tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post3205366947605672806..comments2024-01-24T16:25:58.472+07:00Comments on Somtow's World: An Open Letter to the Red ShirtsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-68506834154501787992012-06-10T18:59:07.284+07:002012-06-10T18:59:07.284+07:00Smart post and so good blog
thanks for you good i...Smart post and so good blog <br />thanks for you good information and i hope to subscribe and visit my blog <a href="http://www.ancientgreece.me/" rel="nofollow"> Ancient Greece </a> and more <a href="http://www.ancientgreece.me/2012/03/government-in-early-city-state-archaic.html" rel="nofollow"> Ancient Greece Government </a> thanks again adminSTD Symptomshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024319489420481338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-91829481637012005932010-06-16T14:09:06.782+07:002010-06-16T14:09:06.782+07:00Yes, Thai people certainly do understand Thai peop...Yes, Thai people certainly do understand Thai people better, but sometimes Thai people don't understand how they can be manipulated by other Thais, particularly by very rich ones — and manipulated both by example, i.e. what the very rich Thais buy, how they live, what they say, who they associate with, and by their deliberate efforts to mislead their own people in the foreign media. So at the moment we see some very rich Thais actually hiring western lawyers and lobbyists to repackage events in Thailand, and that's extraordinary. So who else in the world would do that? And who is it all for, this extravagance, specifically? Is it to sway western governments to intervene in Thai affairs, very unlikely indeed, or is it to influence how Thai people see themselves and the events in their own country?<br /><br />And how could the investment actually be worth it? How could it be worth it to spend millions and millions of dollars to get international lobbyists and lawyers to put spin on local events in Thailand involving poor farmers from Isaan and day-laborers on Bangkok building sites?<br /><br />This is where foreigners can help, because we can evaluate better the quality of the spin. We can look at the face of the lobbyist lying through his teeth on Prime Time, for example, and we can call his spade a spade without anyone questioning our motives or our judgement. <br /><br />K. Somtow is Thai but he's got a foot in both worlds, so he can bridge the divide. And between us we can do a lot to help Thai people see how other people are manipulating them, because we already have too much and can see perhaps more easily how much Thai people have to lose if they let themselves be persuaded by some shyster that it's better to be richer and richer like us!<br /><br />That's the role informed foreigners can play in all this, not to pretend to understand Thais better than Thais but to insist the western media see through the spin, and report what's actually happening on the ground. By so doing foreigners can help Thais not to be intimidated by the very rich, or to swallow the crap in turn!<br /><br />A Foreign FriendAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-42176508875496297042010-06-15T11:51:39.634+07:002010-06-15T11:51:39.634+07:00The white man should not liken K. Somtow's bur...The white man should not liken K. Somtow's burden to white men's burden. The white people never have changed their colonial mindset even long after the demise of Western colonies; he actually imposes his mindset onto K. Somtow's, and that is unjust. <br />Thai people understand Thai people better. I agree with K. Somtow by and large. By and large most red shirts, except a few red leaders who master the plot and have hidden agenda, are ignorant; they are heated up to that violent fires. But as a Thai, I never feel worried amid the havoc; I see a beauty in that, namely the red-shirts by and large burnt but did not kill innocent people, we are still brothers and sisters; the army are more disciplined,they won my respect indeed. The red-shirt leaders are to be condemned and punished for their irresponsible acts; I really want to kick their asses. These leaders actually violated the red followers' right and liberty in thinking by flooding them with biased information.<br />The red-shirts are mostly peasants, and they did not come out because they are poor. I never see a poor Thai peasant, they may be poor in cash, but they are actually rich in their land and soil, only that they are told that they are poor because they do not have money by - Western standard - a concept that some idiotic western-educated Thais brought in. <br />To wrap up, I would say that usually Thai people do not fight with one another for food or money, only because of heated jealousy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-62605324099795966112010-06-08T12:55:05.736+07:002010-06-08T12:55:05.736+07:00It's so complicated, so hard to keep the eye o...It's so complicated, so hard to keep the eye on the ball. No wonder the mainstream media opt for the easy reading, so often the script is accompanied by such perverse and contrary images. What exhausted CNN viewer looking for a little light relief on the Evening News is going to work out those connections, or even a hard-working liberal who tunes into the BBC late at night because the quality is higher there, and the possibility of actually understanding the world that much greater?<br /><br />So Rachel Harvey in helmet does another on-the-site interview, this time in Issan. A tearful mother having just returned to her poor farmer's hut in the northeast recounts how she went to Rajaprasong to bring democracy and justice to the Thai people. And that she is so much angrier now, she says, after what happened, and so much more determined to fight on for what she believes in. That the war against dictatorship has just started, and that she will be in the forefront forever.