Summary

Two tourists were deported from Bali after their Twitter posts about their luxurious lifestyle in the country went viral, causing backlash from Indonesian users and the government.

Abstract

The article discusses the case of a lesbian couple who were recently deported from Bali after their Twitter posts about their luxurious lifestyle in the country went viral. The couple had initially shared their story of moving to Bali and starting a business during the pandemic, which was well-received by many users. However, when they started promoting their courses on how to live a luxurious lifestyle in Bali and seemingly promoting travel to Indonesia during the pandemic, Indonesian Twitter users and the government took issue with their conduct. The couple was accused of not having the proper visa and business visa, as they were selling digital products promoting Bali tourism. The couple claimed that they did nothing wrong and that the real reason they were deported was that they were LGBTQ. However, this was quickly shut down by Indonesian users and LGBTQ Twitter users, who urged the couple to look at the situation as a consequence of their own actions. The article also discusses the couple's claims of discrimination based on their race and LGBTQ status, which were also shut down by Indonesian users and black women on Twitter. Ultimately, the couple was found to have the correct visa but were not paying taxes, leading to their deportation. The article concludes by discussing the implications of sharing personal information on social media and the potential consequences of doing so.

Bullet points

A lesbian couple was recently deported from Bali after their Twitter posts about their luxurious lifestyle in the country went viral.
The couple had initially shared their story of moving to Bali and starting a business during the pandemic, which was well-received by many users.
Indonesian Twitter users and the government took issue with the couple's conduct when they started promoting their courses on how to live a luxurious lifestyle in Bali and seemingly promoting travel to Indonesia during the pandemic.
The couple was accused of not having the proper visa and business visa, as they were selling digital products promoting Bali tourism.
The couple claimed that they did nothing wrong and that the real reason they were deported was that they were LGBTQ.
Indonesian users and LGBTQ Twitter users urged the couple to look at the situation as a consequence of their own actions.
The couple also claimed discrimination based on their race and LGBTQ status, which was shut down by Indonesian users and black women on Twitter.
Ultimately, the couple was found to have the correct visa but were not paying taxes, leading to their deportation.
The article discusses the implications of sharing personal information on social media and the potential consequences of doing so.

How a Bragging Twitter Thread Caused The Downfall of Two Tourists

When Showing Off on The Internet Goes Terribly Wrong

Most of us don’t tell everyone our business. We know that it's not safe for everyone to know our every move. But somehow on social media, those rules go right out the window.

We instinctively post our achievements online. We seem to have an obsession with showing the world that we’ve gotten the shiny object that everyone else wants.

We tell ourselves that millions of people do it every day and nothing happens to them. That the worst that can happen is getting a few hate comments from jealous trolls or that onlookers are nothing but powerless to impact our livelihood.

But, that is far from the truth.

Your Tweets about your latest accomplishment can cause more than a little jealous stir among users. It can come under the scrutiny of authorities if any of those people take the time to bring it to their attention. And people are taking the time to catch you slipping, unfortunately.

A prime example of this is a Lesbian couple who was recently deported from Bali by the US after their tweets about their newfound luxurious lifestyle in Bali went viral. Who would have something as simple as a few viral posts about life in Bali would have ended in something as serious as deportation?

It Started With An Innocent Sharing of Good News

On the surface, it seemed like nothing triggering. Just a woman sharing how she turned her life around. And honestly who wouldn’t share that. Many of us could use an inspiring story right now.

Kristen Gray posted a series of tweets about her and her girlfriend’s struggles in America with finding jobs and starting a business during the pandemic to how they’ve been able to live and finance a luxurious lifestyle in Bali.

But then, Indonesians found fault

It was all good and well until she posted links to their courses on how to do just that (move to Bali and live in luxury) and seemingly promoted the idea of traveling to Indonesia during a pandemic.

Not only were Indonesian Twitter users displeased, but the government also got wind of it and as you can imagine they did not take kindly to that. Many Indonesians were furious at this couple for showing off their luxury lifestyle while apparently not having the proper visa. (They were also accused of not having a business visa as she sold digital products promoting Bali tourism).

Following that, people on Twitter came up with their own theories as to why Indonesians responded the way they did, including the couple. Of course, every theory was scrutinized and a Twitter debate ensued.

Was it because of their LGBTQ status?

The couple said they did nothing wrong. Instead, they insisted that the real reason they got deported was that they were LGBTQ as the deportation followed after one of the ladies made a public statement about LGBTQ.

But this was quickly shut down by a number of LGBTQ users on Twitter as they urged her to keep them out of the situation and to look at the situation as a consequence of their own actions.

Indonesian users also cleared the air about discrimination by saying they only had a problem with the couple’s conduct, not their LGBTQ status or race.

Plus, the fact that she said before that Bali was queer-friendly made this argument rather contradictory on her part.

Hating on Black Women living the dream?

In the same thread, some users sided with the women, saying that they were discriminated against for being black women. Apparently, people of other races who don’t have proper documents seem to be living in countries like Bali, with minimal immigration issues.

But an overwhelming majority of black women on Twitter hastily shut that down too. One woman stated that she knows black women that live in Bali and are thriving all because they (hint, hint) did things the right way.

Research actually shows that black people are not prime targets for any racial issues or deportation. If any race of people is, it’s actually Russian tourists. They account for most of the deportations from Bali. Not black people.

Overall, Indonesians emphasized that they do not have a problem with black people or any specific race. To prove this point, one Indonesian user spoke to the fact that there was a mass deportation of Caucasians who tried to host a mass yoga event.

The Prognosis: They Were Wrong (Just like many others)

They did in fact have the correct visa. But unfortunately, they were not paying taxes, so ultimately it’s pretty fair that they would pay the consequences.

However, we all know that people are living all over the world without documentation and don’t endure any legalities. I’m not saying it’s right but it does happen.

Also, it is entirely possible that these women didn’t understand the legal ramifications of operating an online business in Bali, outside of the US, or just in general especially given the modern nature of online business and how quickly they started the business.

Also, it's worth noting that it’s often implied that Bali’s immigration system is not organized and as this user put it, in need of a structural overhaul. So that could also be apart of the problem.

So, what do we have to blame in the end?

I’d say, the twitter broadcast.

Although it is the right thing to abide by laws, there’s a very good chance that these two women would still be in Bali if they hadn’t gone and told their business on Twitter.

I’m not saying that it's inherently wrong to post about your good fortune on social media. It's harmless if not inspiring, depending on how you look at it.

But you must consider what you're giving up. You're giving up some level of privacy and you're literally putting your life out there to be judged in the court of public opinion. You never know who might see you sharing about your little life and decide to go digging.

It’s no wonder why people who often show snippets of their lavish lifestyles don’t often publicly tidbits on how you can do the same. Apart from the fact that some people are living fake lives, are selfish, or simply aren’t required to, I’m starting to think that avoiding these kinds of situations is one reason for this. Can’t say I blame them.