On Thai Politics
Friday, 9. October 2009, 05:13:35
I have to thank Ko(n)Kila for inspiration for this rather long post.
So I turned on TPBS and I had a look.
I found endless reports of corruption (something that could have been solved a long time ago), but also quite a few people with genuinely good ideas to try and help bring this country a step forward. However, real good ideas are not given a proper chance because there are too many people trying to get richer from them.
And then there's the current yellow red rift in the country.
For those unfamiliar with Thai politics let's quickly recap the past decade (and those familiar with the situation, feel free to skip the inverted bit)
We started with a guy in charge who had many ideas, and put quite a few of them into action. This gave the people the feeling he truly cared about them, and thus he became really popular, as he was the first prime minister in Thailand that could deliver. However, a side effect of the rote learning style of education in Thailand is that nobody thinks critically, and if two news-reports are related, but not presented as such, nobody adds one and one. In other words, while obvious to the better educated, most people didn't see how he and his cronies reaped the profits of his policies. Those higher educated people, either didn't like him, or were on his payroll.
Then he went too far, and too many people started protesting in yellow shirts. So the military kicked him out – and he's been fugitive almost ever since.
Eighteen months or so after he was kicked out, a democratically elected puppet government took charge. To all but a few it was obvious that these people were utterly incapable of running the country, let alone walking in the evicted guys footsteps. So after another year of no real government, and protesters demanding the earlier guy to come back clad in red shirts, a new government with experienced leaders was put in place. Many people had great hopes that things would be all right now, but alas. People in red, and people in yellow are still taking to the street, and no one wants to concede.
And the new government is little better than the one we started with a decade ago.
So was my daddy right?
Obviously not. You can't blame a rat for snitching! You can't blame an ant for fighting its fellow ants! It's not the lack of decent people that's causing and prolonging the current rift. It's the large crowd who's willing to settle for mediocre; as it's better than it used to be.
I must admit that I'm happy I'm not in the Thai government. If you think the US government was an intricate web of alliances, you haven't seen the Thai one. The current PM has a decent set of ideas to help the country, but is tied by hand and feet to promises to crooks as he wouldn't have been able to gain power without them. I don't have a quick solution this time, but I have spotted the core of the problem. And if we solve this, we will start on the way of reconciliation...
The core of the problem is this: everybody involved is a tattle tale. Only telling on the other's faults, but never willing to admit that their own side isn't perfect either. To the reds, their hero is saintly, and without any faults. To the yellows, their leader is incorruptible.
Unfortunately, this is not true.
The reds' leader's idea of helping the poor is building cheap homes that you can buy if you have a job (no matter the salary). But what about the really poor?
The yellows' leader's idea of a peaceful and harmless protest is to cripple the country by forcing the national airport(s) closed (and he was surprised when the court summoned him for a hearing on this!).
The first step on the way to reconciliation, is hard, yet surprisingly simple: each group should contribute to a gigantic mirror (say 100 x 10 metres) to be put up on Sanam Luang – a significant field in the centre of Bangkok – so that we all can look at ourselves. And when we finally dare to admit the faults in ourselves, perhaps we will learn to compromise to the other.
The copyright of this text belongs to the author, known as Ben Trein. Pictures were found on the Internet. If those pictures infringe anyone's copyright, please let me know, and I will remove them. Quotes from the text are allowed, but only if a direct link to this site is provided.
You know what the problem is? There's not one decent person in Thai politics. That's why Thailand will for ever remain a developing country!
So I turned on TPBS and I had a look.
I found endless reports of corruption (something that could have been solved a long time ago), but also quite a few people with genuinely good ideas to try and help bring this country a step forward. However, real good ideas are not given a proper chance because there are too many people trying to get richer from them.
And then there's the current yellow red rift in the country.
For those unfamiliar with Thai politics let's quickly recap the past decade (and those familiar with the situation, feel free to skip the inverted bit)
We started with a guy in charge who had many ideas, and put quite a few of them into action. This gave the people the feeling he truly cared about them, and thus he became really popular, as he was the first prime minister in Thailand that could deliver. However, a side effect of the rote learning style of education in Thailand is that nobody thinks critically, and if two news-reports are related, but not presented as such, nobody adds one and one. In other words, while obvious to the better educated, most people didn't see how he and his cronies reaped the profits of his policies. Those higher educated people, either didn't like him, or were on his payroll.
Then he went too far, and too many people started protesting in yellow shirts. So the military kicked him out – and he's been fugitive almost ever since.
Eighteen months or so after he was kicked out, a democratically elected puppet government took charge. To all but a few it was obvious that these people were utterly incapable of running the country, let alone walking in the evicted guys footsteps. So after another year of no real government, and protesters demanding the earlier guy to come back clad in red shirts, a new government with experienced leaders was put in place. Many people had great hopes that things would be all right now, but alas. People in red, and people in yellow are still taking to the street, and no one wants to concede.