<br /><br />And she's absolutely real and convincing, that mother -- there's nothing contrived here whatsoever, and nobody would have to pay her to say what she did. And Rachel Harvey, the Brave Reporter, believes in her Cause too, and is bringing it Right Into Your Home. She's showing you REAL PEOPLE who are hurting!<br /><br />And while the mother is talking and Rachel Harvey is listening so well with all that level-headed, no-nonsense goodness that is her persona, the BBC is showing a dark and impersonal Army tank smashing its way through the mere bamboo stakes and tyres that were the poor woman's refuge. And the world sees how cruel and heartless the Thai army is, and indefensible. <br /><br />End of clip. <br /><br />Thanks, Rachel Harvey — thanks for the fantasies, prejudices, romantic revisions you confirm.<br /><br />For of course the mother is telling the truth -- the mother is real and authentic. The tank did go through the bamboo and tyre fortification as well, that's real as well, that's true. But that tank was in fact nowhere near the Rajaprasong rally where the woman was sitting on the mats with her brave companions but in Lumpini Park where the weapons were and the shadowy arsonists who had hidden behind those 1000s of mothers and children and old people for over a month. In actual fact, the tank was liberating the woman from cynical forces she couldn't have imagined, in actual fact facilitating her return home in one piece along with her friends. <br /><br />If the leaders of her movement had had their way she would have been buried in a pile of dead bodies 10 times higher, and the whole of her country would be burning. For that was the objective, chaos and carnage. A country ungovernable, was the objective, a country that would need <strong>Special Powers</strong> to restore it...<br /><br />That tank, in fact carefully driven and commanded, succeeded in wresting the initiative from the hell-bent Red Shirt Leaders, here and abroad, and got the situation back to the point where there could be constructive engagement: negotiations, reconciliation, restructuring, political maturation, all those things that could actually bring a better future for that mother and her children.<br /><br /><strong>Thailand Corp. has no interest in mothers, just in control, investment, and profit-taking.</strong><br /><br />The BBC did the situation in Thailand a great injustice by juxtaposing the tank with that mother, and Rachel Harvey should have known better. Indeed, Rachel Harvey should be fired, she has brought so many distortions like that to the world, and done such a disservice to Thailand.<br /><br />Christopher WoodmanChristopher Woodmanhttp://www.homprang.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-1438191488192604142010-06-04T16:19:57.695+07:002010-06-04T16:19:57.695+07:00Thanks "redshirts". You've ruined th...Thanks "redshirts". You've ruined the property market, tourism as well as your country. I guarantee there will be even less opportunity for all of you now. All this damage for the "greed" of one man. Where is he now? Shopping at Gucci's or staying in a 5 star resort in Montenegro?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-3107126555676859062010-06-03T15:53:12.659+07:002010-06-03T15:53:12.659+07:00Dear Khun Somtow,
May I ask your permission to li...Dear Khun Somtow,<br /><br />May I ask your permission to link this article to my Facebook page? I've found this a very constructive article.<br /><br />Best regards,<br /><br />JaruneeUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015920300846614969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-35520985349925921742010-06-01T21:38:54.222+07:002010-06-01T21:38:54.222+07:00Wonderful, Mr Somtow. I don't have time to rea...Wonderful, Mr Somtow. I don't have time to read any of the comments. Thank you for writing this. <br /><br />SevenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-5431898333407311922010-06-01T02:48:02.058+07:002010-06-01T02:48:02.058+07:00Abhhisit is a leader that lack leadership or simpl...Abhhisit is a leader that lack leadership or simply a human being that don't behave like human.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-53228270051801169692010-05-31T22:35:53.163+07:002010-05-31T22:35:53.163+07:00Cynical external interventions in a nations intern...Cynical external interventions in a nations internal affairs, including Civil Wars, are well-established in history. Entrepreneurs with a lot to gain and/or to lose have often provided illicit support to one side or the other in bloody conflicts, but the facts often do not make it into history books until a long time afterwards.<br /><br />Like this one:<br /><br /><strong>Britain in the American Civil War</strong><br />From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:<br /><br />"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was officially neutral in the American Civil War. Confederate strategy for securing independence was largely based on British and French intervention, which never happened; intervention would have meant war with the United States. A serious conflict between Britain and the United States erupted over the "Trent Affair" in 1861. Also, the British shipyard (John Laird and Sons) built two warships for the Confederacy, including the CSS Alabama, over vehement American protests that continued after the Civil War in the form of the Alabama Claims, in which the United States won $15.5 million in arbitration by an international tribunal for damages caused by the CSS Alabama and other British-built warships. The British also built and operated most of the blockade runners, spending hundreds of millions of pounds on them; but that was legal. In the end, these instances of British involvement neither shifted the outcome of the war nor provoked the U.S. into declaring war against Britain. The United States' diplomatic mission headed by Minister Charles Francis Adams, Sr. proved much more successful than the Confederate missions, which were never officially recognized."