The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

A Weapon Of Mass Attraction …

So I am off to Indonesia today to run a couple of workshops and it’s really interesting the emotions it stirs up in me.

No, I’m not talking about sitting in a room with a bunch of clients and getting them to do ‘stuff’ – I’m talking about going to a place that Western media has brainwashed people into believing is the home for religious extremists and terrorism.

You see it’s not like that at all …

Sure it takes hours to drive a couple of miles plus every building has Police/Guards with machine guns … however the people are incredibly warm, friendly and have an amazing passion and interest for life, which is why is shocks and saddens me that despite knowing and experiencing all of this, I still feel a sense of trepidation everytime I go.

OK, so I still actually go – it’s not like it stops me heading over there – however I still feel a sense of disgust with myself that these thoughts even enter my mind.

Hell, I come from Nottingham, – the most dangerous city per capita in Europe – and I never worry about going there so what is it about Jakarta that congers up all these feelings of nervousness?

I’ll tell you what. MEDIA.

No, not the advertising magazine [though that’s quite dangerous in itself 🙂 ] I’m talking about mainstream media – especially those ‘news’ organisations who claim to be serious about journalism and yet seem to be the mouthpiece for certain Governments in the spread of their propaganda.

A while back I wrote about how we [and I mean ‘we’, not just media] like to ‘label’ and ‘generalise’ despite it being one of the most dangerous things you can do.

Of course I understand WHY we do it [hell I know I do all the time], but that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do – especially as more often than not, we tend to fall on the side of negative generalisation, rather than positive affirmation – and I can’t help but feel Jakarta/Indonesia is a victim of this ‘negative collective’ which ultimately is robbing them [and the World at large] of incredible opportunity, potential and friendship.

The fact is every city/country has its good parts and its bad parts and yet hardly any of them are exposed to the sort of media scrutiny that places like Indonesia get.

Has Indonesia got its problems?

Yep.

Are there organisations at work there committed to doing harm in the supposed name of religion?

Allegedly.

However how is that different to the USA with their plethora of internal issues and extremist groups? 

Lets remember it was Americans who bombed Oklahoma and Americans who helped fund many of the actions undertaken by the IRA and yet the World didn’t expose them to the sort of prejudice, propaganda and sanctions that it’s placed upon Indonesia.

I hate how this ‘War On Terror’ has been positioned as a religious war – it’s not – it’s just a great way for certain organisations to stir up people’s emotions for the benefit of themselves.

Indonesia is a great place and I would genuinely encourage everyone to experience it – all it needs is some positive PR and maybe that should be an A[P]SOTW assignment because if we can help break down the doors of inherent prejudice, then maybe good things can start to flow again.

You just have to go back a few years to remember how Bali was almost destroyed because of negative perception – a place that has symbolised peace and tranquillity for decades almost destroyed by two acts of aggression and hundreds of acts of mis-reporting.

When I see the families of those who lost loved ones in the bombing go back to spend time with the locals, it brings a tear to my eye – because despite going through absolute heartbreak, they know the truth – the people of Bali are a loving, warm and peaceful society that would never wish harm to happen to anyone.

Working on repositioning Bali was one of the best and most interesting things I’ve ever done [you can follow my story about it by clicking 1st post, 2nd post, 3rd post, 4th post, 5th post] and while it played a very, very, very minor role in the countries resurrection, I know it captured the majesty of the place which inturn helped overcome some of the negative perceptions that were flying around … so maybe there’s hope for Indonesia [I know Bali is part of Indonesia, but in most people’s minds, they are totally different], because if we can stop the masses from being brainwashed by the propaganda that’s banded about, then maybe some bridges can be built with a culture that truly wants a happier, healthier World for all.

I know Indonesia is up for it – how about you?

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