I haven't planned what I will say in this post at all. I am mostly repeating myself (Oh no not again!)but here goes anyway.
The comments I hear about Javanese people give me the whoops. I am not the only one though and that goes for in life in general or on this forum in particular. Except for being scared that she would knock herself out, I was happy to see a friend at my Bahasa Indonesia class come close to banging her head on the desk a couple of months back in response to a "Oh that would be a Javanese. Balinese would not behave like that" comment.
I know that if we were to believe everything the Balinese tell us about Javanese we would know with a certainty the every bad thing that happens on Bali is perpetrated by those dastardly, much resented, Javanese. I think they may well be responsible for Global Warming, the GFC and definitely the rubbish in the sea. Of course the Javanese would tell you that they are Indonesian too and have a perfect right to be in Bali, Indonesia. They of course will tell you that the Balinese are sly. The thing about those dastardly Javanese coming to Bali and taking Balinese jobs is a little sus too. How many Balinese work in Jakarta do you think? Driving trucks or whatever?
One thing that your Balinese and Javanese friends will however agree upon is that those from Sumatra have a style of communication that is so direct as to be rude and arrogant. We may find that the Sumatrans communicate much like Aussies and find this an easy relationship.
Those from the East of Indonesia, (agree the Javanese, Balinese and Sumatrans) look like Papuans and they do not feel that this is good thing. (I'd like to go on record as saying that I think the people from islands in the East of Indonesia can be pretty damn gorgeous).
Now let's not even get started on what all of the above feel about Chinese Indonesians and please don't mention the periodic violence against and (shh) slaughter of Chinese in Indonesia. OOh especially don't mention which Island saw the biggest massacres during the wash up from the attempted coup against Sukarno. Hush my mouth!!!
I like the Balinese actually, although from the above you may not think so. Here's the thing though. I like them as they really are which is no better and no worse than the rest of us. ie Good and bad in about equal spadefuls. In fact even their religion only requires them, or so I believe, to seek balance between good and evil.
To newbies who hear these sentiments I would say, just make up your own mind based on the people you meet not urban myths. To those who have been going for a while but still say "That will be a Javanese because a Balinese would never do that". I would ask.
"How did you find the Javanese when you last visited Java?" If the answer is "A mob of thieving ********" then fair enough. I don't agree with you but you are entitled to your informed opinion.
Should their answer be "Oh, I have never been to Java" then I think it would be a good idea to keep their opinion a little quiet for fear of looking silly.
This has been a Sunday rant by Hillary. Bouquets or brickbats welcome in equal spadefuls...