Watatita: Indonesians and Their Pack Mentality

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February 06, 2012 | by Alexia Cahyaningtyas

watatita - pack mentality

This doesn’t just happen in Indonesia, but also in other countries. However, I would like to talk about this topic because it’s one of the reasons why Indonesia is not improving rapidly. Indonesia is full of people who have a pack mentality. This means that many people here just follow others and don’t think for themselves.

A simple example is when you are walking on the sidewalk along a road that has a traffic jam. A motorcyclist decides to drive on the sidewalk instead of the main road. As we all know, sidewalks are for pedestrians, but other motorcycle drivers see this as an open opportunity to move faster. They think, “If one of us can do it, then so can I.” Then a whole bunch of motorcyclists get on the sidewalk, beeping at pedestrians, some of them even yelling “Get out of my way!”

Even through it’s prohibited, once someone does it, they all follow like a herd of sheep.

Another example is when someone makes a stupid mistake, people get together and gossip behind that person’s back, or even worse, they put this person down publicly. I guess what happened to Arfriani after the Tugu Tani incident is a recent example. The whole nation won’t stop making mean jokes in poor taste about her and judging her based on everything she says or does.

What about the extreme hatred against Malaysia? When it comes to insulting another country, we put a lot of effort into it. Things like this shouldn’t be encouraged, but with this pack mentality, people feel comfortable judging, insulting and putting other people down just because everyone else is doing it.

For the younger generation, bullying is also an example of pack mentality. Some children would rather follow the more popular kids because it makes them feel secure, as if they won’t be judged. They associate with the popular ones in the hope they will be seen to be better than the rest.

However, when you’re young, you are usually still unsure of who you are and you do tend to follow other people. But when you are an adult, you should be able to differentiate between what’s wrong and what’s right and start thinking for yourself. We are human beings who, unlike animals, are blessed with logic. Be yourself, be brave, have principles and think for yourself.

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COMMENTS

495560

watatita

11:22pm Feb 9, 2012

Oh well now I see why this country's not really going forward.

gendis

8:47pm Feb 7, 2012

if you're a freak with steel mentality, you'll stand up for yourself, for sure. wrote about this thing once in my blog. most people just loved it, but doing it? i'm not so sure =D

nonredneck

2:25pm Feb 4, 2012

Alexia: Where is that "courage" you wrote about ? Gone with pressure is it ? Assimilating into the pack mentality ? Now Alexia ... please stand up ... please stand up ... put your thoughts high in the air ...

nonredneck

5:34pm Feb 3, 2012

Watatita: this entrenched sheepishness is related to cultural submission to tradition, way of life, religion, and even the way education is taught in schools. Opinion and outspokenness is considered crime with possible consequence of being beaten-up or beheaded here.

Peregrin

1:11pm Feb 3, 2012

I have written a similar topic in the past. It saddens me to see that after all these years, this type of mentality has not surpassed. Individuality is not appreciated. You can't be 'different' and still fit in. Even as an adult. What happens in high school continues on when you're 40.

In Indonesia, personal identity is given based on the group that person is in. What organization, what party, what company, and so on. This maybe because of insecurity to be recognized as an individual.

Watatita, you're right. Pack mentality is everywhere in the world. But in Indonesia, I see it is the worst.