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-41438096397097794752010-05-30T16:51:19.598+07:002010-05-30T16:51:19.598+07:00Thanks, Felix Qui — a very interesting parallel in...Thanks, Felix Qui — a very interesting parallel indeed.<br /> <br />To this day, historians cannot agree exactly what the mountain was that so divided the people during the American Civil War, and one suspects that at the time Abraham Lincoln was climbing in the dark as much as we are today in Thailand. Yet because Lincoln had the courage to hold fast to one simple, universal principle, Wholeness, the Union held -- and countless benefits accrued, not the least, of course, being a new level of tolerance in the new United States (took a long, long time as well — tragically long!).<br /> <br />The mountain Thailand finds thrusting up like a volcano in its midst is similarly shadowy, and Abhisit Vejajiva is in much the same situation as Abraham Lincoln was. Like Lincoln, Abhisit is also surrounded by allies and advisors with vested interests, some of whom are prejudiced, others frightened, others cowards, confused, compromised, stuck in the past, old-style party-members. Like Lincoln, Abhisit is also a bit distant, a bit deaf, so to speak, a bit isolated by his education, and, of course, altogether a bit too good to be true. On the other hand, like America in 1862, Abhisit is the best we've got for the task because he never takes his eye off the ball. He knows there's just one constant which can prevent the present turmoil from slipping into chaos, and that's the Rule of Law. The Rule of Law is Abhisit's priority, his touchstone, and I'd say he has been doing a very good job hanging on to it regardless.<br /> <br />As the King advised.<br /> <br />And does Abhisit always try to keep what he does 'just' and 'legal,' both in the light of international and domestic law? Yes, I think he really does -- but like Chuan Lekpai before him, Abhisit is also a loner surrounded by wolves, and can only just keep the dogs of war on their leashes. (What an image, and I'm not referring just to the army and the police either, not even mostly!!!)<br /> <br />What we foreigners can do is help the international community to accept Abhisit's credentials and trust him as well as to encourage the world to give him a little more space within which to maneuver. For it will take at least another year to approach this mountain, to get close enough to it to know what it is. Abhisit should also be given enough time and space to set a new standard for future Thai leaders — his just being there is the very best example of a Prime Minister Thailand has ever had, and a beacon for its future.<br /> <br />What a thought!<br /> <br />I personally am convinced the Red Shirt grievances are just. on the other hand, I'm equally convinced that for the moment Abhhisit Vejajiva can do more than any other Thai leader to deal with those grievances appropriately. Most important of all, I want him to be given the time and space to begin to deal with the REAL POWERS inside the Thai mountain, and that includes inside the very culture itself, a task which will prove far harder than figuring out who was who at Rajaprasong, a small skirmish by comparison!<br /> <br />Our support is crucial for Abhisit Vejajiva, my friends -- and the discussion on this little blog-spot is something we can give him.<br /> <br />I thank K. Somtow for giving us so much to work on, for offering us this mysterious mountain to explore — we, the proverbial blind men, being offered an elephant to work on.<br /> <br />Christopher Woodman<br /><br />P.S. Apologies to you, Nick -- my quibble was mainly with your language. If we dismiss others with blog-blitz we end up with just rubble. <br /><br />The hope K. Somtow gives us is the image of the mountain -- and yes, Nick, we do matter as well, even we foreigners.Christopher Woodmanhttp://www.homprang.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-36494796657074496872010-05-30T01:01:01.913+07:002010-05-30T01:01:01.913+07:00Hi
To Christopher Woodman
Thanks for your commen...Hi<br /><br />To Christopher Woodman<br /><br />Thanks for your comments. I was genuinely hoping to get a reply containing some pointers as to how Somtow's words could improve the situation - even if just one person could come forward and say they felt more sympathetic with the reds or if a red could come forward and say they understood more now why the government and some other posters here took their poistions on the matter.<br /><br />Anyway, if it's becoming too much about 'me', then I will happily now withdraw from this debate in the interest of letting you guys continue with YOUR dialogue.<br /><br />And to the last poster:<br /><br />I am a student of Democracy just as everyone else is, high or low. I just suggested he switch off posting here as a device to illustrate how inward-looking rather than outward-looking the contents of his letter was. Maybe I didn't explain it properly. I apologize.<br /><br />Regards to all.