And the new government is little better than the one we started with a decade ago.
So was my daddy right?
Obviously not. You can't blame a rat for snitching! You can't blame an ant for fighting its fellow ants! It's not the lack of decent people that's causing and prolonging the current rift. It's the large crowd who's willing to settle for mediocre; as it's better than it used to be.
I must admit that I'm happy I'm not in the Thai government. If you think the US government was an intricate web of alliances, you haven't seen the Thai one. The current PM has a decent set of ideas to help the country, but is tied by hand and feet to promises to crooks as he wouldn't have been able to gain power without them. I don't have a quick solution this time, but I have spotted the core of the problem. And if we solve this, we will start on the way of reconciliation...
The core of the problem is this: everybody involved is a tattle tale. Only telling on the other's faults, but never willing to admit that their own side isn't perfect either. To the reds, their hero is saintly, and without any faults. To the yellows, their leader is incorruptible.
Unfortunately, this is not true.
The reds' leader's idea of helping the poor is building cheap homes that you can buy if you have a job (no matter the salary). But what about the really poor?
The yellows' leader's idea of a peaceful and harmless protest is to cripple the country by forcing the national airport(s) closed (and he was surprised when the court summoned him for a hearing on this!).
The first step on the way to reconciliation, is hard, yet surprisingly simple: each group should contribute to a gigantic mirror (say 100 x 10 metres) to be put up on Sanam Luang – a significant field in the centre of Bangkok – so that we all can look at ourselves. And when we finally dare to admit the faults in ourselves, perhaps we will learn to compromise to the other.
The copyright of this text belongs to the author, known as Ben Trein. Pictures were found on the Internet. If those pictures infringe anyone's copyright, please let me know, and I will remove them. Quotes from the text are allowed, but only if a direct link to this site is provided.
WIDGETIZE
1 2 Next »
Marc Joel # 9. October 2009, 22:13
Marc Joel # 10. October 2009, 10:29
If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung,
Would you hear my voice come thru the music,
Would you hold it near as it were your own?
Its a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken,
Perhaps theyre better left unsung.
I dont know, dont really care
Let there be songs to fill the air.
Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.
Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,
If your cup is full may it be again,
Let it be known there is a fountain,
That was not made by the hands of men.
There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone.
Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.
But if you fall you fall alone,
If you should stand then whos to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home.
Ben Trein # 10. October 2009, 14:20
kon kila. # 11. October 2009, 05:13
kon kila. # 11. October 2009, 05:26
Ben Trein # 12. October 2009, 10:22
kon kila. # 12. October 2009, 16:05
หัดดู.ASTV,บ้างซี จ่ะ.
kon kila. # 12. October 2009, 16:10
ปะชาชนรวมกัน
สร้างนะจ่ะไม่ใช่
พวกนายทุนสารเลว
ดัง่ที่ผ่านมา..
จะบอกให้ .;-)
kon kila. # 12. October 2009, 16:18
ทั้งนั้นจ๊ะ.ต่างชาติจะ
เชื่อ-ไม่เชื่อมั่น่-
ปะเทศไทย,อยู่ ที่
การเมืองมันโกงกิน
รึปา่ว-ไม่ใช่ปิด
สนามบิน.จ้า.
แกล้งโง่-ป่าว่จ๊ะ.;-)
kon kila. # 12. October 2009, 16:25
พวกมันทำเพื่อตัวมัน
-พวกมันทั้งนัน้
แต่ไม่ใช่-พรรค
การเมืองใหม่-จ๊ะ.;-)
kon kila. # 12. October 2009, 16:34
มีการปะทว้ง-ปิด-
สนามบิน.ทั้งนั้น.
แต่การเมืองของเขา
มันโปร่งใสจ้า.
แต่ปะเทศไทย.แม่ง.
โกงกินทั้งโคตร.
รู้ -รึแกล้งไม่รู้.จ๊ะ.;-)
kon kila. # 12. October 2009, 16:43
พธม.จ๊ะ.รัฐบาล
หุ่นเชิด-ขายชาติ-
ต่ะหากทิ่ปิด-
แล้วโยนว่า.พธม.ปิด.
หัดดูASTV.ซะบ้าง
จะได้ไม่โดนหลอก.
อีก-
Joy # 12. October 2009, 22:12
Ben Trein # 13. October 2009, 05:01
Yes, that may be true, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are any different. When Sonthi put commercial advertisement on stage for one of his supporting companies, I lost faith in him and his cause; he's just like the rest. Don't believe me? Watch how little is going to change after the next election.
I'm pretty sure it's just going to be like with Obama: Change we can believe in is no change at all.
Don't get me wrong, I hope you're right. I hope the NPP is incorruptible, and the real deal. But I haven't seen it yet! I'm not yet impressed with their working style.
