How the political divide has affected gender equality

By Tulsathit Taptim 
The Nation

 

 

Thaksin Shinawatra is, understandably, frustrated. And extremely frustrated people rarely watch their words. That being said, whoever helped him come up with the “camouflaged skirts” remark he used to describe the military government should have their pay severely cut.

 

If he alone was responsible, he should kick himself.

 

Associating womanhood with cowardice is not what someone deemed (in certain quarters) a champion of democracy is supposed to do. Most people have been silent about this, either because they like him or because they simply dismiss him. It’s worrisome either way, though.

 

A short recap may help explain Thaksin’s current mood. Military-backed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has bounced back remarkably from dwindling public approval, aided in no small measure by the international spotlight that fell on the Wild Boars’ rescue. Not only that, a newly formed political camp seems to be growing from strength to strength in what looks like a mission to ensure he becomes prime minister again after next year’s election. The “last straw” came with a more recent development, however.

 

A few days ago, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) recommended that Panthongtae Shinawatra, Thaksin’s son, be indicted in connection with the Krungthai Bank loan scandal. To cut a long story short, Panthongtae is accused of laundering money from a loan that the state-owned bank extended to subsidiaries of property developer Krisdamahanakorn when his father was prime minister.

 

To be fair to Panthongtae, he was quite young at the time, and the Bt36 million in question was minuscule when compared with the wealth of his father, which was officially close to Bt100 billion.

 

To put this in perspective, if you had Bt1 million in the bank, would you handle Bt3,000 in illicit cheques that could give you legal headaches later? But then again, Bt3,000 won’t buy you supercars or luxurious homes, whereas Bt36 million certainly will. 

 

We shall leave it to the courts. After all, a case involving cheques should not be difficult for lawyers on both sides. The key evidence is there for all to see.

 

Thaksin, a shrewd businessman himself, must know a thing or two about cheques and related legal complications. What he thinks about the Panthongtae case may have been reflected in the “camouflaged skirts” remark.

 

“Normally, I’m not interested in Thai politics much because there has been a coup and Thais are being governed by soldiers in camouflaged skirts who are by no means gentlemen,” he said. Thaksin explained that he decided to discuss politics at his birthday party in London because there were Thai politicians and reporters present.

 

“I’m sitting and watching from afar and I can’t help laughing,” the ousted prime minister said. “The longer they try to delay the election, the more unhappy the people will become. They simply can’t understand Thais.”

 

Whether you think that comment truly reflects political realities in Thailand probably depends on your ideology. It did, unequivocally, reflect social realities in the country. Thaksin had no qualms about associating skirts with cowardice, but why should he?

 

 If on the other hand Prayut had asked some guys to “go and wear skirts”, critics would have rained down contempt on his head. That’s the power of politics to twist people’s thinking. But let’s leave the political divide aside for a second and give Thaksin’s analogy a fair analysis.

 

His remark reflects a very poor trait among Thais in general, whatever political side they may be on. We assume men are brave and women lack the same kind of courage. Thai society does not in fact regard women too highly. When a man shies away from a challenge, he is told to find a skirt and wear it.

 

Feminism has made its mark in Thailand, but in a weird way. Feminists, particularly those who rate Thaksin more highly than Prayut, have tended to be ambivalent over the former PM picking up the bad social trait and displaying it in full global view. 

 

It is admittedly a dilemma. On one side is a man who “disrespects” democracy; on the other is a man who either disrespects women or is so accustomed to society’s chauvinism that he does nothing to change it. In fact, he even endorsed the trait at his own birthday party, attended by senior politicians and journalists. 

 

The sad thing is that Thaksin’s comment will have no effect on any debate on gender equality. That’s because politics has been allowed to supersede moral and social values. When people disagree on whether killings were murder or law enforcement, associating cowardice with skirts seems trivial if not totally meaningless.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30351182

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-08-01

The writer, Mr Taptim, once again demonstrates his tenacious desire to create a column which is deep in meaning, startling in its insight, and one that expresses relevant thoughts on the issues of the day.

