simpleton

A certain personal, erm, catastrophe. Plus my current work which involves a lot of analysing, questioning, and dismantling phenomenon to find the core interest. They do make me aware of some things, fuelling things to ponder about during bus rides and walks.

Recently I blogwalked a woman who marries a bule. Interestingly, she needs to state that she is not that kind of woman with ‘kampung face’ who marries (old) bule for money. She explicitly describes her own job which allows her to buy certain luxurious brands (yes, its plural). She also implies that she is educated and comes from rich family. I got the impression that she looks down on those women. Of course, there is a stereotype that these women come from lower social status and usually uneducated. But, on the other note, these women can support their family at the kampungs. Some of them realize their potentials, become entrepreneurs and end up supporting their husbands. Some of these women don’t have the luxury of good education that enables them to get a good job and earn decent money. Men from their social class probably losers who gamble, drink and cheat. So they marry for money, but so what? I do think that they are much better than those trophy wives who went to universities, spend days at spas and beauty salons, gossip at trendy cafes, and enroll their children to various trendy activities because they don’t have enough energy to interact with them. It bugs me that this woman, from a family with money, who obviously had the opportunity to get to go to a good university, who has the privilege to go see the world, is well …. not THAT educated.

It is appalling that so many people, so many I know personally, have similar characteristics and share similar views with her.

I think these facts bog me down because they confirm that my perfect world does not exist.

In that world, education, more specifically good (and costly) universities, should give you an opportunity to analyse the world. It should not teach you specific science but, it should show you how to think, to see the world with its complexities without being overwhelmed by it. Going to university should be taken as luxury, an advantage that so many Indonesians can only dream of. It should prepare you to make bigger contribution to society, not look down on others who are not that lucky.

I also believe that going overseas is a huge privilege that allows you to see other cultures, to widen your horizons. To see for yourself how much you can learn from so many different things To bring back new perspectives. So if london reminds you of harrods, new york is neiman marcus, well…. You are obviously rich in the tangible department, but not on the other.

I guess it bothers me so much because those people have the opportunity, the privilege, to enrich their mind but end up, well, not a better person. And it is so annoying to see those people judging others, without these advantages bestowed upon them, as lower class.

It irks me to know that so many people can afford to go to university, but gained only degree. People who go see the world and come back with nothing but shopping bags.

Ah, what I am but a simpleton myself.