Thai To Remember, And If You Remember ... Then Follow ...

When a foreigner was caught for defacing pictures of the Thai monarch, it made headline news globally. It made headlines again when the Swiss man was convicted and jailed for 10 years. The global press basically insinuated that the punishment was grossly excessive to the act. We are controlled by the powers of the media, and the media powers is Western-controlled, and hence the line of reporting has that line of bias. Westerners may not get what I am trying to say here, but its OK.

Not all kings are the same, a king in Netherlands, a king in Britain and a king in Thailand are not the same. The same king in Thailand is respected like you would not believe. Imagine the "goodness" of Einstein, Mother Teresa, Gandhi and JFK all rolled into one (I am not saying King Bhumibol is that kind of person, but if you appreciate the gravity of the respect, maybe you can understand a bit about how he is viewed in Thailand) - now that is the kind of respect we are talking about, add benevolence, compassion and empathy for the people: now you get closer to how he is viewed in Thailand.

One cannot and should not legislate respect, and I am sure King Bhumibol does not really want that either. Hence, after all the hoo-hah, King B has decided to pardon the Swiss vandal. And how is that news being captured globally??? Probably you heard it first from this blog?? Unbelievable. Media has the responsibility to follow-up on their journalism. One should not just choose what they want to report or sensationalise, then fail in its follow up for a proper conclusion and overall meaning of the story.

Maybe foreigners feel that the "respect and love" accorded by the Thais to their King is excessive or overboard - that's cultural differences. You go to a country, you must respect their ways or at least try to understand them, not challenge them. Foreigners living in Asia must immerse themselves, not just watch the people go by.