 

And, once again, he fails to do so.

 

What a load of nonsense masquerading as a 'thought' piece. It can be summed up, like most of the writer's columns, as "Ugh...Thaksin bad. Bad Thaksin! Bad Bad!".

 

I am at a loss for words; can I simply suggest that Mr. Taptim accept what we all see and resign to become a farmer?

 

 

Edited July 31, 20187 yr by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

25 minutes ago, webfact said:

On one side is a man who “disrespects” democracy; 

Neither man respects the democratic process. 

Edited July 31, 20187 yr by Bluespunk

Interesting article about feminism in Thailand, although it barely touches on the subject.

It seems like the writer just needed a new keyword in the headline in the hope someone would be tricked to actually read the BS he was writing.

 

And his b+tthurt shines through clearly, a few paragraph after he mentioned that Prayut is becoming more popular and might well be PM again after the election:

2 hours ago, webfact said:

If on the other hand Prayut had asked some guys to “go and wear skirts”, critics would have rained down contempt on his head. That’s the power of politics to twist people’s thinking.

Yes, everybody is holding Prayut to such high standard that it is not fair.

So he scolds journalists, throws banana peels on them, tells critics he would punch them in the face, protects his #2 in the watch scandal, refuses to explain where his wealth comes from, etc.

If anybody else would do that, it would be fine, but with Prayut they make a big deal out of it.

 

Booohoooo, everybody is a meany towards Prayut.

You should all stop teasing lovely Prayut.

Prayut is actually good, and Taksin bad...

Why? Oh, I forgot to use arguments in this article...

 

What a shit piece of drivel this whole opinion piece is.

Whilst it is true that many women in Thailand are treated badly, the writer contributes nothing to the cause with this poor article.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

How the political divide has affected gender equality

Let me make it clear: the political divide has nothing to do with gender equality.

Its not like one group is anti-feminists and the other pro-feminists...

 

Taptim writes paragraph after paragraph about Taksin and Prayut, but in the end concludes:

The sad thing is that Thaksin’s comment will have no effect on any debate on gender equality.

 

So basically you admit that your whole premise of this article was non-existent?

Then why write it?

The headline says gender.

The story does not really discuss gender.

Maybe the Nation needs an Editor or two?

Journalism 101.

4 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

Let me make it clear: the political divide has nothing to do with gender equality.

Its not like one group is anti-feminists and the other pro-feminists...

 

Taptim writes paragraph after paragraph about Taksin and Prayut, but in the end concludes:

The sad thing is that Thaksin’s comment will have no effect on any debate on gender equality.

 

So basically you admit that your whole premise of this article was non-existent?

Then why write it?

Why write it.. easy.. newspapers need be filled he needs money.

 

Far better would be an article about how all those politicians on Thaksins birthday party would constitute influence from Thaksin on the PTP and make the PTP vulnerable to legal problems given the new law. Thaksin just can't do what is good for the PTP and keep its distance. He is giving them the proof they need to later disband the PTP. 

 

Seems stupid to me to give them all this evidence of politicians meeting him makes it easier to build a case against the PTP.

9 minutes ago, robblok said:

Why write it.. easy.. newspapers need be filled he needs money.

True, and for $100 they can buy my "article" which is a piece of paper I just wiped my bottom with.

 

In my view that contributes as much as the above article.

7 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

True, and for $100 they can buy my "article" which is a piece of paper I just wiped my bottom with.

 

In my view that contributes as much as the above article.

Yes the article is total garbage, but so are many other articles. You can dislike Thaksin all you want.. i do.. but this article makes no sense. 

4 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

The writer, Mr Taptim, once again demonstrates his tenacious desire to create a column which is deep in meaning, startling in its insight, and one that expresses relevant thoughts on the issues of the day.

 

And, once again, he fails to do so.

 

What a load of nonsense masquerading as a 'thought' piece. It can be summed up, like most of the writer's columns, as "Ugh...Thaksin bad. Bad Thaksin! Bad Bad!".

