Jennie M. Xue

Blogs are Global Forum for Homespun Ideas

 

[Read directly at The Jakarta Globe.]

by Tasa Nugraza Barley

“Blogs are naked conversations where you have no editing process. Communication can be very objective or biased,” said Jennie Siat Bevlyadi, 39, who has been blogging since 2004.

Born and raised in Indonesia, but now based in Northern California, Jennie is famous among Indonesian bloggers for her posts on social issues, human rights, minority rights, gender issues, entrepreneurship, writing and online learning.

She has described blogs as a way to exercise free speech that is cheap and easy, but can have a great impact on society.

As such she has tackled important topics, including a recent article on her blog at jenniesbev.typepad.com titled “Peaceful Pluralism and Non-Killing Policy” where she voiced her support for people in Indonesia living in harmony. She wrote: “But we have come to a point where we can no longer tolerate violence and killing. Even in the name of politics.”

Her writing has reached a wide audience and stirred up mixed responses; she has received fan mail — even love letters —from supporters, as well as threats from extremists. She also received an award in 2007 at Pesta Blogger, an annual gathering for bloggers in Indonesia, for best celebrity blogger.

Interview: An Indonesian writer who knows her roots

by Shalene Gupta

(Read the article directly on TheJakartaGlobe.com.)

They say the people who truly love you are the ones who constantly urge you to improve. Jakarta native and award-winning writer Jennie S. Bev embodies this. Though she has lived in America for more than a decade, Bev writes exhaustively on Jakarta, its people, its activism and its future. 

Bev, a Chinese-Indonesian, maintains a strong connection to her birth country, while at the same time identifying as a member of the Chinese diaspora. Bev moved to America in 1998 at the height of the Asian financial crisis to attend graduate school in California and ended up making it her home. 

While Bev lives in California, she has not forgotten her Indonesian roots. Her connection to Indonesia goes deeper than simply missing home; it means actively continuing to be part of Indonesia’s future by constantly striving for social progress here. 

Bev’s writing on Indonesia ranges from topics such as gender equality to poverty, but they all share the same theme: the pressing need for reform. Her writing is at once tender and critical. Bev delves into the manifold reasons she chose to leave Jakarta — racial discrimination, political censorship, traffic jams — yet her work displays a deep belief in the city’s potential for change. 

An education in life

 by Jennie S. Bev 

In Indonesia, I went to a top-tier high school in Jakarta and the best university in the nation. In the United States, I didn’t go to an Ivy League school, instead I went to a state university and a so-so private university. Still, I did my master’s and doctorate-level studies and am now assisting a think tank at a posh private university in San Diego as a short-term fellow, writing on the subject of peace.

To some people, I’ve had an elite education and live an elite lifestyle. But for those educated at Ivy League schools, like Harvard, Princeton and Yale, I’m just a second-tier intellectual.

When a fatwa is not necessarily a "fatwa"

 by Jennie S. Bev

In five short years, Facebook’s members have reached 200 million worldwide. If it were a country, it would be ranked fifth in size after China, India, the United States and Indonesia. It is the fourth largest democracy by far.

No wonder it has been receiving the attention of Indonesian Muslim clerics as well. In late May, 700 religious students and clerics from East Java attended a public forum on young women’s Islamic boarding schools, and ultimately determined that overusing Facebook and other social networking sites was haram, or forbidden.

A call to arms against bigotry and the politics of amnesia

by Jennie S. Bev 

As part of international efforts to commemorate the Rwandan genocide, a New York-based group is calling for the United Nations to declare April as Genocide Prevention Month. Here at home, next month will bring the 11th anniversary of the Jakarta Tragedy Riots in May 1998. Crimes against humanity occur every day around the world, and we need to remind ourselves of the root causes of such problems and consider ways to work on solutions.

Let me begin with myself. Being born a female of a minority ethnic group and a member of a minority religious group in Indonesia has put me in the “triple minority” category. While Indonesia’s population has almost equal numbers of males and females, the latter are still considered to be a minority due to their marginalization in civic and political spheres despite some recent symbolic advancements, such as a quota in the legislature.

On the carpenter and resurrection

by Jennie S. Bev

Two millennia ago, a simple man from Nazareth made his debut in the world of politics and religion by starting a minuscule Jewish sect.

Jesus was a humble man whose values and virtues were remarkable. He was inspiring to all mankind, and Christians believe that he was divine, rising after his death on the day now referred to as Easter Sunday.

In search of radical public intellectuals

by Jennie S. Bev

Contrary to popular belief, academics are intellectuals but not all intellectuals are academics. Additionally, not all intellectuals are known to the public, and not all public intellectuals are radical.

Radical intellectuals can be found somewhere between university classes and writing and research gigs. They might even be unemployed and possess no Harvard or University of Indonesia PhDs. They are usually those who possess strong opinions but stay on the sidelines. They are iconoclasts, critics and polemicists.

Measuring progress amid the patriarchies

by Jennie S. Bev

Adam Smith hypothesized that people are inherently greedy, and that’s what it takes to run the engine of wealth. And to measure a country’s economic health, gross domestic product comes into play.

But while numbers look neutral and impartial on the surface, we should raise our awareness of the fact that they are actually biased toward creating patriarchies.

