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Travel Qoute

Travel Qoute

Date: 2015-01-23
Here in Java, we live with a history littered with authoritarian regimes - from the long centuries of foreign colonialism to 41 of our 63 years of independence, when Sukarno's dictatorship after 1957 segued into Soeharto's New Order which lasted until 1998. Yep, were so much in the habit of being oppressed that it seems to have shaped our character.

Certainly the Javanese (who make up 50-60 percent of the population of Indonesia) have developed reputations for being nrimo (accepting of fate) and for avoiding conflict. No wonder: if every time you speak out your are beaten down, you eventually learn to shut up and just cop it.

Trouble is, when the pressure gets too much, we Indonesians start wriggling. Actually, we snap and run amuck (amok in Malay languages, from where the English term comes) lashing out uncontrollably and destructively. This is particularly associated with a specific, sociopathic culture-bound syndrome in Southeast Asian cultures. A normally peacefully guy who showed no previous signs of anger suddenly cracks and, mad with uncontrollable rage, injures or kills anyone he encounters until he is killed or commits suicide.