 

I am at a loss for words; can I simply suggest that Mr. Taptim accept what we all see and resign to become a farmer?

 

 

Well said, I also see that the piece had nothing to do with the phrase. 

If he wants to talk about women equality, he only needs to look at the Prayut government to see how many women are in key positions or indeed any position at all. So the phrase men dressed in skirts, could be seen as an analogy that since there are no women in this government, the men have to wear the skirts to represent them. 

 

Once again Thaksin shows his mastery of Thai politics with his accurate and succinct summation of the current situation and why the Generals are doomed to fail no matter what they do.

 

“I’m sitting and watching from afar and I can’t help laughing,” the ousted prime minister said. “The longer they try to delay the election, the more unhappy the people will become. They simply can’t understand Thais.”

 

How desperate are the pro-establishment Nation reporters when all they've got in their anti-Thaksin arsenal is low grade accusations of misogyny, I also can't help laughing.

 

Any half decent journalist could find 1000 issues more worthy of the column space than a throw away line from an ex-PM not even residing in the country........villifying Thaksin is all the Junta has in it's one trick pony show. PTP in a landslide.

6 minutes ago, pornprong said:

Once again Thaksin shows his mastery of Thai politics with his accurate and succinct summation of the current situation and why the Generals are doomed to fail no matter what they do.

 

“I’m sitting and watching from afar and I can’t help laughing,” the ousted prime minister said. “The longer they try to delay the election, the more unhappy the people will become. They simply can’t understand Thais.”

 

How desperate are the pro-establishment Nation reporters when all they've got in their anti-Thaksin arsenal is low grade accusations of misogyny, I also can't help laughing.

 

Any half decent journalist could find 1000 issues more worthy of the column space than a throw away line from an ex-PM not even residing in the country........villifying Thaksin is all the Junta has in it's one trick pony show. PTP in a landslide.

 

Indeed at one stage I thought Prayut might so something smart like form a 'unity' government and bring in all parties, not go for revenge etc. That might have kept him in power, and liked, for decades.

 

But, no, he went 'Thai style and believed he was Thailand's 'saviour', delayed elections, implemented witchhunts and gets more and more unpopular (thank God). Thaksin may well laugh, he's not coming back anyway, but he understands the Thais and the mistake Prayut has made.

Edited August 1, 20187 yr by BobBKK

22 minutes ago, pornprong said:

Once again Thaksin shows his mastery of Thai politics with his accurate and succinct summation of the current situation and why the Generals are doomed to fail no matter what they do.

 

“I’m sitting and watching from afar and I can’t help laughing,” the ousted prime minister said. “The longer they try to delay the election, the more unhappy the people will become. They simply can’t understand Thais.”

 

How desperate are the pro-establishment Nation reporters when all they've got in their anti-Thaksin arsenal is low grade accusations of misogyny, I also can't help laughing.

 

Any half decent journalist could find 1000 issues more worthy of the column space than a throw away line from an ex-PM not even residing in the country........villifying Thaksin is all the Junta has in it's one trick pony show. PTP in a landslide.

Thaksins mastery of Thai politics.. you make me laugh. If he was such a master why is he in exile facing numerous corruption charges ? Sounds more like he did not master it and made the wrong enemies and now is paying the price. A true master would have stayed in power and would not have fled trying to get an amnesty for his many crimes. If he was a true master he would have been far more careful and would not have made that many enemies. He gambled.. gambled wrong. 

 

Even now he shows his arrogance and damages the PTP because of the new law on outside influences. If Thaksin was such a master he would not have met with PTP politicians all he is doing is helping the junta build a case to dissolve the PTP. Do you think that is masterful ?

1 hour ago, robblok said:

Thaksins mastery of Thai politics.. you make me laugh. [...etc...]

Agree, Taksin is his own biggest enemy.

 

Within Thailand nobody is really a threat to him, he can only undo himself and works hard to accomplish that.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

How the political divide has affected gender equality

 

So much so that Thailand has a third gender... katoeys... (solly)

13 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

Agree, Taksin is his own biggest enemy.

