Please Don't Call Me Red Or Yellow, I Am Thai

[webfact]

THAI TALK

Please don't call me red or yellow, I am Thai

By Suthichai Yoon

It might have been fashionable at one time or another in the recent past to call yourself a yellow-shirt supporter or a red-shirt advocate.

Not anymore. Now, to be a member of "the rest of us", you are supposed to declare yourself "colourless".

I used to think I was in the minority. Now, I am proud to say, by resisting all kinds of pressure to "belong", I can declare myself a modern-day Thai: neither yellow nor red.

The Asia Foundation polled 1,500 Thais in 27 provinces in September and October last year. They found that 76 per cent supported neither the yellow shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) nor the red-shirt for Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD).

My first reaction: They should have known.

The respondents, according to a published report quoting Asia Foundation's lead analyst James Klein, said they believed that the PAD and DAAD both suffered from internal divisions, and were not convinced the respective groups' stated objectives were the same as their actual motives.

The survey also found that of those expressing an affiliation, 13.6 per cent claimed to be red-shirt supporters and 10.3 per-cent sided with the yellow shirts.

Should anyone be surprised by the findings? Not really. The only interesting observation is that the "disillusionment" has come much earlier than expected.

The yellow and red shirts received overwhelming support when they burst onto the political scene for one very simple reason: they clearly stood for a principle. Yes, there were personalities involved in their campaigns. But basically, people were rallying to their respective battle cries because they represented outpourings over issues that the public felt strongly about but had no way of making those feelings heard.

Today, both camps have lost their "public missions". As factionalism hits both colours, the ugly inside stories about personal interests, egos, the struggle for power and financial gain, as well as personality clashes, have emerged to taint the original images of a pure and selfless fight for nothing but the national interest.

The yellow shirts began as a campaign to fight the usurpation of power by one single man: Thaksin Shinawatra. A large segment of the public, shocked by the audacity of a businessman-turned-populist-leader in monopolising political power, was galvanised into what was tantamount to a popular movement. The public face of the yellow shirts' struggle was to topple a super-rich, power-hungry leader. The real reasons behind it - as is the case with any major political game-changing event - were much more complicated.

Quite a few yellow-shirt supporters were willing to overlook any suggestion of less-than-altruistic motives on the part of the yellow-shirt leaders in their move to oust Thaksin.

When the September 19, 2006 coup took place, the first signs of doubt about just how "democratic" the movement was began to surface. And when the PAD staged takeovers of Government House and Suvarnbhumi Airport, there were second thoughts all around.

The fact that some of the critical comments against such blatant actions were muted from certain circles at the time didn't mean the original unquestioned support had not begun to erode. Once other subsequent factors emerged, the snowball effect was almost devastating.

When the PAD decided to set up the New Politics Party amidst some heated arguments within the yellow movement, it can be said to have been the beginning of the fall. Today's scenario has proved that beyond any doubt.

Now, the yellow shirts' weakest link is, paradoxically, its own stronger point: the movement's leader, Sondhi Limthongkul. It's not what they have allegedly been fighting for - be it the anti-Thaksin stand or the anti-Abhisit campaign concerning the border tensions with Cambodia; critics now say the movement may have turned into an issue of personalities.

Not surprisingly, the red-shirts' weakened position is also attributable to one personality: Thaksin. When the red-shirt movement was launched, it was on the issue of the principle of fighting against "double-standards" and to bridge the gap between the "elite" (ammart) and the "downtrodden" (prai). It gained ground rapidly because a large number of Thais share the concern about the worsening rich-poor gap and the revival of military influence over politics.

But, not unlike the yellow shirts, the red shirts soon succumbed to the "real story" behind the scenes of their activities. It's all about how to help Thaksin return to power, and the few leaders who really thought they were onto something really "revolutionary" were soon sidelined or neutralised.

That's perhaps why, if you are serious about bridging the rich-poor gap, fighting corruption, and avoiding being trapped in a clash of personalities rather than genuine principles, you would prefer to keep a proper distance from the red-yellow imbroglio.

-- The Nation 2011-04-08

[Squigy]

Please don't call me Farang, I have a name! Once again two faced Thai's.

[ChiangMaiFun]

Please don't call me Farang, I have a name! Once again two faced Thai's.

