The week that was in Thailand news: Learn from the past – don’t try and erase it

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Learn from the past – don’t try and erase it

 

 

I knew something was up as soon as the maid opened the door.
 
It was usually my mature Japanese housewife and student Mrs Kobayashi greeting me on my weekly tutoring visit to her condo in one of the Sukhumvit sois. Instead Kobayashi-san was sitting glum faced in stony silence at her dining table.
 
Her English book was set to one side. In front of her was an open history book with a picture of a British POW skewered on a bamboo rod, clearly dying in agony.
 
The hour-long lesson turned into a cathartic experience for the housewife as she faced up to her country’s imperial past and in bitty English did her best to apologize to me. Apart from the obvious and mutual discomfort of the experience, one had to admire her courage in confronting a disgraceful chapter in her country’s history that she had never been taught at school.
 
She had just come across the historical novel in a bookstore near Villa. Her normal English lesson was put aside for the hour.
 
Like all families, skeletons exist in the cupboards of all countries. The Germans must face their blind eye turned to the Nazis. The French the collaboration and appeasement in wartime. The British their shocking and abusive colonial past in places as far removed as Ireland and India. The Americans and their role in slavery when a term like “Black Lives Matter” would have been connected to the economy rather than human rights.
 
In Thailand in the 1980s this columnist quickly became aware that your average Thai – at least the ones I encountered – had about as poor a handle on world history as Thai history. They were taught almost nothing of the former and when it came to the latter they were fed a diet of hero worship and nationalistic mistruths by an education system that cared more for the Three R’s – rote, religion and royalty.
 
When I became a teacher of Thai culture at international schools in the 1990’s I made a half-hearted attempt to put the record straight when topics included historical references. However, I also have a practical streak that says children need to learn what is generally accepted about their history as much as the absolute truth. Besides, the truth is tricky to ascertain.
 
Statues in particular and history in general was up close and decidedly personal in a week when many nations around the world faced up to the actions of their heroes as the Black Lives Matter issue swept the globe. President Trump rejected calls to rename military bases after complaints about confederates. In England a statue of a slave trader-cum-philanthropist was dumped in Bristol harbor. A nasty epithet that millions around the world might agree with was scrawled over Churchill’s plinth.
 
Even Baden-Powell came under threat in Dorset; Surely his only heinous crime was wearing those appalling scout shorts. (Incidentally did you know that the Thai word for a woggle is a “woggern”?)
 
As we all did this week, Rooster listened to the varied arguments of the public, the news media, the reactionaries, the authorities. From the people who wanted to try and rub out the past to those who preferred to leave it be. Personally, I think we should make every effort to learn from history, it being sheer folly to erase it.
 
In Thailand in yet another busy week on Thaivisa, there were stories that caused concern about discrimination though the baying hounds screaming “xenophobia” on Facebook and Forum alike were usually wide of the mark.
 
Foreigners were told they were not yet welcome on both buses and at Wat Pho. The first was disputed but the second struck a chord after Thai blogger Richard Barrow was caught up in the temporary and irksome regulations at the temple. Like the Buddha in this most famous place of worship, I would not have taken this lying down.
 
After advice given to my mixed-race son in Liverpool who recounted tales of racism against Asians, I would have as many faces as Totsakhan if I turned the other cheek when facing injustice. Rooster would have spoken his piece in Thai, walked in with mask hiding a nervous smile and if there were consequences, enjoyed the challenge of facing them! Well, I like to think so.
 
Thais as usual felt the brunt of the rip offs “On the Buses” with one woman complaining that her mum was charged double because of the need for social distancing only to find the bus full. Pitiful fines of 10,000 baht are in place for these disreputable scoundrels. Please multiply the fines by ten and stop this nonsense.
 
Schools continued to be in the news ahead of the expected opening on July 1st. A private firm was seen adapting those antiquated desks with screens as directors ordered their premises scrubbed and teachers prepared with bated breath. The screens will doubtless stop cheating more than the virus but that’s no bad thing.
 
