A Thai soldier lies on the ground after a clash with anti-government protesters during a rally in Bangkok, Thailand Saturday, April 10, 2010. A hospital says at least 10 people, including a Japanese journalist, have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in the Thai capital. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
An anti-government protester uses a slingshot during clashes with Thai soldiers in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, April 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Wason Wanitchakorn)11/04/2010
Voranai Vanijaka
Bangkok Post
This may not be a popular opinion, but I'm not in a popularity contest. The opinion is: What the yellow shirts have done and what the red shirts are doing is a rather good thing, if one were to consider the grand picture of democratic development.
Could there have been a better way? Of course there could, and yet here we are. The ''could have'' and ''should have'' of this world are irrelevant _ learn from the past, don't live in it.
I don't have to agree with any of their causes, whether it's the yellow's, the red's or the polka-dot's, but I can appreciate they have shown us that in this Kingdom of Thailand, the people can stand up against the government and affect change, for that is a crucial aspect of democracy.
Sure, the yellows may get 300 baht a day, and the reds may get 1,000 (which one is the hi-so mob, again?), but when all is said and done, while the motives are questionable, the actions prove that the people can stand up against the government and affect change.
What Thailand is going through at the moment is simply the growing pains of democracy, as frustrating, as annoying and as silly as it may be. But it's like courting a woman _ before you live in her heart, before you die in her lap and before you're buried in her eyes, you have to get through a bit of the ugly first. Can I get an ''amen'' from the gentlemen in the audience?
Not too long ago, whenever protesters took to the streets, the military put bullets into their skulls. At least we're no longer protesting against military dictatorships _ even if we're only protesting against hapless governments _ whether it's Samak's, Somchai's or Abhisit's.
As I'm writing this, security personnel are cracking down on the protesters at Phan Fah Bridge, but the weapons are tear gas and batons, not bullets, at least.
Not so far. Many would still cry that this is inhumane, but it's still a big improvement from memories as recent as May 1992 and is no crueler than how it's done in the healthiest of this world's democracies.
It's too easy to sit in an air-conditioned room and point fingers.
In the present struggles, the new elites are making pawns of the poor and the old elites are making pawns of the middle class. But everyone starts out ignorant before they become intelligent.
A baby has to first learn to take a step before it can sprint _ and let's face it, Thailand is still a baby _ a crying, whining spoiled child.
What the poor and the middle class should learn and grow from all this is that we, the people, actually have the power to affect change.
And no matter who wins the day, whether it's Thaksin Shinawatra or Abhisit Vejjajiva, at least they know, the elites, whether new or old, they now know that the common people are a force to be reckoned with.
This may be just fanciful wishing, but fanciful wishing is the stuff that makes this world a better place. The wonders of human accomplishments all started out with just a dream, a hope, a fate.
Perhaps the ''silent majority'', whoever and wherever they are, are watch ing the unfolding of this saga and recognise the waning power of the old establishment, the decreasing significance of the military, as well as the dangerous and destructiveness of the new elites under Thaksin Shinawatra.
Hopefully we will realise that none of the above is the answer to the future of this country. There's no quick-fix formula to solve the problems of Thailand. It's dark, deep and sinister _ the tangled web of Thai politics can tie up and pull in even an Oxford-educated young prime minister who once carried the hopes of the new generation.
But change will never start in politics, in government or in the circles of the old or new establishments. Change will have to start in the huts, the homes and the condos of the people of Thailand. That change is the development of a consciousness, in place of apathy _ the consciousness that allows us to recognise the lies we have been living with and the truths that are revealing themselves.
Whoever wins the day, whether it's Abhisit Vejjajiva or Thaksin Shinawatra, we know that the struggles for democracy, for human rights, for justice, for opportunities and for equality will continue _ and we know that the power of the people is a force to be reckoned with.
There's a saying _ a very true saying that mocks Thailand in the cruelest way, which simply is: ''This is Thailand.''
Three seemingly harmless little words, but when put together and placed in a context, the phrase means hopelessness.
This is Thailand [what do you expect?]. This is Thailand [things will never change!]. This is Thailand [snicker and shake head in disgust]. I admit it, I say it all the time.
The phrase rings true because how can there be change when the people of this country do not realise that we can affect change? Also, why would the people in charge affect change, as they are already in charge?
But today we know that if enough of us get together and march in the streets, we can affect change. Today we see a lesson of what it is to be made pawns, whether by the old or the new elites. Today we can learn from the mistakes and make for our children a better tomorrow.
It's easy and convenient to gripe, to whine and to cry. ''Those red &!!%@*#'' or ''Those elites *&^*&%!!'' But we'll leave that for the emotional retards who're only capable of complaining.
There are many perspectives, many angles we can take from Thailand's present political crisis, though perhaps this is the one that we should take with us into the future: That in the Kingdom of Thailand, the people have the power to affect change.
But it's every one of us who will have to march forward together, not only one side, not only one group and not only one faction.