<br /><br />NickNicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-40655009171239154762010-05-29T12:59:05.610+07:002010-05-29T12:59:05.610+07:00Yes, the mountain is long overdue for recognition ...Yes, the mountain is long overdue for recognition and a timely response. <br /><br />What is the mountain? <br /><br />Is it what Abraham Lincoln had in mind in his Second Anual Message to Congress, on December 1, 1862, when the US was facing some similar difficulties: <br />"The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."<br /><br />Some clearly remain intent on cherishing their blind enthralments. <br /><br />Let us hope that the Thai people, all of the Thai people, may be allowed to opt for the disenthralling that can lead on to democracy, justice and human rights.Felix Quihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16329873729547811306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-90302544558969796852010-05-29T12:59:05.611+07:002010-05-29T12:59:05.611+07:00Yes, the mountain is long overdue for recognition ...Yes, the mountain is long overdue for recognition and a timely response. <br /><br />What is the mountain? <br /><br />Is it what Abraham Lincoln had in mind in his Second Anual Message to Congress, on December 1, 1862, when the US was facing some similar difficulties: <br />"The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."<br /><br />Some clearly remain intent on cherishing their blind enthralments. <br /><br />Let us hope that the Thai people, all of the Thai people, may be allowed to opt for the disenthralling that can lead on to democracy, justice and human rights.Felix Quihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16329873729547811306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-65107690228334812502010-05-29T12:41:04.868+07:002010-05-29T12:41:04.868+07:00Nick! as you mentioned:"As you would have rea...Nick! as you mentioned:"As you would have read in my criticism, the best thing for this particular page would have been for Somtow to not let anyone reply at all." <br />well..to do so wouldnt be democratic at all! cant believe that you suggesting it after beeing such an expert in democratie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-33062151898596593372010-05-29T09:52:32.335+07:002010-05-29T09:52:32.335+07:00Dear Nick,
Days have passed -- this thread is wind...Dear Nick,<br />Days have passed -- this thread is winding down. And I wonder how many of us have been reading your last comment and have just turned away in despair, giving up on this sort of dialogue?<br /><br />Because I don't believe for a moment that you want to hear from anyone about how Kuhn Somtow's <em>Open Letter To Redshirts</em> could help the situation, a fact which you give away when you conclude your challenge with the phrase "in the slightest way, shape or form."<br /><br />So who's going to reply to that? Who's going to bother?<br /><br />~<br /><br />The problem is that you read comments only to prepare your next 'position paper,' and the position is always <strong>'Nick.'</strong> -- i.e. by the Nick who owns the truth. <br /><br />All suffering begins there, Nick -- however intelligent or informed your views may be.<br /><br />Read more sensitively and you might have heard <strong>Darunee JunG</strong> on May 25th:<br /><br /><em>I love the comments of an anonymous from Surin, that in fact is another thing many people don't really see as well. Many mid-income levels have come from poor family and have been doing nothing but working diligently to pave their ways for better lives. Just please see those in Bangkok or mid-income levels as just hard-working people, not an elite.</em><br /> <br /><em>Some evils are elite but have tried to camouflage themselves to be among the poor. This elite group, my friend, is dangerous.</em><br />May 25, 2010 8:25 AM<br /><br />Or just before Darunee, this comment from <strong>Nita:</strong><br /><br /><em>I'm trying to rationalize and trying to come up with the logical links between the "means" and the "ends" of Red's actions, but to no avail....</em><br /><br /><em>The "ends" to their means:</em> <br /><br />- for democracy, <br />- against the impoverishment of the poor, <br />- against double-standard and unfair treatment. <br />- against the lack of opportunities. <br /><br /><em>The "means" to their ends:</em><br /><br />- throw away the existing government, <br />- new election where the people choose Red financier back into office,<br />- close down roads, loot, threaten innocent citizen<br />- burn the streets of Bangkok and other provinces. <br />May 25, 2010 7:52 AM<br /><br />Nita doesn't say there aren't links, but just raises the same questions that K. Somtow does, and I for one was helped (there’s more – you should go back and read it). <br /><br />And this is a comment on the whole dilemma in Thailand, it seems to me -- which is as much about the Discourse as the Disorder. It all comes down to the words in the end, what we are able to say. K. Somtow really tried to say something helpful but he couldn't be heard by someone who is convinced there's no hope in them "in the slightest way, shape or form."<br /><br />And that’s the nutshell of the matter. The baby and the bathwater.<br /><br />ChristopherChristopher Woodmanhttp://www.homprang.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-66962348075441802722010-05-29T01:42:28.592+07:002010-05-29T01:42:28.592+07:00Good comment, NickGood comment, NickAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-42993487583674900852010-05-28T18:24:57.402+07:002010-05-28T18:24:57.402+07:00'when this country became a democracy'
