The Biggest Loser Asia TV Show

Fat Losers – The Biggest Loser Asia

Jul 27th, 2009, in IM Posts, by David

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43 Comments on “Fat Losers – The Biggest Loser Asia”

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ET Says:
August 4th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
@ Lairedion

I wouldn’t say ET cooked up this story but I find it slightly offensive and simplistic to describe this as a part of Indonesian culture.

I didn’t say kicking a pregnant woman’s belly was Indonesian culture. But the discussion veered into the habit of laughing with someone else’s misery and Brother Mouzone said

What else could it be about? I was under the impression we were talking about cultural differences. So, yes, it’s all about culture.

and then I gave an example of personal experience with this so called ‘culture’.

@ diego

Yes, the story is real, and no, I didn’t take pictures. Would you?

@ Pakmantri

My question to ET is, what did you do when you see the incident? Smile like the others in the room and do nothing?

Like I said in my post

When I showed my indignation about what happened the reaction to it was only more chuckle.

and then I went away, because like Brother Mouzone said

Be a little more aware and don’t judge everything from your own cultural perspective.

I showed my indignation by reproving the child but my real indignation wasn’t so much about what the kid had done. Children do stupid things from time to time and should therefore be reprimanded, not encouraged by laughter as if they had done something funny.
Brother Mouzone Says:
August 4th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
@ET

I didn’t say kicking a pregnant woman’s belly was Indonesian culture.

Hold on there, mate, somebody has to call BS here; you started your little tale of maid abuse with;

Let me give an example of this so called culture.

Nice try though.
Lairedion Says:
August 4th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
SP said:

Let me guess, would this have been a HITACHI family by chance?

Maybe Chinese Indonesian. Not to be racist but I often find children of wealthy Chinese Indonesians incredibly annoying and cruel to their maids. The poor girls already have to wear “pakaian seragam”.

Again I don’t want to be racist to Chinese Indonesians otherwise dragonwall will have a go at me…

ET,

Fair enough but this laughing at other’s misery is not specifically Indonesian culture. Back in 1994 I had a motor cycle accident in Bandung. In stead of being laughed at people rushed towards me to see if I was alright and made sure I was transported with an angkot to RS Santo Borromeus because I had a broken leg.

To add, especially in kampung neighbourhoods the community is generally tight-knit and very helpful to one another. On the other side Sundanese and Javanese can tell you with smile and laughter how many relatives they lost over the years due to natural disasters, accidents or illnesses. It’s a way of dealing with, as BM said, uncomfortable situations and sad stories.
diego Says:
August 4th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
My friends in mexico found the “kesian deh loe” (with that swaying your telunjuk / pointing finger) fun, and start emulating it.
diego Says:
August 4th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Other funny stuff: me tapo un chici, me tapo otro chici, no mames…. (I cover one tit, I cover the other tit, don’t suck [get real]).
ET Says:
August 5th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
@ Lairedion

Fair enough but this laughing at other’s misery is not specifically Indonesian culture.

First of all I cannot speak for the entire archipelago, only for the specific area I’m living in. But stories like this – not the one with the maid but mostly about road or other accidents – regurlary come up among local expats, even in an IM thread some time ago of which I can’t remember the topic. This time it was Andy who made a similar remark on July 31.

It could be that this kind of laughter has less to do with gloating or being amused with somebody’s misfortune but rather as a clumsy expression of distress or embarrassment. Anyway that’s how I would like to feel about the incident I described. I was the only bule present and it could well be that the others didn’t want to lose face. Showing anger definetely is a taboo in SE Asia – I heard similar stories about Thailand where a smile is compulsary under any circumstance as a means to avoid aggravation – so a direct punishment of the culprit in front of a foreigner was considered out of the question. This is however also speculation on my part. Fact is that I was shocked by the reaction of laughter, which lead me to put up the question in my answer to Andy.

It would be quite interesting to know what its psychological backgrounds are. Suggestions or opinions anyone?
David Says:
August 5th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
even in an IM thread some time ago of which I can’t remember the topic.

Here – http://www.indonesiamatters.com/5445/smiling-smiley/cp-2/#comments
Lairedion Says:
August 7th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
ET,

First of all I cannot speak for the entire archipelago, only for the specific area I’m living in.

earlier you said.

Laughing with other people’s misery or embarrassment is a really striking indonesian phenomenon.

In your case it might be speculating on a possible Balinese phenomenon.

Try Bugis, Batak or Ambon for a change. Very friendly, smiley and helpful people but also not afraid to show their emotions and temper.
Odinius Says:
August 17th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Anyone else find the obese kids with two nannies you see at Jakarta malls a tad bit disturbing? After all, a huge percentage of Indonesians are malnourished…
BrotherMouzone Says:
August 18th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
@Odinius

Anyone else find the obese kids with two nannies you see at Jakarta malls a tad bit disturbing? After all, a huge percentage of Indonesians are malnourished…

Well, there’s an obvious solution there…
David Says:
March 18th, 2010 at 1:21 am
Well an Indonesian won it, so proud…David Gurnani

David Gurnani of Indonesia is winner of The Biggest Loser Asia 2010
diego Says:
March 18th, 2010 at 1:26 am
@andy: obesity is a sign of prosperity??? not always.

When people can’t access other source of (healthy) energy (for the price), they look for energy elsewhere, and sugar is one of them.

Try this: change your diet (drop all those healthy fruits and vegetables), disproportionately add coca-cola to your diet, let’s see how you changes (post your pic please).
lialita Says:
April 26th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
i want to join in,, i need to reduce my weight, its not only for my bule’ boy friend but hte most is only for my health though