I have been skeptical with Fulbright's mission to "promote cultural understanding" since the beginning of my involvement in this program. At the beginning, I thought that's just another slogan - as values are different, being that "cultural ambassador" thing will be limited with "introducing," or in other words, you can't do anything more than shallow compromise. I just realized how much "promoting cultural understanding" can mean after seeing my Indonesian Muslim brothers & sisters' reaction on Our Three Winners. Yes, I'm pointing my fingers to you, brothers and sisters, on your outrage to the recently increasing hostility (or "incidents") to innocent Muslims, or Muslim-related attributes.
As politically incorrect as it sounds, here is my sincere reaction: folks, now you can understand how it feels to be a minority. Now you know how to put yourself in the shoes of those whose voice wasn't heard, whose case reported with heavy media bias, and who can't help but to feel insecure for some nonsense everywhere they go. Now you feel it.
Whoa, don't get mad at me at the first place. Now let's take a mirror.
I see some of you get really annoyed with "double standards" of the western media in reporting those cases, comparing Our Three Winners with Charlie Hebdo and you ask people to shout as loud as they did when whites are the victim and Muslims the villain. Now remember what happens back home. Do you ever notice how our mainstream media doesn't even care about the human rights violations and torture in Papua? How do you think they feel? And did you ever care how those Confucians and non-official religions feel for being "unrecognized" for decades, with the ignorance and acceptance from the majority? Ah, the more important: who were the majority? You! And where were you every time Christian community threatened by those stupid extremist? Do you know some communities struggle so hard to even pray? Ah, media doesn't really care to report that! Why? Maybe because the majority care more about shopping discount or discussing what's the newest MUI prohibition? Don't you think our media back home have done too much injustice to our minority? And did you find yourself shout out loud? Yeah, you, and me, are a part of the creation of "truth" - sacrificing the values not important to us to end up in silence. Like what you're accusing right now to the American media and society.
I see you're shocked with those people who shout on you just because you're veiled, you're feeling less safe wearing religious attribute. Welcome to the life of Chinese minority back home! How do you think it feels to be called "Cina!" "amoy" everytime you go to the market? They can't remove their eyes or skin like you can't remove your veil. And do you know how difficult it is to convince those Chinese mothers to send their children to public schools, even the best public university, just because feeling insecure of their childrens' ethnicity? And why do you think those rich Chinese kids always hanging out at expensive malls or within their community? Yes, it's a fear of discrimination and hostile treatment. If you're accusing Islamophobia, there's an unconscious pribumiphobia among them. How can I say that's unreasonable providing the fact of what harm our irresponsible society have done to them? Many of their daughters have been raped without proper trial. The mass pillage always targeting them. Public officials expect, and ask, bribes from them. Law and regulation has discriminate against them.
And I hear you're saying American laws have failed the Muslim community - that the state couldn't facilitate the peaceful existence of Muslim and guarantee their safety. What would you say about our country? Will your attitude differs when it comes to those incremental discrimination within our own society? Why don't you shout louder to our government, saying they have failed the rest of the society with their failure in controlling extremists back home? Are you now trying to say Indonesian government already tried to control FPI? And so does American government also tried to control that killing! And the fact that government fail to prevent that from happen at the first place does not justify anything!
I hate and I can't accept the religion or race-motivated hostility in any form. No matter what my religion. I understand your madness, but I hope you can take it as a lesson to build a majority who aware of the hurdles faced by minorities. In the global communication era like this, each of our voice might count and reach to the other part of the earth, but too many times majority's voices are shortsighted. And that's why this time, you, as a minority, speak loudly and ask the majority to listen. Now you know how it feels wearing the minority's shoes. The unheard voice, the people who have to accept the majority's truth.
And that is the deepest cultural understanding that you can get. Cultural understanding on yourself.
You can make a change. That feeling, that understanding of being minority, is a precious experience. It might be even more precious than all your efforts to spread and promote the justification of whatever the value you believe. Don't forget it when you're home. Don't use yourself to be that bad majority that you think you hate right now. If you used to be one of them, change. You can choose to be the people you accuse right now, or be a wiser person with more sensitivity in facing minority struggle.
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