Din Syamsuddin, soal "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" page di Facebook

Din Syamsuddin, soal "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" page di Facebook:

Karena itu di Facebook, ya, berhenti saja punya Facebook. Saya kebetulan punya 3 akun langsung saja saya tutup,

3 akun Facebook? Pasti buat main Farmville dan Pet Society.

Seperated At Birth? Tawon & Think City

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="285" caption="Tawon"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Think City"][/caption]

Slapstick vs. Stand-Up: An Unlikely Insight To The Indonesian State Of Mind

OK, this might be a wholly unimportant post regarding the state of the nation, but it's been something I've been wanting to put in writing for a while but never had time.

Reflecting upon @aulia's [perhaps rhetorical] question and @pandji's one time ambition to be one, the question posed asked merely: why doesn't stand up comedy "work" in Indonesia? Why are most publicly-consumed comedies derived from slapstick?

As once presented by @ismanhs in his presentation at Barcamp Indonesia 2010, a good joke has a premise, a victim and the punchline (CMIIW). And basically, slapstick comedy, or the derivative of it where somebody or a celebrity is the victim of a practical joke, the premise, the victim and the punchline are all provided for the audience. The deliverer and the recipient of the joke are in the same place, work from the same script, and thus stay within a single, controlled environment.

Whereas in stand-up comedy, there is only one person up there! Since there always has to be a victim of the joke, there are only so many self-depreciating jokes a comedian can deliver before he/she needs another victim. The victim might be in the audience, or might be a hypothetical stereotype, or might be a public figure (read: celebrity or politician).

Now Indonesians will laugh heartedly at any joke, as long as the joke's not on them. Even if the joke is not really on them, if they were part of one of the hypothetical stereotypes involved above, they'd get offended. If it were remotely touching on ethnic or religious differences, someone will get offended. And if it were, even somewhat indirectly, making fun of a celebrity or politician, and even if the joke was something always talked about privately virtually everywhere; once the joke is delivered publicly, they'd get offended.

Indonesians take offense easily - high-school brawls start and continue for an easy part of the school year just because some kid looked at another a bit funny. Cops, who are supposed to hold the peace, retaliate when provoked. Sometimes it's like everybody's looking for a problem.

I learned the hard way that I shouldn't take offense easily - all my friends did to ease my short temper was actually piss me off all the time, ha ha ha... and of course, the older I grew, the higher my self-confidence level became, and it became easier to not be provoked by simple offense. Don't get mad, get even, as they say.

So Indonesia needs to learn how to take a joke! Why so seerriioouusss???

Small Things Of Hope And Self-Confidence: For A Better Nation

For months on end, one problem has been revolving around my head - the state of our nation. The simple things that we see every day and take for granted (which we shouldn't) are end results of something even deeper, somehow permeating the nation's subconscious.

Here's what I see:

• shameless and over-the-top corruption. Hey, even stealing a pen from the office for personal use is corruption, but I dare say we've all done it once or twice. But people skimming money here and there, setting up dummy corporations, to grab mountains of money? That's greed, but what provoked the greed?


• aggressive drivers and motorcyclists. Anybody who drives daily in Jakarta is familiar with the ongoing fight you have to endure with other drivers and motorcyclists, just to move forward. Many attach this aggressiveness with frustration, but... frustration towards what?


• low craftsmanship, or even plagiarism. Going through a house renovation gave me a first-hand look at how paid labormen work (who are usually hired only to do a specific task). They just do the job they're told to do, without any thoughts towards function or aesthetics. Some may associate this with their level of education, but this also happens a lot in educated circles also. Employees do just enough to make sure they're still within the key performance indexes, and the less they do (otherwise copy other people's work), the better. Local mass electronic companies design knock-off products based on other, more prominent brands because "that's what sells" - just look at the wave of QWERTY phones since the BlackBerry craze in Indonesia. All three examples point to a very low pride level about their own work. But why?

I mainly thought that these sociological symptoms were due to these factors:

1. release from the oppression of the Suharto era. Newfound freedom without a sense of responsibility has brought our nation almost to the brink of collapse, many times.


2. low level of empathy - no such thing as 'love thy neighbor' anymore. People simply don't care about others.


3. an effect of the release from oppression: a yearning of 'revenge', the release of frustration, and wanting to 'be on top because it's my turn now'. Big or small, the effects of these emotions can be seen in every day life anywhere in Indonesia.


4. more on the 'be on top' factor - wanting to feel 'superior' to others. Small example: the way a funeral convoy acts, especially the motorcyclists, clearing the road for a faster trip to the funeral. Or, how officials use motorcycle escorts to break through traffic. Even more ridiculous, how some people use their police sirens - actual police or not - to coax the traffic to roll along in a jam (even when it's totally pointless).

Why is all this happening to us? The younger generation, who did not feel Suharto's oppressive rule, still act vengeful and frustrated - see how easy it is to recruit people into violence-prone groups like FPI, and the constant, unprovoked hooliganism of Jakmania.

