic love bond/support system than a tool to PAP of on ask.fm. All of this serves to highlight the Indonesian spirit of fear and silence. Truthfully Indonesia actually has a brilliant people and culture and arguably has the richest culture out of all the world's countries, but all of that is being destroyed by:

1) a government who doesn't care enough about culture to protect it
2) the messages we are sending to Indonesian youth

3) the messages Indonesian youth are sending to each other (I'm looking at you, galau LINE accounts who only talk about romance)

So many people in America don't even know anything about Indonesia. The most they know about is Bali, which, as we all know, is a big fat waste of Indonesian culture that turns our heritage into cheap commodities that will be brought home, placed on the kitchen table, and used as "kitschy home decor." Is that it? Is that all Indonesia is destined for?? Why is being carefree and "whatevs" so in vogue here??? Why don't you love your country? Why don't you support your youth in creating beautiful things? All of those things that your kids are striving so hard to create--art, poetry, music, engineering projects--those things are being lost abroad to Germany and the States and everywhere else because you don't value what they believe in and as a result neither do they. This whole "whatevs" culture permeates every single layer of Indonesian society and it terrifies me.
Your youth have an abhorrent fear of being angry or having any emotions in general, which is probably why they turn to romance and love as an outlet for the anger, passion, and frustration they can't otherwise display. So many of you are cold robots who only have time for yourselves and it's just baffling. I might be an idiot but at least I believe in something and fight for things with all my heart. Where the hell are your hearts??? I've never met such a dejected, lifeless, robotic group of people before.

We Keep On Living

TBH I haven't written anything in a while mostly because I haven't had the time. It's been a pretty hard task just trying to stay updated on this blog, so actually the fact that I've updated at all these past few weeks is a miracle.


I guess this post will be more personal, since I don't have the strength to do my normal social justice thing. It's just going to be me sharing stories about things that have happened in the time since I last updated this blog.

A few days ago, IU's latest MV (23) dropped and I have been watching it nonstop. As usual, she looks beautiful and lovely, and, as usual, I am wishing I could be her. The song, if I'm interpreting it correctly, kind of describes her current struggle and indecision in the world of fame and tries to answer the question that pretty much every angsty teen/young adult faces, which is "Who am I?".
I am also listening a lot to Kesempurnaan Cinta by Rizky Febian. I heard it on the radio and it grabs my attention every time it pops up. I listened to it on one of those Youtube replay websites and it got up to 20+.

I am really just rambling and writing whatever comes to mind but it seems that this is going to become a music post. Besides those two songs, I've been mindlessly playing Aerocity's Soundcloud over and over again because his music is always really relaxing. I haven't been writing a lot of poetry lately because there's been so much work for IBA and tratan. Oh! Tomorrow is tratan practice and I'm supposed to bring two fans (we are learning a fan dance) but I don't have any...
Last Friday-Sunday (24-25 October) was makrab, which is a portmanteau for malam akrab, which is basically this bonding session. And it was for our major, which, if you didn't know, is International Business Administration. We have 47 students in all in our major this year but only 25 came, which sucks because it's supposed to be a bonding session and how are we supposed to bond if not everyone comes? But I admit that it was fun. Now, here's the situation.
IBA 1 is split into two classes: 1A and 1B. I'm in 1A. At makrab, I spent 90% of my time with kids from 1B. And honestly, I feel like I don't belong in 1A. I love all the people in it, but I don't know how to talk about cars or EDM or makeup and I feel like I'm really far away whenever they discuss things or crack jokes. Like...the things that I'm interested in are so different from the things they're interested in. And it's hard because 1A is more separated into distinct groups than 1B is. 1A has 3 main groups and I don't fit in any of them. I come into class each day and usually sit by myself, which makes me feel self-conscious and embarrassed. And it's not their fault. It's just that they are different.

Anyways, during makrab, I felt so happy and confident and comfortable being myself with the 1B kids. I've always had to put aside my music taste, but meeting someone in 1B who actually listens to Tame Impala in Indonesia is amazing okay (that would be Takoyaki, by the way). I felt connected and happy! All of the code names I give for people on this blog are foods, if you haven't noticed. I would hope you noticed. Listen to this song by Tame Impala, by the way.