Rooster went to see about the arrangements for my daughter THFC. She will attend her year two class on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to limit class sizes. This seemed reasonable especially as there is unlikely to be much of a break between July and April. Parents who have barely maintained sanity through four months of lockdown with little nippers are finally set to get our reward. School!
 
Alcohol was never far from the news though it still remained some distance from the lips of the needy. Barstool curmudgeons yelled to anyone who would listen about the need for a tipple before they topple, some claiming not unreasonably that a glass of wine with a meal was their culture even if it wasn’t Big Too’s. In His boundless wisdom the Khaki Kingpin finally decreed that restaurants could serve booze.
 
Pubs and clubs and discos, not to mention traditional and soapy massage, will be the last to open. I read in an English daily that 95% of businesses would be allowed to open in Phase 4. What!!?? All those dens of vice are only 5% of the total; pull the other one it’s got Bell’s Whisky on it.
 
Bangkok Biz News reminded us that posting a picture of a glass of beer on Facebook could result in a 50,000 baht fine for promoting alcohol. This was later pooh-poohed by an official who said that it only referred to big business. Would they be the businesses like Leo and Singha who get away with promoting their soda and water ad nauseam beside their logos? One thinks not.
 
The curfew is also set to go with one official claiming that it was not a trial period, it was just a trial period. The Casuistry of Covid is now so engrained that it washes over us like the murky waters of Pattaya.
 
To wit, the T.A.T. lady rep in QUOTES told us gleefully that Thai tourism was up from 10% to 40%. And if only Pattayans would make their food yummier like in Bang Saen and charge less, then the sky would be the limit. Foreigners were likely to return by the end of the year, said Khun Pinnart, especially when the airlines got their act together.
 
THAI won’t – they will probably stay grounded until August when their debt cycle will once again hit the stratosphere.
 
Bang Saen, Koh Larn and Koh Chang have seen an upsurge in domestic tourism since the June 1st easing of lockdown. It is encouraging that the devastated tourism sector is showing a few small signs of recovery but it can’t come too soon. Many people are desperate and more businesses will go under – including bars – if EVERYTHING is not opened soon. One media outlet reported that 100 Samui hotels were closing – that’s between 15% and 20% of registered hostelries.
 
Samui hit the headlines for less savory reasons after a Ukrainian woman was found dead in the woods last weekend. Plod completely messed up the initial forensics and were then forced to reassess their murder theory as the principal surviving players gave detailed evidence. Rooster communicated with the victim’s estranged husband who reckoned it was suicide. He had lived with her bipolar condition for 12 years so he should know.
 
Many forum sleuths were aghast that suicide would be considered given that the 31 year old lady had been covered in palm fronds. Those familiar with Forensic Files know that stranger things happen in death than life. This was not like Big Joke going to Koh Tao to discover a woman was not raped. This theory had credence even if the unimaginative couldn’t see.
 
More murky is the disappearance of Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit in Cambodia. Goodwill ambassador Praya distanced herself from the scandal. Could she not have pretended, she is after all an actress. Meanwhile the authorities on both sides of the border ran for cover indicating that this might go to the very top.
 
That usually guarantees total silence and serious bouts of forgetfulness.
 
In other lack-of-tourist news, the first day back of the Phi Phi ferry was greeted with tumbleweed while the Pattaya to Hua Hin “Royal Liner” remained sidelined. Who really runs this secretive service across the Gulf is mired in mystery not least of all after a Navy escort was used during trials.
 
Humorous news stories gave much light relief on the forum even if they were accompanied by bashing nonsense in comments. (Note to self: Stop reading so many comments!)
 
Rooster particularly enjoyed the story about the fish fancier who left his 100,000 baht prized Barca Snakehead on the back seat of a Bangkok taxi. It was surmised that the cabby must have handed it back though there was a fishy lack of evidence. My how people get hot under the collar when it is suggested that Thais might actually be honest!
 
