From Jakarta, I Envy Americans’ Right To Own A Gun!

Here in Jakarta, there’s a lot of serious ‘hunkering down’ going on.

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Even the left-liberal media know how to hunker down!

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Both the UK and USA embassies have just this week issued advisories ( not directives) to their non-essential’ citizens to go back home.

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The old British Embassy – I haven’t yet got a photo of the fancy new one!

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Many have taken that advice, and more will.

Many others, however, including ‘non-essential’ people like me, who have lived here in Indonesia for years, or even decades….

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…and love living here, will hang in there.

Much discussion, most of it well-meaning, much of it sensible, some of it somewhat vacuous…

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( I had to laugh at one clown’s ‘deep’ comment  ‘…mmm…’  when a challenge to his preferred narrative appeared! )

…is going on all over social media – stock-piling food, batteries, medicines, how much, for how long etc.

Many Indonesians are talking about the same things, but…

…over the last few days, the issue of danger, not from the virus but from violent crime, has become a topic, too.

Jakarta is not a dangerous city, as a rule.

Unlike London (and New York, If I’m correctly informed) there are very few parts of the city I wouldn’t walk through, late at night.

But if the economy takes a hit, if lock-downs provoke reactions, this could change.

It’s when faced with this prospect that I envy law-abiding Americans, who have the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

If you find yourself faced by a serious threat from intruders, armed or not ( and you won’t know how armed they are till it happens!) you should be entitled to take the swine down by any means available.

Here, the best I can reach for are a hammer and/or a kitchen knife.

Some people do have guns.

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Criminals, obviously, but also some rich people – some of whom are as bad as the criminals!

The rest of us, expat or Indonesian, do not, and fat chance of getting one.

That’s what I mean by today’s headline.