We listened to a lot of baper songs during makrab. I'm not sure how to explain baper but it's also a portmanteau, of the words bawa perasaan. It's like...being biased with prior feelings? Or having an idea already in your head? Or something? Aduh it's difficult to explain. I use that word a lot. See, my English teachers were right when they said that context clues were really important :p

I requested to move to 1B and I very much hope they'll let me move. Mocha showed me Open Season by Josef Salvat and I think it is a fantastic song. I know this is a disorganized ramble of stuff. I am slowly getting more into Indonesian pop so go ahead and listen to Cinta dan Rahasia by Yura Yunita and Glenn Fredly. I live for duets, you know. Indonesian songs are so baper and galau and I love it because I'm a lame piece of trash. Someone said that I should not move to 1B because it's a shortcut out of a bad situation and that I just need to tough it out. They asked, "What'll happen when you have a bad situation in the future at work?" You know, at my eventual job I feel like people will be more mature than college kids? Also, I'm really not going to go for a traditional job. I'm planning on starting a magazine, for goodness' sake. Entrepreneurship and all that. So if you think I'm going to work in an office or have a corporate job, you've got me all wrong because that has never and will never be me. I'm going to work with people who are mission-oriented and have the same goal and drives as me. And if there are problems I'm going to face them. But I am not going to accept a job where people do not understand me. Don't get me wrong, okay? I'm not being sombong. I just have a really clear idea of who I am and what I want and what I value. Work is inevitably different from school because at work there are incentives to do well and a team and workmates will generally be more motivated and dedicated.

And, you know, I don't really subscribe to the notion that people have to be strong and emotionally tough. I'm making this request to feel safe and happy and confident and motivated. Saying, "What if in the future you can't handle your environment?", well, let's just say that if it's a job and akhirnya it's not a good fit for me, then I'll move. Putting my mental and emotional health and my grades at risk just to try to be tough or strong is ridiculous. I have no idea where we got this notion that it's weak to take care of ourselves. Stop telling young kids that they just need to "tough it out" and bottle up their feelings and fears. That leads to emotionally stunted and crazy kids.

Shut up, old people.

Anyways, about makrab. It was a lot of fun and it made me happy to get closer to my classmates. We went to Anyer in a big bus. Anyer is about 3 hours away from BSD and there are lots of beaches there. We stayed overnight at a villa which was apparently very haunted. We played lots of games and had a barbecue late at night and I stayed up late staring out at the forest talking to Manju. And it was beautiful. We put up tents even though we didn't sleep in them. I keep using the word "we". Is it getting redundant?

I have this dream of living that romantic life that most people only see in movies and over-filtered music videos. I want to run through forests and fields of wheat and I want to see the sun set on a beach, I want to watch the sun rise from a mountain, I want to go water skiing and pet dolphins and dance like an idiot in a beautiful room with a beautiful boy. Is that too romantic? Sometimes I feel like it conflicts with my religion, which is (?) supposed to be austere and simple. My over-romantic streak is coming back alive, especially after Anyer and staying up late and talking and making hot cocoa and stuff like that. It gets to you, okay? Is it selfish to want a life like that?

Arctic Monkey did a cover of Hold On, We're Going Home (that's by Drake). I don't know if including Arctic Monkeys makes me trash but I think it's a cute song, even though tbh Drake's version is better.

I would like to go to Laneway (that's an indie music festival in Australia) next year. Speaking of Drake, Hotline Bling has been getting a lot of attention on social media and I find that interesting. I don't have a problem with Drake's lame dance moves because it's his music video and hell knows he's got a lot more money than I do.

Midterm GPAs came out last week and I'm doing well, but I really need to stop getting distracted.. I still want to be best graduate, so I can't afford to spend more time than necessary on things that aren't super important. I'm sorry I haven't been consistent with my updates. How are you doing? Are you having a happy and healthy day? I hope so!

Love,
RIN

Plagiarism

Eventually, all writers are going to come to this issue. I'm just going to share how I feel, because I think it's a really polarizing discussion. Be warned, you might not like what I have to say. I'm mostly going to just respond to points made on Tumblr by users agooduniverse and mythaelogy.

I think our world is becoming more and more global and more and more digital. It's easy to pick up a phone and message someone from 10,000 miles away. Things you share through the Internet can be viewed anywhere that has a connection. The fear of plagiarism is actually why I stopped posting a lot of poetry on the Internet.