Titters came aplenty after it was suggested that Bangkok was now the 35th most expensive city on earth – well ahead of Paris though well behind New York. These surveys are largely meaningless as they refer to the average life of wealthy expats but they stir emotions making them one of the life bloods of news forums.
 
Apropos, frugal Rooster has been thrilled recently with some great examples of cheap repairs in Krung Thep. A dicky computer was expertly repaired for a pittance by a thoroughly likeable Thai man in Panthip Plaza. A bicycle shop charged me 20 baht for a miraculous transformation and Honda said that a new battery and an oil change was not necessary for my 250cc CRF immobile since lockdown began. Bill was 80 baht.
 
In England you’d get a sharp intake of breath and a 20 quid bill “just to look at it”.
 
In Thailand my policy is always to speak Thai and let it be known that I know the score when dealing with tradespeople. I smile and behave like a Thai in posture and facial expression. This was also my stance at countless roadside conversations with Plod over the years. I swear few Thais would have got off as scot free as yours truly.
 
In Chiang Mai a landlady showed pictures of how her tenants – a US man plus his Thai wife and kids – had left her condo. Posters again bleated xenophobia but Thaivisa has had plenty of stories about filthy tenants in recent years and they have nearly all been Thai.
 
This columnist has several properties for rent and has seen all kinds of tenants both Thai and foreign. Since I have bitten the bullet and lowered my financial expectations people have stayed longer and things have improved. Two tried to get discounts during the pandemic but were easily fended off when it was pointed out what a cheap deal they enjoyed.
 
Just call me Rachman Rooster!
 
Top video of the week came from Phitsanulok where a policeman fell through the station’s roof after adjusting some flags. He landed almost head first with the long arm of the law barely able to break his fall. His superior arrived with the obligatory basket of fruit and a stuffed envelope. He was advised to take it easy on his return to duty.
 
As legendary “Nite Owl” Bernard Trink was wont to say, any comment would be superfluous.
 
Finally, life in my household is set to be more annoying for Mrs Rooster once again as the English Premier League kicks off again this coming week. It is going to be wall to wall coverage of 92 games from 6 pm to 4 am virtually every day. Heaven!
 
And Royal Ascot will also take place behind closed doors. Some are lamenting that the lack of crowds will spoil the spectacle. When it comes to football I might concur. But not having all those toffs and their top hats getting in the way of the equines at Ascot?
 
No, that seems like a definite advantage.
 
Rooster
 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-06-13

 

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[from the home of CC]

imo at least the Germans put a massive effort in confronting their horrors publicly with a real attempt at displaying regret.I just don't see it from any other countries (which violated humanity even more), hence the mass objections and rightfully too..

[Samui Bodoh]

43 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Personally, I think we should make every effort to learn from history, it being sheer folly to erase it.

Wise words (and ones that I fervently agree with), but "sheer" and "folly" are humanity's middle names.

 

Those who control the past control the present; there is a very good reason that among the very first efforts of a new regime (of any ilk!) anywhere on the planet is to 'review' the proverbial history books and create a new mythology of how it all began in order to establish legitimacy.

 

"What is history but a fable agreed upon?"

Napoleon Bonaparte

 

"To the victor belong the spoils." 

Senator William Learned Marcy, New York

 

 

[Wongkitlo]

18 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

imo at least the Germans put a massive effort in confronting their horrors publicly with a real attempt at displaying regret.I just don't see it from any other countries (which violated humanity even more), hence the mass objections and rightfully too..

20 years ago I was in Australia with my Japanese girlfriend. There was a newspaper headline about Japanese war atrocities. Feeling uncomfortable I said "the USA helped push Japan into war with their oil embargo". She said"No. Japan did terrible things in the war" I was surprised a middle class 30yo was aware.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Wongkitlo
Inaccurate.

[Mattd]

20 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Personally, I think we should make every effort to learn from history, it being sheer folly to erase it.

Absolutely correct, you cannot erase the past, nor can you change it, the only thing that can be changed is the future, it is critically important that history is preserved, it is the only way for the planet to move forward.

