Statue of Barack Obama as a young boy which stands in Indonesia
Obama visits a nation that knew him as BarryThe two houses where he spent part of his boyhood stand pretty much the way they did when he went back to Hawaii four decades ago. The two schools he attended have grown larger but, in spirit, remain unchanged.
Some of his old friends can still be found around the neighborhood.In Mr Satjakoesoemah's living room, Mr Obama's mother taught English to the neighborhood women, including his wife, Djumiati.
While the residents regarded Mr Obama's mother as a "free spirit," Barry, who was chubby, was referred to as the "boy who runs like a duck," said Mrs Satjakoesoemah, 69.
Though most of the Menteng school's students have always been Muslim, Rully Dasaad, 49, a former classmate, chuckled at the idea that of all schools in the country, Menteng was equated with a madrasa.
Mr Obama's family rented the guest house inside a compound belonging to a prominent physician. There, according to the neighborhood's longtime residents, the young Obama, who had already experienced differences in class and religion in his short stay in Indonesia, was exposed to another aspect of Jakarta's diversity.
According to NDTV:" His nanny was an openly gay man who, in keeping with Indonesia's relaxed attitudes toward homosexuality, carried on an affair with a local butcher, longtime residents said.
The nanny later joined a group of transvestites called Fantastic Dolls, who, like the many transvestites who remain fixtures of Jakarta's streetscape, entertained people by dancing and playing volleyball."
Read the full story here.
For the record, one thing I love about Pacific Islanders (and while I don't think Indonesians are classed as Pacific Islanders, they sure do appear to be Pacific Islanders) is, they accept life, and all it's foibles, with a smile, a laugh, a shrug of the shoulders, and acceptance.
They are not an angry, condemnatory people, in general.
... in general.
Americans could take a lesson from this article.
We really ought to accept gay people in this manner, no matter what one's personal opinion of their "sin".
And, when a kid "runs like a duck", it ought to be accepted in this manner as well, with, as I say, a smile, laugh, and a shrug of the shoulders.
It is funny that Barack Obama runs like a duck. Can't you just see him waddling around like a little baby duck.
How cute.
And now, he's trying to make America look ridiculous. But, America is not the "Fantastic Dolls" of the world's nations, and we run like a a fucking tank, not a dorky duck.
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