The lighter side of the Coup
By oakmonster
Thursday 21st September, 2006 | 709 words | Category: Thai Ways | 18 feedbacks »
Well I am going to re-post what I put up on my personal blog. A bit of my political point of view, but my intention here is to lighten the mood.
Yes, LIGHTEN THE MOOD. Sort of like Gnarly Kitty's coverage of the coup. Educational, yet entertaining. ;-)
Always look on the bright side of life, folks.
And here's to the coup!
Thailand has coups. It's almost a fact of life.
Prime Minister abuses power. Government is corrupted. People protest to no avail. The military steps in, essentially to wipe the slate clean. A new constitution is drafted, essentially a forced reform. Temporary PM and government is installed. About a year later everything goes back to normal. About 10 years after that, a Prime Minister would come along and abuse his power.
Rinse and Repeat.
Once in a while you run into a Suchinda where the power went to his head and wouldn't return democracy to the people. Then we have the bloody uprising and clash of the people and the military. But that happened once in my life time.
Foreign countries are speaking out that they want to see Thailand return to democracy, that they'd like to see the political problems solved democratically.
But how can we solve it democratically when people who are running the election are all corrupted and controlled by the Spongebob Squarehead (aka Thaksin)?
In a sense, the democracy we had wasn't really a democracy after all but dictatorship disguised under the facade of democracy.
Hence. The coup. So, go military.
I have a few lighter comments on the coup from the Peanut Gallery.
The Inconvenient Coup
I gave Brandon a run down about the coup and how TV stations were cut off.
Brandon: Oh, in that case the coup won't last that long.
Me: What? Why not?
Brandon: Doesn't Academy Fantasia come on on Wednesday night? They can NOT possibly cancel the broadcast of Academy Fantasia!
Yes, AF is crack. It's a combination of American Idol and Big Brother. You watch these performers live together, go to training, and once a week there's a concert and elmination show. There's a channel that dedicated to the live footage of the house and follow them to classes and activities through out the day.
But so much for using AF as a cause to stop a coup. Season 3 already wrapped up. AND the concert is actually on a Saturday. ;-)
The Convenient Coup
Me: So, the office is closed today. Are you doing anything, dad?
Dad: I'll be in the office still. We still have stuff to do. Your brother is going golfing I think.
Me: Golfing? The day after the coup?
Dad: Yep.
Me: Isn't there a Marshall--ah crap I can't spell Martial Law thing imposed? You know, you can't have a group gathering?
Dad: Well, you can't have a party of 5 or larger. A golf party has only four.
*
By the way, HATS OFF to all the bloggers and message boarders out there! It goes to show that the government can take away television and radio, but the news LIVE on the internet. Viva the People! Fantastic job of coverage, everybody!
Watch the news. Keep to the pulse. When it's time for the people to rise, we will rise. In the mean time, keep your eyes out all along the watch towers.
Buddha bless the King and the kingdom!
*LATE ADDITION*
Straight Pimpin'
Of all the story one could cover about the coup, one must give credit for innovation to this wayward AFP reporter...
Business as usual in Bangkok's red light district
And THAT is what the world REALLY want to know about the coup in Thailand. Oh look, the whorin' is still goin' in the Big Mango. Let's get on the plane!
Way to go, Charlotte. *sigh*
*EVEN LATER ADDITION*
Tanks = Celebrity
Thai folks flocked to see the tanks up close and personal.Folks are bringing food and flowers to the dutiful soldiers.
And of course, in return for kindness, soldiers are mugging for a few shots with tourists and visitors and letting the kids climb all over their tanks. Wow. Instand 10 ton jungle gym.
'Tanks' a million, say fascinated fans
See? We're not worried. Why is the rest of the world getting so serious! :)
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18 comments
Chok dee with the clean slate!
There really does seem to be calm on the streets. A lot of people are talking about the coup but it isn't getting to anyone's head. Most folk are still prefering to tune into soap operas and talk about the lottery or English football.
All the coverage on Thai TV is positive with lots of footage of Bangkokians giving flowers to soldiers and having their foto taken with tanks.
Quite amazing that the head of the coup is a Muslim, who would ever have believed that! Hopefully that factor will help the troubled south.
According to Thai TV, Gen Sonthi is really in charge with:
'We ask that everybody obey the orders of Gen Sonthi"
repeatedly said 10 times an hour.
AF is... don't even know what to say. AF 3 is the worst I think. I'm glad that it's already gone. I'm happier watching the footage of the King and the royal family playing over and over again while the coup was going on. Amazing. :)
We're really taking it so easy. I think I might even meet up with some friends at the cafe near by. The famous Gnarly Kitz might come along too. :) Let's hope that there would only be 4 people max! hehehe. :)
We love you Thailand.
Oh i wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair...
I have been in a coup situation in bangkok and it's great,national holiday and no traffic-except a few tanks.
Bloodshed is rare.
However aussie legend journo neil davis died in the 1985 coup.
I think he was shot by a tank.
My view is much the same, if it don't work, bin it and start again.
With the major players on the political scene behaveing like a bunch 3 year olds with only one ball, there was surely only one answer, someone had to take away their ball!
I wonder...
Never, ever, believe anything until it has been officially denied ! 555.
Thailand is now under Martial Law, so we must be very careful what we say. In fact, we aren't even...supposedly.....allowed to discuss the current political situation on the Internet. We may have to be stricter with implementing comment moderating.
Thanks everyone for your comments!
And yes, also agreed with Steve and Khun Don. I'm trying to keep it light...so help me keeping it light okay? :)
KorBua: I watched 2 concerts of AF3 while I was at home, Mother's Day and the "Hip Hop" one. I already decide then that Tui was going to win because he was the only one who can hold a tune. Haha!
Scooby: I wish I had flowers in my hair too...although I'd choose to be a hippy over punk rocker. Weed over cocaine, baby. ;-) Just kidding.
Mark: Oh yes. I can picture it. Getting off the plane in Suwannabhumi: Welcome to Thailand. Have you had your coup today?
Khun Don: Touche, my friend. Touche.
Maria: I see corruption is a problem everywhere. My Taiwanese coworker discussed the same thing with me yesterday.
Again, thanks you guys for stopping by. Y'all make me feel all warm and fuzzy now. :)
Coup or no coup, I don't really see the difference. The free speech rights are still going to be suppressed with or without us being under Martial Law.. In my opinion, it's not political, it's cultural and that's hard to change.
I wanna go take pictures with the tanks too. Are they still around?
I just receieved an email from my cousins in Nonthaburi and Chainat, and they say the situation is calm. I hope it remains that way.
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