[Megasin1]

first they will tear down the statues, then they will burn the books and then they will come for you.

[Deli]

3 hours ago, Wongkitlo said:

20 years ago I was in Australia with my Japanese girlfriend. There was a newspaper headline about Japanese war atrocities. Feeling uncomfortable I said "the USA helped push Japan into war with their oil embargo". She said"No. Japan did terrible things in the war" I was surprised a middle class 30yo was aware.

They have quite a good educational system in Japan. Remember, it's definitely a 1st world democracy.

[nahkit]

1 hour ago, Mattd said:

21 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Personally, I think we should make every effort to learn from history, it being sheer folly to erase it.

Absolutely correct, you cannot erase the past, nor can you change it, the only thing that can be changed is the future, it is critically important that history is preserved, it is the only way for the planet to move forward.

Tell that to the people who removed the plaque commemorating the 1932 revolution.

[Card]

21 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

imo at least the Germans put a massive effort in confronting their horrors publicly with a real attempt at displaying regret.I just don't see it from any other countries (which violated humanity even more), hence the mass objections and rightfully too..

Fully agreed. I once spent a month in Berlin lookng at all the Nazi sites. The museums and marker sites are full of displays fully confronting the Nazi atrocities.

[PaDavid]

Before coming to Isaan 5 years ago, I was a regular visitor to Turkey, and my Turkish is still considerably better than my Thai. For many years I stayed with various arms of a local family. I watched kids being born (not literally), go to school, be circumcised (boys), graduate, and get married. Here, I don’t fully understand the education system in my village, let alone wider Thailand. But, if the teaching is any worse than in Turkey, Buddha help us. 
 

Two examples: The teaching of Darwin’s theory regarding evolution is banned. Since every good Muslim knows we are all descended from Adam & Eve (Havva). What I don’t understand is how the procreation process worked in the early days. The only way future generations could be conceived is if A&E’s kids got together. Their being no other lineage. But, I digress. How can kids really get an understanding of the world if they’re not allowed to know about how evolution works? It’s not even as if it’s a disputed theory any more; it’s a standard branch of science. 
 

My second observation of the Turkish education system regards English. As with Thailand, kids are schooled from an early age in the (American version) of the language. I’ve seen homework for Year 8 pupils that I had difficulty understanding. So, when David Dede was asked to help he had to plead a headache. But, despite this ‘depth’ of teaching, kids there are the same as here. They can count up to ten, say, ‘Hello, how are you?” and recite the alphabet (somewhat easier in Turkey as theIr alphabet is quite similar to English - all thanks to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who in the 1920s switched the country from the old Arabic script.)

 

So, Thailand doesn’t have the monopoly on poor schooling. But since those who don’t have rich parents who can send them to private school, are destined to end up working in agriculture or factories, does it really matter? The rich families produce enough manpower for the white collared jobs. 
 

Thanks again Rooster. I always look forward to your weekly rant. 

 

 

[barney42bb]

Strangely No mention in this article as to The Thammasat University Massacre October 1973.???

[khunjeff]

On 6/13/2020 at 4:35 PM, rooster59 said:

Pubs and clubs and discos, not to mention traditional and soapy massage, will be the last to open.

Traditional massage shops have been allowed to operate since June 1, though with (theoretical) restrictions on spacing and services (e.g., no facial massage).

[geisha]

Great read.

[sambum]

"In England you’d get a sharp intake of breath and a 20 quid bill “just to look at it”.

 

You forgot the obligatory shaking of the head, and  the "Tsk, tsk, tsk"!

[lamyai3]

On 6/13/2020 at 4:35 PM, rooster59 said:

A dicky computer was expertly repaired for a pittance by a thoroughly likeable Thai man in Panthip Plaza.

I've had so many cheap repairs and replacements at Panthip on my 15 year old laptop, it's like Trigger's broom...

