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Apple's Thailand Website Honors King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Death
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It doesn't surprise me at all that the bigots, racists and small-minded people on this forum have no clue about Thailand and how the Thai people revered their King.
I've been traveling to Thailand since 1987 and could have never imagined before this experience how much a population could genuinely love a monarch.
Most brits don't even respect their Royals. The Thai people nearly consider their king a god.
I've been traveling to Thailand since 1987 and could have never imagined before this experience how much a population could genuinely love a monarch.
Most brits don't even respect their Royals. The Thai people nearly consider their king a god.
He killed his brother, there's no question about that. The perpetual speculation is whether it was truly an accident. I think you need to punctuate that post a little differently.
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Well, in fairness, it is true that the les majeste laws prevent those who would like to put an end to the monarchy (and there are many) from having any perceptible voice. It is also true that the royal family is incredibly wealthy, while the average Thai person is impoverished. On the other hand, if the King had redistributed all the family's wealth to the population, it would not have solved either Thai poverty, or inequities in Thai income distribution, and you are certainly correct that most Thais revered him. While I think that the King, the family, and the monarchy should not be immune from criticism, I also think that this is not the best moment to be making the critique.
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There is an anti-monarchy movement in Thailand. And one can (and people do - and Westerners with more latitude) criticize the King and the monarchy and get away with it. You are correct that, when they do so, they certainly are taking a risk. But les majeste does not function like the Soviet KGB. Most of the many people who violate that law are never prosecuted. Many think the law is a problem, and I tend to agree, but it's not the most troubling of the shortcoming of Thai "democracy." Regardless - I agree with the other posters who have said that, this is not the right moment for the comment. Millions of Thais are legitimately grieving - shedding real tears, and feeling a deep sense of loss. Give them some time.
People have been sentenced to prison for decades for maybe, possibly, kinda insulting the king or the monarchy. Have lost their jobs for simply wearing black near his birthday. It's always the right time to talk about the fight for human rights.
[doublepost=1477033242][/doublepost]Some people may ask, King Bhumibol is one of the richest monarch in the world why don't he use his fortune to lift his people out of poverty?
Apple has made its Thai website black and white to honor the death of Thailand's king Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away last week at the age of 88. Bhumibol Adulyadej had served as the ninth monarch of Thailand since 1946, making him the world's longest-serving head of state at the time of his death ahead of Queen Elizabeth II.
The monochrome website reflects Thai citizens who have dressed in pure black or black and white to mourn the loss of Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was a highly revered figure in the country. Thai TV stations have also provided footage of the king in black and white, colors that represent grief and purity respectively in the country.
Article Link: Apple's Thailand Website Honors King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Death
Let say you are a father, would you give your child all of your money or would you educate them so they could help themselves.
I would do the latter.
Yes, I maintain the comment was patronising because you displayed an air of superiority in stating those Thais displaying genuine affection for the King (not necessarily the monarchy!) are doing so because they are kept in a state of general ignorance, this is patent nonsense and anyone with even a superficial knowledge of Thai society and people would know this. Thais are a politically active people and politically divided. They have points of view, there is vibrant discussion, Thailand is not a mass mushroom farm where people are fed **** and kept in total darkness. If and I stress even 'IF' there was a cover up several decades ago, that does not change my statement ONE JOT. You maybe a citizen of the USA, UK, somewhere else in the so called 'west'? Can you swear there has never been an establishment cover up in your country? You sit back and patronise the entire population of Thailand, many of whom are genuinely grieving a much admired public figure, and smugly assert they are doing so because they are fed establishment propaganda that they digest without question. 'Tis not they who are ignorant of the facts.
You failed to answer my question….. so…..
How have you come by your, obviously more than superficial, knowledge of the state of awareness of Thai society, its people, their political activity and the vibrance of their discussion?
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I have been traveling to Thailand since 1989. I have seen, over the years, that the more the Urban Thai adopts the Western ways loose the gentle Thai way of thinking. And to those who insist on applying the Western mentality to a foreign country have little to no basis to do so. Let us all remember, Thailand is the only South-East nation never to the "colonized" by another Western country. Burma, India, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong, Sir Lanka have been. So maybe we should let Thailand find its own solution without Western interference!
I
One should always welcome an informed debate. That isn't possible in this case.
Well done; you've got it….. The junta does indeed not welcome informed debate.
Well done….. Now you appear to have nothing to say, and have quoted me as saying something I never posted. C'est la vie.
Meanwhile, here is some topical comment from Al Jazeera.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes...unstable-economic-future-161022090036154.html
It's naive to compare the UK monarchy unfavourably to elected politicians. The latter are elected to fulfil an executive office. The monarchy is rather a social device - a symbol of stability and union that is beyond politics, which I think can at times be a good thing. But more importantly in the UK you can stand in the street and bad-mouth the monarch as much as you like without being locked up. And quite right too: anything else is repression.