are...'when this country became a democracy'<br />are you joking? since when is Thailand a democracy?<br />since when a democratic government sends soldiers with war weapons to break up demonstrations? since when does democratic government close all media critical to them? since when democratic governments arrest and detain academics and label any criticism as 'terrorism'? since when do democratic government shoot people in temples and arrest monks?<br />first, sir, make a lucid assessment of the situation and what government rules Thailand, then only you can have any intellectual credibility.<br />I'm a stupid farang, and have none of these great Thai values that make your people so special and unique, but in the farang school I went to, I learned to use my brain correctly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-88927294877138337872010-05-28T12:04:01.787+07:002010-05-28T12:04:01.787+07:00Dear Thai People,
uuh...so many comments...it seem...Dear Thai People,<br />uuh...so many comments...it seems to me that we are not moving forward by pointing fingers at each other.I dont really want state my point of view cause despite the fact that itself wouldnt change anything. Fact is that that the poor has been ignored for years due to the benefit of others. Fact is that your democratic system is weak. It is now like this but it has been like that during taksin and before that too. and None of them changed that. Meaning: It mostly benefits the party who is in power the most. Of course everybody has a vote but the percentage of the vote an opposition gets gives them no power at all.Different parties are to serve different interests of different people, issues, views some focus on this some focus on others with a vote in the parliament. what you need:<br />1.reform your democratic system by giving more power to a subgovernment in the provinces.Its clear that the provinces have greater needs in the acricultural sector than in bangkok. Vote for your candidate in your province ..as more votes he gets as more seats he should get in the parliament meaning also more votes. <br />2.taxes:reform your tax law greater penalities for those who think they dont need to pay tax at all..there is much more...<br />3.Dear thai people get rid of your logo, branding..you call yourself yellow or redshirts..think!YOUR are somebody by simply beeing you!To me its an insult to a human beeing who needs a branding to become acknowledged!In europe this is called Facsim!There is not everything bad about fascism in history everybody part of the community received great benefits but it came to a high price.Fascism often let to violence towards those who didnt want to be part of the group. Its not the group its you.(like some of the redleaders who got called loosers because they distance themselves from the movement(logo) once it let to violence)<br />Fascism is a form of dictatorship and its not democratic. A politican who is basicially rich belongs in a parliament to serve the people with a vote and not on the streets.<br />so dear thai people, Thailand is going through a major reform and it takes time. you might disagree with me: the roadmap is the first efford /step in the right direction but it need reforms all over the country in every small sector-democracy doesnt only come from the top it has to grow from sectors within.. it takes years and years to get there. Just give it a chance!i admire your social values towards family keep that up!thailand is your baby carry it!Give the attempt of implementing democracy a real chance! If its this government or the one in the future..both will need your support more than ever!it could be worth it a lot!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-80160635133836424002010-05-28T05:04:46.639+07:002010-05-28T05:04:46.639+07:00Dear Mike,
The differences between the Democrat P...Dear Mike,<br /><br />The differences between the Democrat Party's coalition and the Clegg-Cameron coalition are almost too numerous to mention. They are certainly too numerous to allow for any valid comparison between the two. Abhisit's coalition was formed after a controversial court ruling made by a judiciary which is manifestly politicised in nature. It was formed with the support of a hugely powerful and unaccountable army - the very same army which staged the coup (and yes, Anupong was central to both the coup and the army's support of the Democrat Party). It was formed in the context of longterm illegal demonstrations by the PAD, which Abhisit condoned and which clearly affected the political changes occurring at the time. It was formed two years after a general election during a period of great political instability (not immediately after a general election). None of these factors appeared in the British context. If they did, of course there would be uproar, just as there is in Thailand. Technically, you are right that the coalition is procedurally legal. But its legitimacy is thoroughly weak. Is it any wonder that the redshirts feel aggrieved?<br /><br />By the way, further double standards have also been revealed recently - sadly it seems that these fissures in Thai society are destined to deepen and deepen. The government threatens to sue those responsible for the arson attacks (damage which a Bangkok Post article estimates at 150 billion baht). Fine. But why not also sue the PAD for the economic damage that they caused through their demonstrations and illegal occupation of the airport (which a Bangkok Post article estimates at 290 billion baht)? The reason is clear - Abhisit dare not upset his yellow conservative allies.Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-3541868808548698132010-05-27T21:23:08.986+07:002010-05-27T21:23:08.986+07:00Hi Paco
Thanks for the question.
