Why Nas Daily’s Video about “Asia whitest village” triggered so many people in Bali?
As we have seen, that video generated a lot of controversy in Bali. As an independent transdisciplinary researcher and educator on global sustainability, a subject that is also about how we relate to ourselves and one another, I would like to share my views on the subject.
In that video, Nas Daily claims that many “white people” have chosen Bali because
- Nature is stunning and green
- Bali offers great hospitality
- Bali has cheap prices
- Everyone drives a scooter
Speaking about Bali’s Nature being stunning and all green is denying the fact that Bali, like many other places in the world, suffers from a very concerning problem of environmental destruction, the most visible being plastic pollution. One of the common reactions to this problem is to blame others: for example, many Westerners blame locals for not using garbage and many locals blame Java for the pollution.
More realistically, we all have our share of responsibility when it comes to the destruction of nature in Bali and on the surface of the globe. The problem is not a certain group of people but what drives our destructive and unsustainable behaviors: greed, ignorance, and carelessness. The problem is also systemic. At the core of it is a global economy driven by individualism, consumerism, and materialism. An economy that generates industries prioritizing what is good for profits and growth over what is good for humanity and the planet.
When Nas Daily speaks about hospitality and cheap prices in Bali: he is also speaking about a deeper problem that has been mostly ignored until now. Most if not all westerners take advantage of inequalities and the relative level of poverty in Bali. As for the Balinese culture of kindness, service, and inclusivity, it is often exploited for profit. Western privilege is so part of the norm that most people do not even acknowledge it. To change this, we need a new economic model in which we are not competing and exploiting one another to accumulate wealth and possessions, but in which we collaborate together to resolve our problems and make the world a better place for all. Here again, the problem is systemic and before we can work together to fix it, we must first acknowledge it.
Finally, Nas highlights scooters to get around as a reason for many foreigners to choose Bali. Aside from the mode of transport, this last part of the video speaks about the level of freedom and independence that can be experienced in Bali. This unconsciously underlines how western societies can leave people deeply frustrated, with so many experiencing a lot of stress and 9 to 5 jobs that are neither meaningful nor fulfilling. As such this part of his video speaks about our frustrated inner desire for freedom of movement, freedom of expression, and for self-realization.
Have you asked yourself why that 1 min video has triggered such controversies? Isn’t it because it has poked at our collective shadow: the collective trauma of colonization, parts of ourselves, and of our globalized civilization that we do not want to see?
We have already experienced so many times, how judging, blaming, and shaming doesn’t solve the problem but generates more traumas, tensions, and divisions between us. Are we going to keep doing it, or are we going to take Nas Daily’s video as one of many opportunities to introspect and realize that we are all part of the problem, and therefore all part of the solution?
