Exactly, and it is the first point of what has generated this thread.
Even though some would find it strange, even though some would deny it or blame the "white arrogancy" to point at it, even though some would tell you that their family/friends/colleagues are adamant that THEY only use it to qualify white Caucasian, multiple examples on sosmed, medias or everyday life shows that this is not any more a clear cut, that the line is blurred and that it is far from rare to see the word used to qualify foreigners who are not white caucasian. The meaning and use of the word has changed from the way it was used at its origin.
Some would say it's because it's "Tribun", conveniently omitting that other sources such as Detik, Kompas or Merdeka have been provided in this thread, along with other online contents, using the term "bule" as they would have used "orang asing".
No-one said by the way that the term wasn't anything else than slang and that using it in a newspaper was a sign of quality journalism. It is not the point and I think that (almost) anyone is aware of it. I don't imagine Presiden Jokowi using it in an official speech nor I would expect it from any educated Indonesian.
The second point of the thread was to highlight the fact that it has no offensive connotation and that it was ok to use it in this forum. If one doesn't like it, s/he will have to live with it. White, Brown or Black s/he may be referred as being a "bule" in any post, regardless of his/her color of skin and this is as long as s/he is a foreigner (or thought to be a foreigner).
Apologize. But somehow I do realize that my people, without knowing it, are very racist. Not in bad way though…
But hey.. I will share that article in social media, to get attention of the journalists and editors.. they need to hire better quality writer. Imagine how our society is going to be if the one who feed us the news are those under educated and unqualified writer.