So, about plagiarism.

Positive statement of the day: It is immoral to plagiarize.
Normative statement of the day: People will plagiarize.
Definition of plagiarism (in my own words): plagiarism is the act of taking someone else's words, ideas, phrases, or other creative products and passing it off as original content

The main idea, I think, of plagiarism: passing off someone's work as your own original creation. 

Writers and other creative-content-producers can be incredibly idealistic, arguing against plagiarism and posting huge Creative Commons images on blogs and doing other things that, you know, may or may not work. Honestly, I believe that the higher you get in the creative world, the more plagiarists and copycats you're going to get. Take a look at every famous poet in the history of the English language. I'm willing to bet that every single one has been used as creative inspiration and "creative inspiration", if you know what I mean. Of course, that doesn't make it okay. But that's our baseline; that's the world we are currently in.

Anyways, I'm just going to go through these Tumblr posts (these poets are brilliant, and you should definitely check them out with the links I gave above) and try to respond. Now, I'm not saying they're wrong or trying to tear down their argument. I really just want to have a discussion, even if there's a chance that maybe they won't see this. I know this is kind of linked more to Tumblr, but I think a discussion on plagiarism for the art world in general would be really healthy.

 

• I do believe people need to be more aware of plagiarism occurring in creative, or "non-serious" situations.
• I don't think the line between creative inspiration and plagiarism is unclear at all, honestly. If you're basing your work off of someone else's, i.e. using their poem or artwork as a reference, then you have a responsibility to state your inspiration and give credit. 
• To a degree, I agree that people shouldn't use another author's phrases in their work. But cliches, aphorisms, etc., I think that's fine. But there are poems based off of the first line of other poems: a famous example is the response to Drayton's Sonnet 61, which I have currently forgotten. I think we can include phrases when we are responding to them.
• There are entire literary movements and schools of thought and art, so "copying" another person's style is kind of stretching it, I think. Copy-pasting and just changing crucial adjectives or adverbs or names and then saying, "I wrote a poem!" isn't right, but developing (through osmosis or through the individual art journey) a style similar to another artist isn't necessarily plagiarism. 
• For forms like sonnets, sestinas, etc., you can't really "plagiarize" the form. But yes, for original form, logical order of ideas, for word phrases, for word order, diction, connotation: I do believe that you can plagiarize and that people who are trying to be "inspired" by a poet's form must give credit.
• Yeah no removing the source for a poem on Tumblr just isn't okay.
• To me, the title is part of the poem. Removing it is just as blasphemous as removing a different line in the poem.

Hurting Isn't Flirting !!!

I read a story on the Internet (most of us do that) about a mother who got upset at a comment made by a well-meaning hospital worker after a 4-year-old girl had to get stitches. Stitches because a boy hit her in the face. Here's the Facebook post:

This story ran on Buzzfeed, but I'm not going to link Buzzfeed because I have a strong bias against Buzzfeed and their clickbaity hellhole of unoriginal content. Instead, I'm going to post screenshots of comments on Buzzfeed and explain why this issue is a big deal to me and other people.

Why is this issue important? Why was the comment problematic?

I understand that maybe the hospital worker had good intentions to try and lighten up the situation, but normalizing abuse is not the way to go. People might look at this as an isolated incident, and if you look at this as an isolated incident it's not so bad. Because it's one comment, and over the course of our lives we receive a lot of different comments. But we don't live in vacuums. We live in a world structured by systems, and we're coming into contact with one of them.

Throughout my girlhood (not childhood, because that was taken away from me when I was 3) people told me that boys show affection by hitting or being rough or mean. And it wasn't just one person one time. As I grew up, I heard that statement--"He probably likes you"--used to normalize anything from emotional unavailability to full-on manipulation. This faceless and nameless hospital worker isn't the issue here. The issue is all of us, mindlessly saying things that individually don't mean all that much, but collectively mean a whole fucking lot. And when this system of courtship tells young people, over and over, that boys show affection by being mean or by hitting, for God's sake, young people are going to grow up thinking that this sort of behavior is okay, it's to be expected, it's a "sign that someone likes you". It's not. Don't normalize problematic behavior.