As you would ha...Hi Paco<br /><br />Thanks for the question.<br /><br />As you would have read in my criticism, the best thing for this particular page would have been for Somtow to not let anyone reply at all.<br /><br />Given the opportunity though, I replied because several things struck me:<br /><br />1) Somtow appears to have a genuine, if not deep-seated concern for the red shirt cause.<br /><br />2) His remarks were not deliberately condescending.<br /><br />3) He seems highly intelligent and 'cultured'.<br /><br />4) The letter is directly to the red shirts - a group most people agree is shamefully undereducated.<br /><br />5) In all probability, and like many of us, he cannot possibly empathise with a red shirt mindset shaped over decades of hardship and privation.<br /><br />6) For reasons 4 and 5, the ideas he is trying to convey to them are therefore doomed in their attempt at being understood by their target audience. As I said, it's like Usain Bolt telling a one-legged person to run faster.<br /><br />7) The letter is therefore a failure in effective communication with the red shirts. Some feel it is even deliberately condescending, but that is just a measure of the red shirt frustration with the whole situation.<br /><br />8) Many who are moderates or yellow-leaning seem to support the letter and 'agree' with it.<br /><br />9) So what was the point of the letter?<br /><br />I think Somtow is a sensitive guy trying to deal with a problem that he - like many in Thailand - has trouble accessing. By 'accessing', I mean feeling - not just reading or writing about - the red shirt's grievances.<br /><br />I don't blame him for it. This is his blog and he can write what he wants. But I wish he hadn't - consciously or otherwise - disguised his own personal, rather romanticised attempts at a resolution in his own heart (that's the self-serving bit) as some kind of 'General Advice To Redshirts'. <br /><br />It is not convincing and I look forward to hearing from anyone how on earth this Open Letter To Redshirts could possibly help the situation in the slightest way, shape or form.<br /><br />Regards<br /><br />NickNicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-11304767648320495482010-05-26T19:57:59.072+07:002010-05-26T19:57:59.072+07:00Nick
I find several surprising writings in your r...Nick<br /><br />I find several surprising writings in your response to the open-letter, and i absolutely didn't interprete that letter as "utterly self-serving", "to make yourself feel better about.....well, yourself". <br /><br />Fair enough. But can you just tell us why did YOU end up writing your criticism?paconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-60159565519203741552010-05-26T19:22:38.708+07:002010-05-26T19:22:38.708+07:00Bla bla bla....
