Crisis Fanatics-- Short-term Posters Of Thai Visa

[Gaccha]

During the recent upheavel, that can be said to have started in April and ended by the end of May, there was an astonishing outpouring of conviction politics. On several posts I received retorts so one-sided and yet so shallow that it fascinated me and I promised myself to look at the worst example of these posters once the upheaval had died down.

I hypothesised that the more shallow and one-sided, the less likely to remain on this forum once the upheavel was over.

Or to think of it another way, they would be less likely to be engaged in the nuanced, complex but perhaps banal (if you don't know the facts) debate now ongoing on the political reconciliation of life in Thailand.

Now that this board has been rescued from these political bigots, has anyone else had occasion to think the same. I would love to see their postings along with the delicious supplément of their termination of postings around May 20th.

[chickenslegs]

Where's the "smug" emoticon when you need it?

[Mario2008]

Opening Post edited, as to not make it about 1 particulair member.

[smokie36]

I see one red lurking......

Oops and his yellow pal just arrived!

Edited June 4, 2010 by smokie36

[Pushit]

Where's the "smug" emoticon when you need it?

A snide/sarcastic emoticon would be on par for this posting. Hope the OP didn't get further bent out of shape by the mods' edit

[cpofc]

fact is I am really only here, last year and this year, to check for any updates regardingthe renewal of my retirement visas. You know how the Thais change the rules.

But you can't help but get sucked in. I have been running an online forum since 1998.

There are highly emotive issues being discussed, by people from just about every country, race and socio-economic group on the planet. I am lucky my 'client base' is tiny compared to this. this is the only forum I have ever joined and posted in apart from my own. its a pleasant departure.

It is the internet. it is still evolving.

it is difficult at times. things you would say to someone in a bar when having a drink together would make you both howl with laughter. When viewed remotely in B&W Text you want to shoot him!

It also tends to attract the nuts, sure, but the moderators etc should weed them out.

chill, if you don't like what you are reading and it works you up that much, stay out of it.

Yeah, I know its hard. Not everyone can be the way we want them to be. I just try to treat others as I would have them treat me.

(I am not a practising anything BTW)

[smokie36]

Nah it was disappointing to see on almost every thread someone try to throw their political views down your throat rather than have a friendly debate.

Sad really.

[Gaccha]

<snip> Hope the OP didn't get further bent out of shape by the mods' edit

I'm afraid it was. My topic depended on a detailed analysis of one poster. But the Mod can have done nothing else if topics cannot be centred on one forum member.

I will not identify the poster (so that also means I cannot quote him) but he had been a member for exactly 2 years, yet almost all his posts were between the April and May period. He is a High School teacher and frequently preached about the lack of thinking by his Thai students-- the irony is jaw-dropping. he seemed to have failed to grasp the lessons of the Western enlightenment, apparently believing that ideas are the result of apples falling or deep reflection in warm baths.

The typical trope of these fanatics was to have an avatar of some political slogan.

The risk now is that without my detailed posting I will become the target of posters as my posts now comes across as a rant or an unsubstantiated polemic. I am interested to hear of other experiences. Presumably they can be named as they will not be the centre of the topic.

As for accusations of me being "a Red". Please, I am simply not interested in that banal level of binary identity. Go back and read my posts if you must.

[CHdiver]

wrong thread

Edited June 4, 2010 by CHdiver

[smokie36]

<snip> Hope the OP didn't get further bent out of shape by the mods' edit

I'm afraid it was. My topic depended on a detailed analysis of one poster. But the Mod can have done nothing else if topics cannot be centred on one forum member.

I will not identify the poster (so that also means I cannot quote him) but he had been a member for exactly 2 years, yet almost all his posts were between the April and May period. He is a High School teacher and frequently preached about the lack of thinking by his Thai students-- the irony is jaw-dropping. he seemed to have failed to grasp the lessons of the Western enlightenment, apparently believing that ideas are the result of apples falling or deep reflection in warm baths.

The typical trope of these fanatics was to have an avatar of some political slogan.

The risk now is that without my detailed posting I will become the target of posters as my posts now comes across as a rant or an unsubstantiated polemic. I am interested to hear of other experiences. Presumably they can be named as they will not be the centre of the topic.

As for accusations of me being "a Red". Please, I am simply not interested in that banal level of binary identity. Go back and read my posts if you must.

I was referring to the forum terrier not yourself OP.

How can any of us be yellow or red? umm dumb farang that's how!

[GuestHouse]

I think the absence of the Safron Tinted Spectical Warriors is far more interesting. There's at least three members who would normally go balistic at any mention of problems in Thailand - They and their usual retort of 'If you don't like it go home' are conspicuous by their absence.

Maybe the indefensible has become just that.

[moe666]

Does this help, If you don't like it go home

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I don't know; speaking personally I had days that I wanted to point out every obvious truth that whole hordes of posters seemed to deliberately ignore. On other days I just felt pity for the forum keyboard warriors and thought 'at least they're not out on the street scaring the women and the horses.' and just tuned in elsewhere.