Take Kasit for example. How can you expect that someone with such a poor choice of words ("Occupying the airport was a lot of fun!") to rule a country properly??? And the list gets longer.
ASTV is just as bad as channel 3, 5 or 7 and everybody else. Because it brings only one viewpoint. And it's very very very bad propaganda; it's Hitler style propaganda: repeat it often enough and people will start believing you.
@JoyAngel: Thanks! I can read Thai, but I can not type.
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 06:49
english.ja.ja.ja.
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 06:55
ของนายทุนสามานย้
แต่ASTV.อยู่ ได้เพราะ
มวลชนบริจาค.จ๊ะ.
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 07:01
กำกับ-ขืนไปทำ
เอี้ยๆดังที่ผ่านมา
โดนทืบๆแน่ ๆ.อิอิ @
Ben Trein # 13. October 2009, 07:01
Edit: Your comment on the NPP I don't understand completely, but if you're saying that a million plus votes is a lot, think again. There are something like 18 million people that can vote. And even if they win an election, and Sonthi becomes PM, then their problems really start, because then it's no longer fighting the regime. Then it's showing that you/they can do it better. And history has shown many many times (in Europe) that that almost never works out fine. Once the fight is won, groups fall apart.
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 07:08
ระยำทักสินคงกิน
ปะเทศไทยไม่เหลือ.
มันจะขอซื้อ2000กว่า
ล้านถ้าสนธิเห็นแก่
เงินขายไปแล้ว-จ๊ะ.
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 07:14
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 07:20
เอง-อะไรมันก็ง่าย.ขอ
ให้กล้าทำสิ่งถูกต้อง.
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 07:25
แก้ปันหาของชาติ
แต่ไม่โอกาสเพาะพวก
ระยำมันกิดกันไว้.อิอิ.
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 08:55
bufalo.555
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 08:58
thailand.and.who
.do.4.themself.
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 09:01
know.little.4.
thailand.now.
Ben Trein # 13. October 2009, 14:16
The fact that you are on the brink of calling me names (saying I know little of Thailand is an attempt to an insult) proves that you are losing our battle of words. Everyone who loses intellectually, starts throwing mud.
I don't think you're a buffalo, but I do think you've been at the heart of the yellow-shirt movement for too long, to be able to take a step backwards and try to see the whole picture. Or distinguish clearly what is true or not. We've proven that a while ago; in your first post of October 11.
Joy # 13. October 2009, 15:24
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 15:43
เห็นที่แตกต่าง จ๊ะ.
ถ้า..
kon kila. # 13. October 2009, 16:37
agree.with.u.5555
Joy # 13. October 2009, 22:33
Joy # 13. October 2009, 22:37
woke up early na.Do u have midyears closs mai ? or your vacation ja?
kon kila. # 14. October 2009, 05:19
ความไม่ได้จ๊ะ.อิอิ.
Ben Trein # 14. October 2009, 08:26
Thugsin and his army of Red Ants (hehehe) is bad for Thailand. No discussion possible. However, there has to be more colour to the picture than just yellow and red, because the yellows haven't particularly impressed me either.
As for JoyAngel, no I don't have a holiday now. I work for an international school. We will have a long holiday in December. December 10 to January 2. Yippeeee!
Joy # 14. October 2009, 10:33
very nice na.
Joy # 14. October 2009, 10:34
Jub jai kham arai mai dai ja.Chan Ati-bai dai na kha. hihi
kon kila. # 14. October 2009, 10:36
ว่าถูกๆนะ-สร้างเอง
ถูกกว่า.จ๊ะ.เพราะไม่
มีค่า-เเปะเจียะ-.
Joy # 14. October 2009, 10:42
หรอ+รับทราบค่ะ
เราคุยกันเรื่องนี้ค้างไว้หรอ
ตามไม่ทันนะ
kon kila. # 14. October 2009, 10:46
ข้างบน13ตุลา-เวลา
22.33.-พิมพ้ยาวเกิน
ไป-บางสว่นขาดไป
จ๊ะ.
Joy # 14. October 2009, 10:48
ขอบคุณค่ะ
Ben Trein # 14. October 2009, 12:39
kon kila. # 14. October 2009, 15:27
นครปฐม.จ๊า .ม.2.
Joy # 14. October 2009, 16:21
kon kila. # 15. October 2009, 15:56
Joy # 15. October 2009, 22:30
kon kila. # 16. October 2009, 00:29
Ben Trein # 16. October 2009, 11:41
Was good to see you today - albeit short.
kon kila. # 16. October 2009, 11:45
Joy # 16. October 2009, 11:46
ting tong
Ben Trein # 16. October 2009, 13:57
@Kokila: albeit means something like 'although', or 'even though'. And the message was for JoyAngel.
kon kila. # 16. October 2009, 15:39