 

[habuspasha]

Thank you, Rooster.  Great read--as always.  As an American I've been struck by the way George Floyd's death has triggered responses throughout the world.  Surely long overdue in the States, but why everywhere else?  My first answer was that it reflected global angst and anger about America's new isolationism and disavowal of responsibility--a chance to deflate American claims to exceptionalism.  But I am pleased to see other countries taking the opportunity to explore their own traditions of racism: Australia and the Aborigines, Britain and the Raj, France and Algeria.  Are their no similar developments in Thailand?  

[Stargeezr]

Thanks for providing me the weekly news stories with your English wit.

  I skip the Canadian news stations as it is still mostly about the Covid19

virus, or the USA story of Mr Floyd. Personally to me all lives matter, but

  if I were to wear something like that I would be protested against  so

I just wear my frumpy old guy shirts and clothes.  

  Cheers

Geezer

[habuspasha]

To make a point of saying "all lives matter" in the current context is not just a statement of the obvious. It implies a denial of the fact that black lives have been particularly precarious in modern American police and public custody.  It denies the existence of institutional or systemic racism.  

[Stargeezr]

Just to clarify my opinion. the black people are not the only race to be

treated badly. Think about it, think of the history and how other races

are called names, and they were treated very badly through the years

as well. In Canada, I have seen the natives treated badly, I have heard 

bad name calling and treatment to the Canadian Japanese, and other Asian

people.     In America, their natives have also had bad treatment in the past as well,

not just the black population.

  That is why I have my own personal opinion.

Geezer

[kiwikeith]

5 hours ago, habuspasha said:

Thank you, Rooster.  Great read--as always.  As an American I've been struck by the way George Floyd's death has triggered responses throughout the world.  Surely long overdue in the States, but why everywhere else?  My first answer was that it reflected global angst and anger about America's new isolationism and disavowal of responsibility--a chance to deflate American claims to exceptionalism.  But I am pleased to see other countries taking the opportunity to explore their own traditions of racism: Australia and the Aborigines, Britain and the Raj, France and Algeria.  Are their no similar developments in Thailand?  

New Zealand has been protesting and tearing down statues in an act of what deputy pm Winston peter’s, himself Maori call acts of lunacy. He says you should learn from the past, not destroy it 

[AgMech Cowboy]

19 hours ago, Megasin1 said:

first they will tear down the statues, then they will burn the books and then they will come for you.

"burn the books" then rewrite the history.

[AgMech Cowboy]

41 minutes ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

"burn the books" then rewrite the history.

Actually, no need to burn the books. Most people don't read them anyway. I listened to a street interviewer the other day and most of the young and older people who are rioting know neither history or even real current statistics. They listen to the news on main stream media and their favorite internet influencer.  One example, Natalie Portman, claimed that the 6th leading cause of black men in the USA was due to the police. Total nonsense.

 

Thank you, Rooster. Your article was well written, true about all and well on point. 

[maxcorrigan]

12 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

I've had so many cheap repairs and replacements at Panthip on my 15 year old laptop, it's like Trigger's broom...

 

This seems to be the usual quote, but miss out the bit where Boyzie says it's a new broom then, Trig answers no it's still the old one, barman says how do you know, Trig replies i've got a photo of it!

[Wongkitlo]

21 hours ago, Deli said:

They have quite a good educational system in Japan. Remember, it's definitely a 1st world democracy.

Have you read the article? Rooster was saying the Japanese lady was shocked by what she was reading about WW2.

[ToYoungToRetire]

As an American.. 

 

The blacks slaves were purchased as goods. They were sold by their own countries often as a punishment for being criminals. 

 

The really horrible story is what Americans call Indians, or currently "Native Americans". Settlers from Europe killed them as fast as they could for their land, oddly enough it was the European immigrants bringing illness and disease from Europe that the "Indians" had no defenses against that killed the majority of them. 

 

If you want look to the one of the bigger lies and rewrites of American history look up one of our most popular family holidays "Thanks Giving".. Sure the Indians were just so happy to be wiped off northern America and what was left put on tiny "reservations".