 I don't know where this person is getting "nurture blah blah blah" from but that's not what Mrs. Smith was trying to say. And yes, people accept partner violence and problematic behavior like emotional unavailability and an inability to express opinions in a proper manner because of this. Because we make excuses for aggressors by saying that "that's just their nature" and that we're the ones who have to change to accommodate their harm. And I mean. When you're constantly saying "fuck bitches, get money," because you think it's funny or cute, I think it's rational for people to think you believe that's a good way of living life. I think it's rational for people to take what you say and interpret it according to the context. We don't have an "edit" option in the real world, where we can go back and rephrase our comments for a more appropriate meaning. People need to take responsibility for the things they say and own up to harmful behavior.

 

So she's four years old, yeah. But excusing his comment and the gendered system of courtship (boys are stoic and don't know how to show emotion, girls are sensitive) isn't healthy. Using trigger words like "femnazi" isn't funny or cute either, because seriously? Equating women who dare to have a voice with a terror regime? That's not an equal analogy at all. Yes, sometimes (even often) feminists do things that...require more planning and social awareness. Like pulling the fire alarm on a Men's Rights meeting. 

This person saying that Mrs. Merritt needs to stop overreacting because she's embarrassing the "poor guy" is taking the all-too-common stance of defending the aggressor. That's a strong word in this situation because he didn't really mean to, like, indoctrinate her daughter with the gender regime, but in this case I think you could call him an aggressor. Like part of a faceless army of people who don't know better. "Dealing with it yourself" as in?? Letting the mother reassure and teach her daughter? That only works so well up to a point. After all, I'm sure you're aware of all the young girls who seek outside validation and aren't satisfied when their parents love and support them. By adolescence children begin to be more influenced by their friends and peers, so when people continue to tell them this (believe me, it doesn't stop), it has a huge effect. It's very literally doctrine. That's scary to think about, honestly. It's a doctrine that doesn't even require evangelism because people go out and spread it every day without thinking.

 

It isn't overreacting to educate people about issues in their thinking and to support awareness for a harmful way of thinking and rationalizing harmful behavior. It's never overreacting to stand up and speak out for what you believe in. It's never overreacting to protect your voice.

 

How about we let go of this notion that kids need to be forced out into the real world before they're ready? How about we stop telling parents that they can't love and spoil their kids because that'll ruin them? Do you know that the most resilient and psychologically stable adults have intimate and healthy relationships with their parents? LOVE YOUR GODDAMN KIDS. BE GOOD TO THEM. STOP TRYING TO BE ARTIFICIALLY "TOUGH" WHEN THE SITUATION DOESN'T WARRANT IT.

 The human brain is still developing even in the mid-twenties (frontal lobes, anyone?). This person's weird psychoanalysis of Mrs. Smith just comes off as really bizarre because he's going into this shit like "to compensate for this feeling of guilt", blah blah blah. Hello, Freud 2.0! This isn't about sheltering or coddling. This is about highlighting a problematic trend that furthers the gender divide between girls and boys, when really there shouldn't be a divide because it's a goddamn spectrum. Boys can be emotionally effusive and open! Stop underestimating men and blaming everything on the "INHERENT NATURE OF MALES" DUN DUN DUN. 

And of course there's more "protecting the aggressor" behavior, which is probably to be expected. But Mrs. Smith made a post to try and raise awareness of harmful and very subtle indoctrination, and I think that it's important. I think people need to be aware that we as a collective make excuses for boys who can't yet properly express their emotions. I think people need to be aware that we make excuses for people who "were just trying to do the right thing". The right intentions with the wrong consequences can have extremely harmful consequences. This hospital dude isn't bad for trying to make light of a crappy situation, but it's the way he did it that we want to raise awareness of.

I don't know. This isn't as official as I feel like it should be. But, hey, blogs are for the author, right? I'm going to keep doing me. This is how I wanted to talk about the issue and I'm going to post this now. Thank you for reading all the way up to here and I hope you got an idea of why this issue is a big deal! And hopefully you'll do your best to minimize subliminal indoctrination. I sound like some sort of cultist.

I hope you're okay with the fact that my blog posts are slowly becoming more personal. It's the social commentary coming out. Except I'm not so great at social commentary or big keywords, so I come off sounding like an idiot. I hope you have a beautiful day full of exquisite things.

Love,
RIN