Historical misperception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Historical misperception - Essay Example Also, the rumor had spread throughout the Chinese community in Indonesia. Despite knowing the truth they were powerless to an authoritative government. I was in the 11th grade then and realized how different things are than what they are portrayed. They told me how a small group of people holding the administration during the time used the killings as a scheme to plan the killings of the PKI members. In fact they were being threatened by the presence of Chinese and saw their productive capabilities as a threat to their own influence on the country. They felt that if actions were not taken the Chinese would soon be dominating Indonesia and this is what they did not want. So the September 30th event was especially planned and targeted towards the members of PKI so as to vanish their existence. The government had provoked the natives to kill the members of the PKI hence they were ultimately responsible for instigating the people to carry out the killings. The people had been forced to b elieve that the killings were done by the PKI members and so did not know what the real truth was. Nevertheless, these chain of events made the government a hero in the eyes of the natives and stimulated feelings of anger and antagonism among the Chinese community who now thought that the government was anti-Chinese thereby leading to a divide between the two communities who could have dwelled in peace. 3) How has it been reinforced in your mind since you learned it? The idea has been reinforced as I continue to learn about many figures that had been heroified in American history as well. The first example is that of the American president Woodrow Wilson who has been heroified by white people in history. According to Loewen, Wilson will not be considered a... The misconception is important due to the image it has created of the Indonesian government executives of the time and of the PKI members. The way history is represented in the case of the September 30th events, it has created a divide among the native Indonesians and the Chinese immigrants giving rise to feelings of racism. As a matter of fact the killings had been directed by some people holding governance in order to carry out the killings of Chinese immigrants in the hopes to wipe out their existence in Indonesia. The Chinese felt that the government was acting against them in a specifically targeted plan whereas the Indonesians saw them as being the killers of the military officials. The implications of the G-30S/PKI event were various including increased hatred and hence racism among the two groups. Hostility and racism at that time must have been greater when there was a lot more confusion regarding the killings and about those responsible for it. If there is absence of any mi sconceptions and the information flow is perfect so that the people are aware of 100% truth then the racism among native Indonesians and Chinese immigrants would be so much less. Textbooks and media play an important role in the representation of information therefore it should be performed in a responsible way so as to eliminate ambiguity and misconceptions.