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Banality of arrogance: how even politicians like Arteria Dahlan lose the insult war
One of Arteria’s greatest hits was when he appeared on a popular talk show during which he traded barbs with senior economist Emil Salim, arguably one of the most respected figures in the country’s political establishment and ended up with the politician pointing his finger in his face and calling him a “misguided professor".
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Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Arteria Dahlan
(Courtesy of House of Representatives (DPR)/-)
I
t is not easy to sympathize with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Arteria Dahlan, a tough-talking member of the House of Representatives whose penchant for appearing on talk shows and insulting other guests has somewhat made him a political caricature –and the subject of countless memes on social media.
One of Arteria’s greatest hits was when he appeared on a popular talk show during which he traded barbs with senior economist Emil Salim, arguably one of the most respected figures in the country’s political establishment and ended up with the politician pointing his finger in his face and calling him a “misguided professor".
If you guys watch Mata Najwa last night, how do you feel if he is your parent or you're at his position ? That old parent (Prof. Emil Salim) was snapped and yelled by that young man (Arteria Dahlan). pic.twitter.com/WLJkY0yUav
— アリフ クレスナ (@20202002a) October 9, 2019
So angry was the public that some enterprising computer users found a way to hack into his Wikipedia page and modified his resume to make him appear like a fool.
But last week, even the most jaded political watchers were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if not outright sympathy after he was subjected to a display of arrogance so egregious that many felt it beyond belief.
Like most things these days, it began with a viral video.
In the video, Arteria stood silently while his octogenarian mother was subjected to insults and profanity from a young woman, who was apparently miffed over a debate over who should exit a business class flight first (or a fight over a spot at the luggage carousel, it is not entirely clear).