Today we still slant toward the favoritism of one of the genders, which is reflected in popular concepts in our society. Obviously, a patriarchal capitalism develops within the umbrella of the patriarchy of power. In politics, patriarchy is considered a normal occurrence. In measuring economic health, GDP, the worldwide standard, is a system with a tinge of patriarchy.

The marriage of politics and economics

by Jennie S. Bev

Politics and economics make an incredibly sexy partnership. Their erotic affair is based on influencing people, getting them to respond to desires. According to Thomas Sowell, a Stanford-based economist, political decisions tend to be categorical or unconditional, while economic decisions tend to be incremental or progressive. Citing Otto Von Bismarck, politics is the art of the possible. Thus, how well politicians and economists work together to create public prosperity is the measure of a successful government.

In the case of the United States, a successful government translates to one that spreads its influence in the most effective way possible. In Indonesia’s case, success means surviving the challenges posed by the wave of globalization.

Fight for equality is still far from over

by Jennie S. Bev

An Athenian tragedian Euripides (480 BC-406 BC) said, “Equality will never be found among humans.” Some 2,500 years later, women are still struggling for their equal position in society.

Speaking from experience, living in the United States as a minority woman is one of my greatest blessings. On an episode of her talk show, Oprah Winfrey said, “The United States is the best country to live in for women.” While I agree with her to some extent, it might have been an overstatement because, apparently, the United Nations Development Program does not concur with her. The United States was ranked just 12th in 2007-08, behind countries like Iceland, Norway, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, Japan, Netherlands, France and Finland in a survey of women’s rights.

Decline of pluralism, a cause for concern?

by Jennie S. Bev

Indonesia is a pluralistic country, and it shows how people of different religions and ethnic groups can live side-by-side in harmony. The Indonesian brand of Islam is generally considered to be moderate and liberal. However, a survey conducted by the Center for Islamic and Society Studies, or PPIM, at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University last year revealed some chilling facts. The respondents were Islamic boarding school, or pesantren, leaders from five provinces in Java, and most opposed pluralism and tolerance, and approved of the use of violence in the name of religion.

Of the respondents, 75 percent said they would allow churches built without permits to be destroyed or closed; 86 percent agreed that Muslims should not allow other religions’ worship places in their neighborhoods; 81 percent agreed that Muslims are not allowed to extend greetings for other religions’ holidays; 75 percent agreed that adulterers should be stoned to death; and 77 percent agreed that non-Muslims are not allowed to be heads of state. A whopping 89 percent supported Shariah-inspired bylaws as the standards for Indonesia’s morality. Such findings raise fundamental questions: Is Indonesia’s pluralism sliding downhill at an exponential rate? Shouldn’t we all be aware of and adhere to the so-called “universal” human rights?

This election, a little Socrates for debate

by Jennie S. Bev

Prior to Socrates (469-399 BC), there were the Monists and the Sophists. While the Monists subscribed to superstitious primitive beliefs, the Sophists were much more sophisticated. They taught and philosophized. Above all, they were well-versed in the arts of rhetoric and debate.

These sophists might still be alive and kicking today, far closer than we realize.

The arts of rhetoric and debate were called “sophistry” and those who mastered them would become advanced manipulators. In the hands of truth-seeking philosophers like Socrates, it was an effective tool. In the hands of politicians, it had the potential to make them charlatans.

Martin Luther King, jr lives on with new White House

by Jennie S. Bev

On Jan. 19, 2009, Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 80 years old. His hair would have been all gray and his hardships would have been marked with deep wrinkles on his face. And he would have been the proudest person on earth to see the first African-American president who will be inaugurated on the following day: Jan. 20, 2009.

King might not be present on that historical day but he will be there in spirit. He once said, “If anything happens to me, there will be others to take my place.” With commendable and convincing oratory skills, Barack Obama is one of the best manifestations of his spirit.

Out of the three leadership types —anchor, fixer and visionary— King’s was visionary.

Fighting crimes against humanity

by Jennie S. Bev

Wednesday was the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We have come a long way from the first legal system, which was Hammurabi’s Code; to the universal concept of jus gentium; to the Magna Carta; to the first war crimes trial of a head of state, Charles I, in 1649; to the Declaration of Rights by H.G. Wells; to the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on Dec. 9, 1948, as proposed by Raphael Lemkin; and eventually to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As the result of ongoing human rights activism that has elevated its status to idealism and eventually to a worldwide ideology today, the International Criminal Court, established by the 1998 Rome Statute, serves as the only permanent court jurisdiction over four offenses: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The latter is yet to be defined by the states involved.

Writing for an imaginary homeland

by Jennie S. Bev

Everything starts with words. Throughout history, every individual of any degree of importance in society has had at least one book and multiple short pieces written by, inspired by, or dedicated to him or her. Every major event and phenomenon is likely to have had some sort of written record.

After all, written words are a repository of histories, thoughts, feelings and efforts. They are testimonies to humans’ ever-changing nature and search for ultimate understanding.

Words are both edifices and crystal balls. According to Mary Pipher, in Writing to Change the World, good writing facilitates the making of connections in a way that inspires open-heartedness, thinking, talking and action. It widens readers’ understanding of the world, and empowers and inspires them. And writers who write away from their homelands might be those who are guilty of the crime of being distant and receiving accolades for seeing things in a magnified manner, as if looking through a powerful telescope.