In Reply to: Okay okay okay.... posted by Moosey on Wednesday, 5. October 2005 at 07:25 Bali Time:
Bali as it is today exists because we demanded it be that way.
We wanted five star resorts on a private beach, and cheap hotels as options. We wanted cheap stuff and cheap people to drive us around, paint our nails, braid our hair, give massages, etc.
Investors (largely foreign or Suharto-associated) provided the infrasture that allowed more of us to go.
Then we decided that, although Bali is nice and different from home, wouldn't it be nice to have everything we have at home in Bali too? So along came fast food franchises, discos, department stores and malls. Soon a casino.
So we demanded that Frankenstein's monster be built, in fact helped create it, and it raged out of control until all the Balinese were dependent on it for their survival and so bowed down to its will.
And now that the angry villagers from the next Island have come with burning torches to kill the monster, we can all sit at home and say, "Let them sort it out. They need us. If they want to survive, they'll make everything right again." And if they don't, we can go create a new monster somewhere else.
The Balinese who are dependent on tourists today are that way because the tourism industry (aided of course by tourists) and other wealthy investors have left them few other options. Many families were run off their land by either military or economic forces and left to fend for themselves. And now that they've adapted to survive, after losing their land and their lifestyle, they get complaints because they're trying to rip people off.
Our monster is loose on their island, and their neighbours are complaining. I say it's our duty to ensure that the Balinese survive. We've been using them for decades. Even if you don't personally like them, I think you could show some more compassion for people who have struggled a long time and have harder times ahead.