Jennie M. Xue

The fallacy of equality and persecution

by Jennie S. Bev

Two centuries ago, John Adams said, "Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence". This still rings true to this very day and we can clearly see how facts and evidence dominate scientific approaches, ranging from participatory, empirical, constructivism and post positivism. As the logical consequence, equality is oftentimes seen as a condition derived from facts and evidence in the society, not merely a subject in discourses.

Is equality everything? Is it so favorable that we cannot see the merit and beauty in inequality (a.k.a. differences)? What is "equality,” anyway? Why is it considered a "fallacy"?

Today's state of persecution of minorities, including those occurring in Indonesia, has reached an unprecedented level. Intolerance, especially in the realm of religions, can no longer be tolerable. What does "equality,” or lack thereof, have to do with persecution? What can we, as the majority, do about it given the bothersome facts and evidence?

Is Indonesia slipping back from its historic tolerance?

by Jennie S. Bev

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the reformasi movement in Indonesia. Begun with the shootings of four Trisakti University students in Jakarta, a week of violent demonstrations throughout Java followed, and the subsequent political turmoil, including brutal anti-Chinese riots in Jakarta, eventually removed former President Suharto* from power. May 1998 remains an important milestone for the imperfect and sometimes chaotic progress the country has made toward representative democracy.

In this beautiful tropical country, well-founded fears among minority groups have been rampant and rounds of exoduses of persecuted minorities are expected in the near future. This month marks the escalation of two things that the Indonesian government has been consciously imposing on its minority constituents: the politics of avoidance and the politics of listening to the loudest. That is, Indonesia’s government is notorious for avoiding legal actions against human rights abuses and for bending to Islamic extremists and radicals, regardless of the fact that they make up less than 10 percent of the overall Muslim population.

Ten years after May 1998 tragedy

by Jennie S. Bev

This May, we are commemorating the 10th anniversary of the May 1998 tragedy, which is better known as the May 1998 riots. This historic incident is an important life-changing milestone in many people's lives, whoever they are.

I lost my innocence in May 1998, politically and spiritually. In a few fast-paced heart-racing days, I realized many unthinkable and unimaginable things, including what human beings are capable of doing to fellow humans, which could have happened to a person like me: the targeted rape of Chinese women, the burning and looting of properties belonging to Chinese owners and the denial of such incidents by those in power.

On top of that, the on-going politics of amnesia by the state and the minuscule amount, if any at all, of structured and unstructured compassionate-based efforts experienced by those whose souls, sanity, dignity and tangible and intangible properties were dissolved unwillingly simply because they were born the "wrong" ethnicity.