 

Within Thailand nobody is really a threat to him, he can only undo himself and works hard to accomplish that.

Its his arrogance, but that is not a trait he alone has, seems to be real common here for generals and politicians in Thailand. Add to that he is famous for lying, again something he shares with the generals and other politicians. 

 

Seems that once they have a position of power they expect us to believe what they say no matter how big their lies are.

1 hour ago, robblok said:

Thaksins mastery of Thai politics.. you make me laugh. If he was such a master why is he in exile facing numerous corruption charges ? Sounds more like he did not master it and made the wrong enemies and now is paying the price. A true master would have stayed in power and would not have fled trying to get an amnesty for his many crimes. If he was a true master he would have been far more careful and would not have made that many enemies. He gambled.. gambled wrong. 

He is exile facing numerous trumped up charges because he keeps on winning...........election after election after election after election after election he just keeps on winning. When the oppositions only recourse is to roll out the tanks and cancel the game because they're sick and tired of getting their asses handed to them - that is mastery.

 

1 hour ago, robblok said:

Even now he shows his arrogance and damages the PTP because of the new law on outside influences. If Thaksin was such a master he would not have met with PTP politicians all he is doing is helping the junta build a case to dissolve the PTP. Do you think that is masterful ?

Right now, he is also showing his mastery. The man is wise enough to know that the Junta are their own worst enemy. The only question is whether it's their incompetence or their corruption that will be their downfall. Meanwhile, Thaksin travels the globe, biding his time until his inevitable return to the winners podium. It certainly appears that you fanboys have less than a year left to keep on worshipping the Generalissimos before Thaksin wins again.

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thaksins-message-to-supporters-play-dead

1 minute ago, pornprong said:

He is exile facing numerous trumped up charges because he keeps on winning...........election after election after election after election after election he just keeps on winning. When the oppositions only recourse is to roll out the tanks and cancel the game because they're sick and tired of getting their asses handed to them - that is mastery.

 

Right now, he is also showing his mastery. The man is wise enough to know that the Junta are their own worst enemy. The only question is whether it's their incompetence or their corruption that will be their downfall. Meanwhile, Thaksin travels the globe, biding his time until his inevitable return to the winners podium. It certainly appears that you fanboys have less than a year left to keep on worshipping the Generalissimos before Thaksin wins again.

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thaksins-message-to-supporters-play-dead

Guess you and I and others disagree about how masterful he is. Just a matter of opinion, but IMHO a masterful politician would not end up in exile with no way to get back. 

 

Just like the junta is their own worst enemy so is Thaksin as others in this topic have said. 

 

I have actually decided that it would be better if the PTP gets in a goverment then when the junta gets in again. At least the PTP will have far more oversight and will be punished for corruption. I don't see that happening with the junta. So even though I dislike them I rather see them in power then the junta. Only because corruption of the junta will never be prosecuted. 

 

Of course I would prefer a better choice but right now only future forward would be that choice but they are too small. 

 

So between two evils the PTP is for now the lesser evil. Does not mean I will wear red glasses like you and worship the soil Thaksin walks on. I will attack the guy for all his faults just like I do with the junta. Would be nice if the Thais could choose non corrupt parties instead of having to choose the lesser evil. 

load of CRAP, hows the "watch" investigation going.......................are those darned awful folleners  not giving you that information you dont seek

Don't want this guy back. It's just groundhog day.  

The Shins, then an elitist and undemocratic powergrab in some shape or form. The Shins,  then... Ad nauseam.

Better that young, and of course,  elite dude has a shot at the trough, likely same same, after the gullible euphoria wears off,  but better than ever decreasing circles at present. 

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Normally, I’m not interested in Thai politics much because there has been a coup and Thais are being governed by soldiers in camouflaged skirts who are by no means gentlemen,”

I may be stupid but I don't see the disrespect of women in this sentence. Anyway, I don't see any coherence in this article by a so-called journalist. Please bring back Pornpimol Kanchanalak! ?