Few days ago, I was having lunch with my friend at next building cafeteria. The building’ location is in Jakarta business district where high raised building crammed. White collar workers swarming the streets at lunch hour looking for places to rest and lunch.
Those white collar workers are educated workers, I believe most of them have degrees from reputable university. You know, attitude and education are not always aligned. They may have good education but attitude and discipline are not.
After we get our foods, we try to find a good spot to sit. We found a spot next to the way in that not too crowded and hot since air circulations are better. It’s an open air cafeteria. We were eating peacefully until a man sat on the opposite side of the long table.
He start to light his cigarette immediately. I know it’s open air but, he didn’t even care whether people around him will be bothered or not by the smoke. Oh yes, it’s in the middle while we having our lunch.
It’s been deeply rooted in our culture, toleration value, but not in good sense. We tolerate when they smoke BUT they never tolerate to non smoker around him. I don’t know what inside their mind, doesn’t know or doesn’t care to non smoker.
It’s common secret in Indonesia, law enforcement is not being upheld strictly and consistently. Not long ago the government just issue new law to prohibit to smoke in public places. The “echo” was sustained for weeks only. After that, it’s just like the law never existed before. Pathetic isn’t it?
We can’t count on the awareness to make the smoker care nor the law for now. We should educate children, the next generation to have the awareness and discipline. Even though the result is not immediately but in the long run the result will be solid. Let’s learn from Singapore, they take generations to educate citizen to have discipline, until the old generations are “phased out”.
In this case, I can get angry and furious to the smoker but that won’t make things better. I chose to tell the world to be aware and you should.