I love reading these Thais continu...Bla bla bla....<br />I love reading these Thais continuing to belitle their fellow Thais and say they don't know what demoocracy is or what they the Red shirts were fighting for. PPPLLLEEAAAASSSEEE....stop it!<br />You are the ones who have no idea what democracy is.<br />You really don't know why these people feel cheated? really?! Are you in denial?! you can call it legal all you want but please don't act like you can't feel or understand these people. If you sincerely don't get it then you are the ones who need to learn what democracy really is...<br />Its not complicated. Give Thais democracy instead of always couping or deposing elected governments because they don't allign with your (minority) views.<br />Good luck...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-18330790339591246582010-05-26T18:11:05.164+07:002010-05-26T18:11:05.164+07:00K. Somtow
I may like to comment on your following ...K. Somtow<br />I may like to comment on your following statement :.........."But think for yourselves. Don't think what you're told to think. Speak what you think, not what you are told to speak. And act with your minds as well as your hearts, and in the interests of all, even those whom you disagree with. "<br /><br />the sense of this statement sounds undermind the strength exist in the reds group. I believe the people in the red groups have their own thoughts and minds. Beleive it or not? They are the people who are facing in their everyday life, the injustice, the discrimination, the poverty, the mistreatment by officials, etc. no wonder why they can easily sympathize with Thaksin who claims facing the same fate. Together with the help Thaksin gave them, who has ever done liked Thaksin before? Thaksin apparently became their friend. Friend helps friends though their friends corrupted but who are in the power that do not corrupt?<br />They know that to have their voices to be heard they have to sacrifice, so their children will have better future. <br />I agree that there are many ways to across the mountain peacefully and we have spend many many years trying to get across the mountain unsucessfully with the continuing sacrifice of the poors. When will we across the mountain with the sacrifice of the rich? Then Thailand can be changed.laddawantannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-68466689653462528882010-05-26T16:09:16.329+07:002010-05-26T16:09:16.329+07:00Khun Somtow, I do appreciate your views that are r...Khun Somtow, I do appreciate your views that are reflective of wisdom and compassion.Yet I am not so certain of sincerities from Khun Veera, having known of his past behavior. I too am convinced that PM Abhisit has a good heart and that may have actually circumvented added bloodshed,but whether the early inactions may lead to a more difficult future only history will judge the incident of the past two months. The government will need to act quickly decisively and sincerely to win hearts and minds of those who feel lost. Thailand can move on but most likely without any role of Thaksin. I hope your article can be translated to the Thai citizens as well. Thank you for caring, we need more of this in our society. And yes the rule of law must be held so people are accountable for there actions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7313069753393877260.post-33276636693535559972010-05-26T08:00:12.993+07:002010-05-26T08:00:12.993+07:00Steve 6-05
I must take issue with you on a couple ...Steve 6-05<br />I must take issue with you on a couple of points.<br />1) The legitimacy of the current government.<br />The PPP (Peoples Power Party) Thaksin's resurrected TRT won the last election by a very narrow majority 39% to 39.6 but under Thai law before a party can form a government it must have more than 50% of the vote so they entered into a coalition with other parties to form the government. The vote was so corrupt it was unreal, my in laws and relations are farmers in Surin and they all voted for PPP because the going rate was 500 baht per vote and the Kamnan of the village got a lot more, The Kamnan in my inlaws village traded in his 12 year old pickup for a new one not long after the election.<br />The election commission investigated the PPP and found wholesale vote buying and corruption and one MP even had a fake university degree, you must have a university degree here to become an MP.<br />Under the Thai constitution which was voted for by the people in a referendum the PPP had to be disbanded which left the Democrats as the largest party, they then teamed up with Friends of Newin Chidlob and others to form a coalition party.<br />Candidates were then put forward from the coalition parties for the position of PM and Abhsit was elected in a vote of the coalition MP,s, sorry but this government is as legitimate as the Cameron and Clegg coalition.<br />2) Thaksin is evil personified he would sell his granny if he thought it would give him an advantage, he cares nothing for the country just himself, he did not come to power by being popular he realised that the key to power was the votes of the rural poor as they are in huge numbers, poorly educated and politically naive so he set about buying their votes and bribing the village Kanman to secure peoples votes which he did very successfully, that is how he got into power, once in power the Reds tasted what is was like to have their noses in the trough and all their friends and relatives getting kickbacks from government contracts, so when they lost power and the kickbacks they were well hacked off and want their noses back in the trough again, his populist policies last all of about 3 months and each village got a development fund of 1 million baht and guess how many Kanmans then got new pickups?.<br />Thaksin is nursing hurt pride and a dent in his bank balance of 48 billion baht he will stop at nothing to regain power even if he has to wreck the whole country to achieve it.<br />I have been here for 5 years and have watched this unfold but I am now selling up and moving with my Thai wife and daughter to Penang, the trouble is going to get a lot worse before it gets better this was only a warm up to the main event.<br />I feel so sorry to be leaving I love Thailand and the Thai people but will not put my family at risk so some terrorist who cares nothing about peace can blow them away.Mike Williamsnoreply@blogger.com