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I lived in Thailand for a decade with my wife and had two children there. The grief and mourning is real, and nothing fabricated. Yes, politicians will use Lese Majeste to portray themselves as dutiful leaders, but one has to realise that even the King himself had limits as to what he could do.
The bottom-line here is that no other country has had such a moral anchor. I highly doubt the "free world" would understand -- I surely wouldn't have, had I not experienced life in Thailand the way I did. I'd be echoing the same "take-it-as-I-see-it-fit" rant as many. It takes a deeper level of involvement with the people (I was a high school teacher) to understand how important the King was and how deeply respected he was. Nay-sayers will tout the usual cr@p -- but of course. Thais on the other hand, are truly fortunate to have had a truly unifying leader they could look up to with hope and pride -- no matter which political spectrum they were from. I can't say the same for us Americans torn and clawing at each other over electing either a buffoon (who will blatantly shaft his own simple-minded supporters) or a two-faced career politician. Yeah, what pride we have -- 8 years and this is the best we can do.
I have a lot of admiration for people who respect and are willing to understand other cultures different from their own. The world's a huge place, and there's a lot to be learned from other civilisations -- might even make one a little more wiser and see their own country and culture in a different light.
As for the pessimists here, don't you just love to take a dump on other countries' culture and way of living? Must make some posters here feel real proud.
The bottom-line here is that no other country has had such a moral anchor. I highly doubt the "free world" would understand -- I surely wouldn't have, had I not experienced life in Thailand the way I did. I'd be echoing the same "take-it-as-I-see-it-fit" rant as many. It takes a deeper level of involvement with the people (I was a high school teacher) to understand how important the King was and how deeply respected he was. Nay-sayers will tout the usual cr@p -- but of course. Thais on the other hand, are truly fortunate to have had a truly unifying leader they could look up to with hope and pride -- no matter which political spectrum they were from. I can't say the same for us Americans torn and clawing at each other over electing either a buffoon (who will blatantly shaft his own simple-minded supporters) or a two-faced career politician. Yeah, what pride we have -- 8 years and this is the best we can do.
I have a lot of admiration for people who respect and are willing to understand other cultures different from their own. The world's a huge place, and there's a lot to be learned from other civilisations -- might even make one a little more wiser and see their own country and culture in a different light.
As for the pessimists here, don't you just love to take a dump on other countries' culture and way of living? Must make some posters here feel real proud.
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Very much agree with "theanimaster" above comment. We in the West seem to think all people, countries must think the same. The same is our way is the only right way.
Those that are not happy in Thailand are free to leave and if they can not afford the plane ticket someone will gladly pay for it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-king-insults-idUSKCN12Q0SK
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There are quite a few countries out there these days where criticism of the Government and leaders is not welcomed or acceptable.
Saudi Arabia,UAE,North Korea,China, Thailand,Israel,Thailand etc.. Whether this is good or bad depends on whom you ask. I have been visiting Thailand for about 25 years now as well and I like Thailand very much. Each country though has its positives and negatives. No country is perfect. One just has to respect the local laws and customs of the country they are visiting or living in.
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Repression knows no boundaries apparently-
Thailand's crackdown on 'insults' to the monarchy spreads abroad
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/29/thailand-bhumibol-monarchy-insults-law?CMP=twt_gu
"There is no legal definition for what actions constitute royal defamation, allowing judges to hand out what critics say are unreasonably harsh sentences. Political opponents of the military say they have used the law, Article 112, to silence opponents."
An interesting letter in the opinion section of the Bangkok Post recently, which unfortunately will go unheeded by the powers that be, as have others in a similar vein:
Re: "Police seek Interpol help in S112 hunt", (BP, Oct 27)
Before seeking to bring those wanted under lese majeste charges back from overseas, we should, as we have been advised to do in all matters by PM Prayut, et al, follow our late King's wisdom.
HM was a prominent critic of the lese majeste law. In 2005, after an increase in politically inspired lese majeste complaints, King Bhumibol, cited in the book King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Life's Work used his annual televised birthday address to say: "Charges against those accused of lese majeste should be dropped, and those held in jail for lese majeste should be released. The use of the lese majeste law damages the monarchy... When criticism is prohibited and people are jailed for lese majeste, damage is done to the King."
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said that as the monarchy itself would rarely seek recourse to the courts to protect itself, we commoners had to do so. But if HM knows his institution well, "the use of the lese majeste law ultimately damages the monarchy". This means that we, his subjects, will be ultimately damaging the very deeply beloved institution we seek to protect -- all in the name of love. What loving son or daughter would seek to ultimately harm his/her father?
Others say that HM was correct in 2005, but not now. If so, then our dearly loved institution's representatives and the population at large should be so convinced through public debates as to why our late King's wisdom no longer holds, and the public record of his 2005 speech amended to indicate accordingly.
For me, I still believe that our dear national father was, and is, correct in his analysis -- and that we should act accordingly.
Burin Kantabutra
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1122001/when-east-met-west
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