Public Indecency at Wat Phra Kaew Spurs National Outrage and Debate

[Zack61]

22 hours ago, wombat said:

The elephant 🐘  pants uniform is my guess

Although these pants are being worn by the locals now. I have seen many Thai women adorning themselves lately. 

[Gandtee]

On 5/9/2024 at 4:24 PM, snoop1130 said:

 

News broke into the public domain yesterday, May 8, as a foreign family sparked national outrage after allowing their daughter to urinate publicly at Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew, also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Wat Phra Kaew is not just a major tourist attraction but also a site deeply revered by Thais.

 

Harit Thavornkij, the eyewitness who exposed the incident, shared an image on his Facebook account of the deed taking place, right outside the palace, inciting a furious response from Thai netizens. Quickly gathering steam, this post has sparked a contentious debate, lightly touching on issues of tourism, respect, public decency and xenophobia.

 

The photo shows the unidentified foreign couple carelessly observing their young daughter relieving herself, an act perceived as a direct affront to the temple's sanctity. The post has since exploded virally, amassing over 2,600 reactions, 680 comments, and 1,400 shares, with netizens largely expressing dismay and anger.

 

Many clamoured for stringent actions against such disrespectful behaviour, with calls for blacklisting the family to safeguard national and religious monuments. Others called for a clampdown on visa regulations for tourists, as one user commented, "It's time to focus on quality tourists".

 

This indignation was noted by Tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Phongpanich, who told MGR Online that the act was objectionable due to the temple's sanctity and could somewhat tarnish the image of Thai tourism.

 

However, not all opinions leaned toward outrage. A number of Thai citizens felt the reaction was overblown, highlighting that the young girl herself might have had an urgent need and was too little to understand the gravity of the situation. They argued against locking out tourists based on isolated incidents of misjudgement.

 

Amid this defining national debate, one Thai user called for equality in the treatment of offenders, suggesting the couple should face charges or fines as a Thai offender would have. The user cited a previous case where a Thai man was punished for spraying graffiti on Wat Phra Kaew's wall, bringing to light possible double-standards in the way local law perceives foreigners vis-a-vis Thai nationals.

 

Photo courtesy of The Thaiger

 

-- 2024-05-09

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Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. The sky is falling in. What do you do when a young child is taken short. The person that took the picture should be vilified. Should be ashamed of his or her self.

[geisha]

On 5/9/2024 at 4:54 PM, mark131v said:

Wait the AN hang 'em high brigade of purist's will be along shortly shouting about immediate removal from LoS post jail and lifetime bans!

 

It's a little kid ffs!!! what's the excuses of the multitude of local adults pissing at the side of the road or basically ignoring any rule or law they want even the ones that cause innocents to die on a daily basis? <deleted>!!!!

 

Thai hypocrisy and overt xenophobia strikes again, it's not very well hidden behind that false smile...

Yes. How about the mile s long queue of tuc tucs that pee on the beaches in Pattaya and Phuket ? Very nice for the little kids that play in the sand .

[Mr Meeseeks]

They are really starting to reveal their hatred of foreigners now.

[Cereal]

On 5/9/2024 at 6:32 PM, Martin71 said:

Witness said Chinese..

That was my immediate guess and I am not surprised in the least. I e seen many such actions whilst living in China. The world is their toilet. That's primarily because China is a toilet. My opinion. 

[bristolgeoff]

From the back look asian for sure,but doing this is a no no at a temple and you can bet a camera or phone filming this will be close by.I don,t think thais would let the child  do this but who knows.Like the mosque take your shoes off  like here,if u want to pray wash your feet and hands.If you don,t do this many arabs will be upset  as well

[Carlotta]

On 5/10/2024 at 8:00 AM, Leadidge said:

No one’s calling for the girl to be punished or blaming her.  It’s the parents responsibility!

You are not up to date: It was on TikTok, facebook aso....people are outraged and ask for punishment.