MILITARISM

Ever wonder why those bigoted ones put "official look" military accessories in their cars? Whats in your mind when you see that..? Must be something like "dude, this guy has a military connection. Dont f*#k with him". Thats what you thinking… and thats exactly what they want you to think.

Dont know how long this stigma has been exclusively set in people’s mind. Probably from the New Order era of The Smiling Tour.. eh... The Smiling General, Mr. Suharto, or probably longer. But this kind of accessories, e.g. military school badge, black hat with "GEGANA" written on it, or a green barrette sits comfortably on the dashboard…. effectively scare people. That’s right. They are made and placed there to scare people.

Maybe the image of "I am a close family to an ARMY general.." or "my son is in the POLICE squad" is the essence of it all. Or maybe we live in the environment that is not so safe, that forces us to believe in this stigma… or even forces us to do such things… i.e. believing in militarism.


We have to look inside ourselves to understand it, to comprehend why we have such fear. Since we were little kids, we always had an impression… Tentara or ABRI (back then) weren’t someone you should say hello to if you meet them on the streets. They carried guns with serious faces. They actually look like everyday people if they dont wear uniform. They can even… repeat… CAN look like someone like Pak Santo, our favorite Mie Ayam Gerobak if… they weren’t physically trained… hehehe..

I have nothing against military. We need them to guard the nation. But they presence should be clear. If we remember learning the famous “Dwi Tunggal”… the social something bit.. Maybe that was the cause of all the big fuss on the image people get when they put military accessories in their cars. To me it reads that dim-witted Dwi Tunggal still exists. It creates an image that military is not a friend. It’s a guardian dog that is ready to bark at or bite you. But correct me if Im wrong… Dogs are best man friends.

That’s the wrong consciousness people get. Everything is cool with military taste on it. I don’t mind the fashion. Sometime its sexy to see a woman wearing a white tang top shirt and an Iraqi look American soldier pants. But if you put those emblems on, with a hope to give a scary or “close to barking dogs” impressions… Man…! You are so old skool!..


Not to mention our flag raising ceremonies or the way supervisors in parking companies brief their subordinates –civilians- wearing blue or orange uniforms… in military manners. You see… People are so proud to have military existence in their life, including its culture... like this national TV Station that dress up their crew in all black.. :-)


This is a life that we live only once. Every sight we see is a part of our life’s documentation. Everything. Please help me to see a better world. We need to live with military, but f*#k militarism.