[Gaccha]

I don't know; speaking personally I had days that I wanted to point out every obvious truth that whole hordes of posters seemed to deliberately ignore. On other days I just felt pity for the forum keyboard warriors and thought 'at least they're not out on the street scaring the women and the horses.' and just tuned in elsewhere.

When you look back, do you see an analogy with the Thai outburst spread across Facebook and other parts of the internet?

Just like the Thais, they expressed no political views publically so long as the issue was cold, but then when it actually hit their lives, suddenly they could not be too fanatical or too vulgar in expressing their views. Multiple Thai friends reported being 'defriended' on Facebook for expressing their views, and it was from my lofty viewpoint easy to see why. And I should imagine with these farang armchair experts they probably similarly annoyed everyone to death in the bar and found their only output on the Forum.

They made their position, and once it was decided there was no turning back. They must have felt a reassuring jouissance in their fanaticism.

I note with amusement their now complete absence in making any retort to any of the comments on this thread. We have reclaimed the Forum. God Save George.

[smokie36]

I don't know; speaking personally I had days that I wanted to point out every obvious truth that whole hordes of posters seemed to deliberately ignore. On other days I just felt pity for the forum keyboard warriors and thought 'at least they're not out on the street scaring the women and the horses.' and just tuned in elsewhere.

When you look back, do you see an analogy with the Thai outburst spread across Facebook and other parts of the internet?

Just like the Thais, they expressed no political views publically so long as the issue was cold, but then when it actually hit their lives, suddenly they could not be too fanatical or too vulgar in expressing their views. Multiple Thai friends reported being 'defriended' on Facebook for expressing their views, and it was from my lofty viewpoint easy to see why. And I should imagine with these farang armchair experts they probably similarly annoyed everyone to death in the bar and found their only output on the Forum.

They made their position, and once it was decided there was no turning back. They must have felt a reassuring jouissance in their fanaticism.

I note with amusement their now complete absence in making any retort to any of the comments on this thread. We have reclaimed the Forum. God Save George.

Wow I thought they had just gone back to work. Idle hands and all that....

[Gaccha]

I don't know; speaking personally I had days that I wanted to point out every obvious truth that whole hordes of posters seemed to deliberately ignore. On other days I just felt pity for the forum keyboard warriors and thought 'at least they're not out on the street scaring the women and the horses.' and just tuned in elsewhere.

When you look back, do you see an analogy with the Thai outburst spread across Facebook and other parts of the internet?

Just like the Thais, they expressed no political views publically so long as the issue was cold, but then when it actually hit their lives, suddenly they could not be too fanatical or too vulgar in expressing their views. Multiple Thai friends reported being 'defriended' on Facebook for expressing their views, and it was from my lofty viewpoint easy to see why. And I should imagine with these farang armchair experts they probably similarly annoyed everyone to death in the bar and found their only output on the Forum.

They made their position, and once it was decided there was no turning back. They must have felt a reassuring jouissance in their fanaticism.

I note with amusement their now complete absence in making any retort to any of the comments on this thread. We have reclaimed the Forum. God Save George.

Wow I thought they had just gone back to work. Idle hands and all that....

+5555 That would be the alternative explanation. That might explain the generally pro-yellow position. And it reminds me of one member...

One board member with a porsche badge (*) for an avatar prior to the crisis spent much time extolling his brilliance as the mini-capitalist, at how success awaited all those who worked hard and remained determined. His office was in CentralWorld.

In the time of the crisis, it seemed the cat had got his tongue. His cashflow problems appeared to have perhaps changed his hyper-neo-liberal 'American Dream' perspective on life. He has seen that life does not reward hard work. A salutory but ultimately satisyfing riposte of reality, not just for those that seek schadenfreude, but also it allows those less successful to feel less failure in their misfortune.

(*) when I was unfortunate enough to work as an Investment Banker I can recall colleagues remarking that only the plebs buy porsches and that the real Hi-So have the lamborghini. I am still unsure to be more disgusted with 'porsche avatar man' for thinking his porsche meant anything, or for the bankers in popping his dream/putting him in his place, or for the inanity of the bankers in believing with their tiresome monocultural mobile lives that they were Hi-So.

[smokie36]

^We can only hope he has found a new sense of contentment in his evening stroll to the noodle stall.

[473geo]

They came and went (almost), the whole tit for tat crap became tedious for me, so I mostly ignored the piranhas who sought to viciously strip the very flesh from any statement which presented a more moderate view from an angle different to theirs!!! Then the limited input range and volume of responses from both sides degenerated into melee of much repeated dialogue/photos and videos.......and they still continue...whatever floats your boat I guess.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Right. And the rate of posting was so rapid that it defeated the purpose of posting; aside from the handful of keyboard warriors actually on that page, absolutely nobody would read it. And they were mostly the same tired rants anyway. Even if you did bother to explain a little about what drives people on both sides, right away one of the usual suspects would jump in with "But Thaksin ... ". Just no discussing anything with these people, but good they have a padded room in News Clippings.

[mahtin]

Sorry, Ill have to leave.

Post mortems have that effect...