So with all your flaws and even if you've been made pawns, thank you to the yellows and thank you to the reds for showing us the way.
Thank you to the police and the soldiers who are trying their best. But even more important, thank you to those who stood up in May 1992, October 1976 and October 1973.
voranaiv@bangkokpost.co.th
Could there have been a better way? Of course there could, and yet here we are. The ''could have'' and ''should have'' of this world are irrelevant _ learn from the past, don't live in it.
I don't have to agree with any of their causes, whether it's the yellow's, the red's or the polka-dot's, but I can appreciate they have shown us that in this Kingdom of Thailand, the people can stand up against the government and affect change, for that is a crucial aspect of democracy.
Sure, the yellows may get 300 baht a day, and the reds may get 1,000 (which one is the hi-so mob, again?), but when all is said and done, while the motives are questionable, the actions prove that the people can stand up against the government and affect change.
What Thailand is going through at the moment is simply the growing pains of democracy, as frustrating, as annoying and as silly as it may be. But it's like courting a woman _ before you live in her heart, before you die in her lap and before you're buried in her eyes, you have to get through a bit of the ugly first. Can I get an ''amen'' from the gentlemen in the audience?
Not too long ago, whenever protesters took to the streets, the military put bullets into their skulls. At least we're no longer protesting against military dictatorships _ even if we're only protesting against hapless governments _ whether it's Samak's, Somchai's or Abhisit's.
As I'm writing this, security personnel are cracking down on the protesters at Phan Fah Bridge, but the weapons are tear gas and batons, not bullets, at least.
Not so far. Many would still cry that this is inhumane, but it's still a big improvement from memories as recent as May 1992 and is no crueler than how it's done in the healthiest of this world's democracies.
It's too easy to sit in an air-conditioned room and point fingers.
In the present struggles, the new elites are making pawns of the poor and the old elites are making pawns of the middle class. But everyone starts out ignorant before they become intelligent.
A baby has to first learn to take a step before it can sprint _ and let's face it, Thailand is still a baby _ a crying, whining spoiled child.
What the poor and the middle class should learn and grow from all this is that we, the people, actually have the power to affect change.
And no matter who wins the day, whether it's Thaksin Shinawatra or Abhisit Vejjajiva, at least they know, the elites, whether new or old, they now know that the common people are a force to be reckoned with.
This may be just fanciful wishing, but fanciful wishing is the stuff that makes this world a better place. The wonders of human accomplishments all started out with just a dream, a hope, a fate.
Perhaps the ''silent majority'', whoever and wherever they are, are watch ing the unfolding of this saga and recognise the waning power of the old establishment, the decreasing significance of the military, as well as the dangerous and destructiveness of the new elites under Thaksin Shinawatra.
Hopefully we will realise that none of the above is the answer to the future of this country. There's no quick-fix formula to solve the problems of Thailand. It's dark, deep and sinister _ the tangled web of Thai politics can tie up and pull in even an Oxford-educated young prime minister who once carried the hopes of the new generation.
But change will never start in politics, in government or in the circles of the old or new establishments. Change will have to start in the huts, the homes and the condos of the people of Thailand. That change is the development of a consciousness, in place of apathy _ the consciousness that allows us to recognise the lies we have been living with and the truths that are revealing themselves.
Whoever wins the day, whether it's Abhisit Vejjajiva or Thaksin Shinawatra, we know that the struggles for democracy, for human rights, for justice, for opportunities and for equality will continue _ and we know that the power of the people is a force to be reckoned with.
There's a saying _ a very true saying that mocks Thailand in the cruelest way, which simply is: ''This is Thailand.''
Three seemingly harmless little words, but when put together and placed in a context, the phrase means hopelessness.
This is Thailand [what do you expect?]. This is Thailand [things will never change!]. This is Thailand [snicker and shake head in disgust]. I admit it, I say it all the time.
The phrase rings true because how can there be change when the people of this country do not realise that we can affect change? Also, why would the people in charge affect change, as they are already in charge?
But today we know that if enough of us get together and march in the streets, we can affect change. Today we see a lesson of what it is to be made pawns, whether by the old or the new elites. Today we can learn from the mistakes and make for our children a better tomorrow.
It's easy and convenient to gripe, to whine and to cry. ''Those red &!!%@*#'' or ''Those elites *&^*&%!!'' But we'll leave that for the emotional retards who're only capable of complaining.
There are many perspectives, many angles we can take from Thailand's present political crisis, though perhaps this is the one that we should take with us into the future: That in the Kingdom of Thailand, the people have the power to affect change.
But it's every one of us who will have to march forward together, not only one side, not only one group and not only one faction.
So with all your flaws and even if you've been made pawns, thank you to the yellows and thank you to the reds for showing us the way.
Thank you to the police and the soldiers who are trying their best. But even more important, thank you to those who stood up in May 1992, October 1976 and October 1973.
voranaiv@bangkokpost.co.th
