I was thinking a lot about...

I was thinking a lot about, prostitution... it is not that I want to consider joining the business. Oh God Forbid, but I was thinking the motivation behind it. Supposedly, I want to write this for an online news column, but I am afraid it might sound too personal and I have no capacity of judging anyone. I do believe that everyone has a reason to do what they have to do. Most of it, it is coming back to a financial reason.

Recently, Indonesian media covers the celebrity prostitution ring again. For some, they may find the news shocking, maybe because the practitioners are the celebrity with clean-cut image and nobody sees it happening. Now it does happen, it only reveals the dark side of the glam world. There is no one to be blamed but maybe our fucked up society is to blame.

Prostitution has existed back from the ancient year, it is considered as one of the oldest professions. 

One of the celebs has come clean to admit that she was part of the ring. She is only my age—if not younger. But then it comes in my mind, what drives a 22 year old to be involved in this profession which comes at a great cost and a great amount of favor?

If I were handed an amount of money, let's say, Rp 80 juta. I would use them all to backpack around Europe, I guess it is due to the mentality of 20something that I have. An independent thinker and traveler who is in dire need to find themselves. I would make a bad decision or a good one. What would she do with millions of rupiahs in her hand?

Looking at our modern life and the growing urban social circle that we have, nowadays it is hard for people to tolerate simpler life. One time I was watching TV with my mom, there was a news about a mother who shoplifted the local indomaret due to feed her family. When the camera took a glance at the shopping bag, we can see condensed milk, cheese and other expensive food items. My mom said, "Dear God, why cannot just cook whatever they have in the kitchen instead of stealing these expensive staples?"

While prostitution and stealing are not the same thing, but I see the same mentality—taking everything else for granted. Are we a spoiled generation? Could we not live on the street and prefer to stay inside the air-conditioned building?

I guess we are kind of hand-me-downs kind of generation. Maybe it is just in my circle, I am friends with many people who do not have to work so hard for money because their parents got their backs no matter what, but even so—this kind of mentality is toxic. It is lazy. It is spoiling children and making them very ignorant to the real world. It makes them impatient of getting what they really want. 

Prostitution may be one of the results of this consumptive behavior in this modern economic and social pressure. But should we go far to that extent? Or should we improve our other skills to raise our competitiveness in the professional field? But if education and living cost are relatively high... who are to blame?