And it's not about the general education level, either - we see these negative symptoms everywhere (as I have shown above). All probably small things, but as they say, the devil is in the details; giants slip from small stones than big rocks.

The general feeling of apathy must be caused because of something, but apathy alone would not make people frustrated - apathy would actually come after frustration. Then it dawned on me.

Two words:

Self-confindence.

Hope.

Voters flocked, twice, to vote for SBY's administration because, for a while, he represented hope. He looked at us and basically said 'don't worry, we can do it!' thus building our self-confidence. Regardless of what is currently happening and what political leaning you have, I dare say this is the single most important contribution that SBY's administration has given to Indonesia. Unfortunately, the blatantly selfish power plays done by any and all the political parties have blasted out this self-confidence and hope once again, just like a new house built in months of hard work can be burnt down in a day, and the seeming inaction from SBY's administration also struck a blow to the hard-won hope.

I have mentioned numerous times that the fate of the nation depends on us - the average citizen - and even more so than what our self-proclaimed leaders can do. These politicians are too busy attempting power grabs and testing their authority (like issuing pointless fatwas or laws) that they forget to take care of their constituents. It has got to the point where, ridiculously, a party will appoint a celebrity to run for a certain post, even though he or she has no previous experience, or  is not even from the constituent's area, just to get votes.

So there's nothing we can do except keep an eye on them - political parties here are created more to grab power rather than trying to push their member's ideals; this can be proven by how similar all the parties are, trying to be something for everybody.

But we, the people, can be the change that they disappointingly cannot. Through our work and our play, we can and should emanate hope and self-confidence. We should attack apathy by being critical - I have an entire blog dedicated to making people laugh enough, or angry enough, to break through their apathy and figure out solutions (or at least suggest them) for Jakarta. We should take pride in our work and inspire the best work from our peers and colleagues. And we really should be more tolerant - everybody has a unique way to contribute; differing point of views ensure a richer solution.

And it all starts from the small things we do every day.

The fight still continues, my friend!

Bebek Goreng H. Slamet (Asli); Jl. Raya Cireundeu, Jakarta

Thanks,
Ario

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/barijoe

Blog http://barijoe.wordpress.com
Plis Deh Jakarta! http://plis-deh.com
Krayola http://www.krayola.info

Sent from my BlackBerry®

Reflecting And Hoping

It's been a while since I really sat down and wrote something for this blog. Well, something about me, rather than my opinions about #indonesiaunite and all...

I know it's rather commonplace today, where [almost] everybody has a blog, Twitter account, and Facebook page... but I would like to mention that I have been blogging for 5 years.

Let that sink in. Five. Years.

Five years of continuing to write - I'll use the term 'continuing' loosely, as lately most of my writing has been more exclusively via Twitter. I guess not all thoughts require a rambling, 10-paragraph blog post. But still, it is needed sometimes, and therefore the blog will not die. The blog will evolve somewhat, just as my blog has evolved for the past 5 years. It used to be on Blogspot, then I got active on Multiply, and now it's on Wordpress where it will hopefully will stay. I have maintained all three with the same content as they cater to different, if somewhat minuscule, audiences.

The blog itself has changed names twice (if you don't count the modifications to the name when moving to new blog services), from 'A New Leaf' to 'Positivity'. The blog's name and title, still reminds me on what I should be, and what I was before.

Then again, it's a bit startling to read blog posts from 3 or 4 years ago - I surprise myself with my own writing. It seems to have been written by another person, although I know for a fact that I wrote it myself. Has my writing improved? I don't know, the reader is the judge.

And this blog, with its various incarnations, has accompanied me through many, many things - although I never have directly written what was going on as a personal journal would entail, I think the ramblings, thoughts and statements suffice enough to give the reader a picture of what's going on. And also, still, not everything can be talked about on a blog, haha. That said, there is a lot of stuff that I wish I could write about here - but some stories are better told directly and verbally :)

What will the next 5 years bring for me, and in turn show up on my blog? We'll see. As wise men say, man may plan, but God is the one who decides...

Happy new year, everybody.

Koin Untuk Keadilan - Dan People Power 2.0

Hari ini, konser Koin Untuk Keadilan diselenggarakan di Hard Rock Cafe, Jakarta, sebuah acara yang merupakan sebuah inisiatif para musisi, label dan profesional media untuk menggalang dana untuk Prita Mulyasari (pada awalnya) dan berubah jadi salah satu acara simbol generasi muda Indonesia melawan ketidakadilan.

Berhubungan atau tidak, kita melihat sebuah pergerakan baru generasi muda Indonesia untuk mengangkat sebuah isu sosial, dengan cara yang jauh lebih 'media-friendly', yang mulai terlihat pertengahan Juli lalu. Barisan-barisan demonstran sudah mulai ditinggalkan, karena ekspresi orasi di jalanan sudah dimiliki berbagai rombongan yang lain, yang suaranya cenderung hilang di antara berita macet dan klakson mobil.

