The Identity of Open-Minded in Indonesia

22 May 2021

Oh you’re an open-minded person? You must be part of the LGBT community. Wait, do you believe in God?

Annoying, believing in something controversial, and loud in social media. Those can describe what the word open-minded means in Indonesia. In a nation with the identity of the nicest people in the world, it seems like open-minded people tend to struggle. Normalized topics turned sensitive in Indonesia are not new news anymore; for example, joking about sexuality and race is a common practice done by teenagers in Indonesia. A good laugh coming from these sentences, “Bapak Budi homo,” and “Air mata beta sudah dekat,” is really normal. Then, with the surge of internet users in the nation, many Indonesian started to challenge the norms that existed for years without any challenger. There are many labels for this kind of person, ranging from SJW to what we know most as open-minded. But, what is the real definition of open-minded? And why do they need to ‘support’ those controversial ideas? So, can’t an open-minded person show zero support towards the LGBT community? Let’s discuss it in this article!

Being open-minded means an acceptance of other people’s ideas and arguments without being judgmental if it’s different from ours. An example for this situation is when your new friend in college can say that he loved Tukang Bubur Naik Haji, while you know that the show is bad, being open-minded means you need to accept that argument and don’t judge your new friend. But that doesn’t mean you can’t show your own argument for that topic. As college students, we need to develop critical thinking, which means we need to argue. Don’t ever say yes or no without explaining your view. Thus, giving your opinion on why you think Tukang Bubur Naik Haji is bad一or good if you are insist一is really important, but being judgy is prohibited here!

When it comes to being open-minded, the critical question is, “Do you support the LGBT?”. Nobody can escape from that question. It’s like a trap; once you deny your alliance, people will assume your open-mindedness is just a label to gain attention. The truth is, showing no support towards the LGBT community is fine. People can be open-minded and never support the queer community. Supporting a certain group or belief is really personal, and it shouldn’t be forced to their throat. As stated above, open-mindedness is a belief that lets a person freely express their idea without judging them. So at the end of the day, if a person shows zero support or even hatred towards the community, but giving a reason or an argument, then part of being open-minded is to accept it. It’s their freedom to express their idea.

The images of someone with colorful hair, tattoos, and piercing, marching to protest for taboo and controversial topics, is what people would imagine when they hear the term open-minded. This is a wrong stereotype because it looks more like a social justice warrior. People need to remind and educate themselves again about the meaning of being open-minded. If society gets the wrong definition, then perhaps it explains why people hate the self-proclaimed open-minded people.

Thanks to globalization, many ‘educated’ Indonesian started to show hatred towards our own culture or what we simply know as budaya ketimuran. Eastern culture is being slandered as a non-progressive and conservative culture. The surge of people who idolize the liberal ideology proclaimed themselves as open-minded. Fitting their people in the picture of minorities and the desire to change the conservative government. 

Not all cultures can fit in every region, and not every person has the same view towards certain topics. Being educated and open-minded, it should be normalized to see one issue from many points of view. 

Editor: Nadia Salsabila & Clara Nathania

References:

Handiko Wijaya