Mengangkat sebuah isu yang harus disosialisasikan dan didukung ternyata bisa dilakukan secara lebih simpatik dan efektif - melalui media, melalui seni, dan dengan bahasa yang lebih moderat dan dapat diterima orang kebanyakan.

Seorang kawan pernah bertanya, mengapa semua orang mengumpulkan koin untuk Prita? Apa kabar berbagai ketidakadilan lain yang sudah marak di Indonesia? Yang harus kita tanya, aoa yang membuat kasus ibu Prita Mulyasari berbeda dengan berbagai kasus dan berita lain yang tiap hari muncul?

Pengumpulan koin untuk Prita yang berhasil mencapai Rp 650 juta itu memberikan sebuah jalur ekspresi untuk orang dari berbagai kalangan dan lapisan masyarakat - untuk melawan ketidakadilan. Seseorang yang hanya memiliki keping uang Rp 100 pun, bisa menyerahkan koin ke tempat koleksi, dan berkata, 'Saya, hari ini, telah berjuang melawan ketidakadilan'. Sumbangan dari siapapun, dan sebanyak apapun, mempunyai arti kolektif yang kuat: bahwa bersama-sama, kita bisa membuat sebuah langkah perbedaan; tidak perlu pansus atau tim pencari fakta.

Kuncinya mudah: berikan sebuah jalur ekspresi yang mudah dilakukan oleh banyak orang, untuk berbagai alasan - misalnya, menyumbang koin, atau memakai batik - dan kita akan lihat bahwa ternyata masyarakat Indonesia, hari ini, ternyata tidak setidakberdaya dan apatis yang dikira.

Gerakan Koin Keadilan untuk Prita bergerak secara lebih cerdas, lebih cermat dan lebih mendalam jika dibandingkan berbagai tuntutan protes gerombolan massa yang hampir tiap hari menyambangi berbagai instansi dan lokasi lain. Kenapa? Karena opini publik bisa terbentuk, dan publik juga diberikan cara untuk mendukung yang mudah.
Tanpa mengurangi rasa hormat dan kagum kepada pencetus kampanye Koin Keadilan untuk Prita beserta berbagai aktivitasnya, gerakan ini hanya akan sebesar ini jika didulung oleh banyak orang yang bergerak secara bersama-sama, dengan premis yang sederhana, dan tujuan jelas. People Power 2.0 ditentukan oleh konsep komunikasi yang jelas dan cara terlibat yang mudah, ketimbang didasarkan konsep politik atau filosofis yang mendalam yang diperkuat jumlah massa yang besar.

Penekanan pada kesederhanaan cara berpartisipasi sebenarnya sudah ada semenjak pita merah untuk kewaspadaan HIV/AIDS (atau malah sebelumnya), gelang karet Livestrong, sampai kampanye Product Red. Namun perlawanan rakyat melawan apatisme dirinya sendiri, untuk melawan terorisme, membanggakan batik, sampai mengumpulkan koin untuk melawan ketidakadilan, merupakan fenomena yang cukup baru dan menggembirakan di Indonesia.

Dukungan menggebu-gebu profesional musisi, media dan industri musik untuk konser hari ini merupakan salah satu perwujudannya - dan akan melaksanakan tugasnya yang utamanya, yaitu: menginspirasi orang bahwa siapapun dapat bertidak dan melawan ketidakadilan, sekecil atau sebesar apapun kontribusinya. Karena musuh terbesar masyarakat Indonesia sekarang bukan penjajah asing, tapi penjajah yang adalah saudara sendiri.

Kita yang berbuat, tidak perlu menunggu pemerintah atau Presiden berbuat. Dengan kekuatan crowdsourcing, tujuan yang jelas dan dapat didukung akan muncul dengan sendirinya melalui diskusi sehat dan terbuka. Dan ekspresi dukungan pun bisa dilakukan dengan berbagai cara.

Hari ini saya bangga berbangsa Indonesia - dan saya lebih senang lagi bahwa perjuangan demi bangsa dan negara yang lebih baik, ternyata ada di benak banyak orang secara serempak. Energi sudah ada, jadi mari kita tuangkan dalam apapun yang menurut kita akan membuat negeri ini lebih baik. Setiap 'koin' yang kita sumbangkan demi bangsa, akan berarti banyak untuk bangsa secara keseluruhan. Nggak perlu lihat atau hitung siapa menyumbang berapa, yang penting sumbangannya dulu. Dengan cara ini, mudah-mudahan, orang-orang yang konon katanya pemimpin bangsa kita, akan tergerak untuk kembali melihat gambaran besar membangun bangsa, dan tidak membiarkan negeri ini tertelan dan tenggelam oleh hisapan politik busuk.

Perjuangan masih berlanjut, kawan!