[givenall]

Please don't call me Farang, I have a name! Once again two faced Thai's.

don’t call me Rd or Yellow, I will decide my color based on how much you payfor my vote :lol:

[blabla1]

Obvious now, that they gave up the colors,they are going through and identity crisis...:lol:

[jonclark]

Please don't call me Farang, I have a name! Once again two faced Thai's.

Just out of interest, if a Thai person calls me a Farang, is it rude if I call him a Thai?

For example a Thai person calls out - Farang, come here (farang ma nii) and I go over and say what do you want thai person (Aow a rai kon Thai?) Would the use of Thai be consider rude, if so why?

[ginjag]

Obvious now, that they gave up the colors,they are going through and identity crisis...:lol:

To show you do not want to belong to either party, my suggestion is to walk around NAKED at least it will be a laugh a minute, imagine all the out of shape ex-pats with their young g/fs and the BIB without the uniforms, :cheesy:

[Bakseedaa]

Please don't call me Farang, I have a name! Once again two faced Thai's.

Squigy, if you are a westener in Thailand, sorry mate, but you ARE a Farang...!!! and I think Farang sounds better than "Squigy" Squigy.

[greendang]

Please don't be offended if Thai people call you 'farang' which means to them 'foreigner', to be precise: Caucasian foreigner. It can have both positive or negative meanings depending on the subject of discussion. For example, if a Thai person says: 'You're thinking if more 'farang' than Thai. Then, it means you have a modern way of seeing thing, or more western...which is good. But, if a Thai person says: He's a 'farang.' It only means: he's a Caucasian person. Nothing bad about that. The term can be quite endearing depending on the context of the phrase. The word 'farang' is not like 'Jap' for Japanese, or Nigger for people of African ancestry. That's all. I hope you don't mind it now when a Thai person calls you 'farang' if you really are. If not, then you should correct him/her. Choke dee kha!

Please don't call me Farang, I have a name! Once again two faced Thai's.

[myfriendu]

Please don't call me Farang, I have a name! Once again two faced Thai's.

Squigy, if you are a westener in Thailand, sorry mate, but you ARE a Farang...!!! and I think Farang sounds better than "Squigy" Squigy.

i would rather be called squidgy

[sbk]

Hunh, and here I thought this thread was about Thai people in Thailand discussing the political divisions amongst Thais.

[Beetlejuice]

So what is it than?

Are all Thais just plain yellow or red?

Answers please to be sent on a self addressed stamped postcard.

First runner up with the correct answer will win a free visa one day over stay voucher to the value of 500 baht, valid at all border check points.

Edited April 8, 2011 by Beetlejuice

[sirchai]

The survey also found that of those expressing an affiliation, 13.6 per cent claimed to be red-shirt supporters and 10.3 per-cent sided with the yellow shirts.

Who's doing such surveys? But does it really matter? No. Let the shirts be colorful this year........:jap:

Edited April 8, 2011 by Rimmer
Quoted reply from deleted post

[webfact]

/General note

If you can't stay on topic don't post.

Or If you like to get your posting rights suspended for 7 days, please continue.

//ADMIN

[webfact]

several posts have been deleted

[Siripon]

Please don't call me Farang, I have a name! Once again two faced Thai's.

Just out of interest, if a Thai person calls me a Farang, is it rude if I call him a Thai?

For example a Thai person calls out - Farang, come here (farang ma nii) and I go over and say what do you want thai person (Aow a rai kon Thai?) Would the use of Thai be consider rude, if so why?

Is there a Farangland? It's not rude using Kon Thai, their country's called Thai-land.:jap:

<snip>

Back on topic, Sutichai Yoon gives a correct summary of the red and yellow movements, I wonder what will happen if Pheua Thai team up with Pumjaithai and Thai Chart Pattana to form a government and then propose a 'reconciliation' bill forgiving both reds and yellows, and of course pardoning Thaksin. I remember Chai Chidchorp last year telling Thaksin to be patient,' everything's been worked out'

Would the yellow shirts or middle class rise up again to oppose the bill or would Sonthi wash his hands of the whole thing and say he's done his bit butthe Democrats weren't grateful?

Edited April 8, 2011 by metisdead
Off topic comments removed.

[bedu]

<Snip>

Back on topic; many taxi drivers have asked me who I support, and I tell them, 'I don't give a shit, I like Thai people, not people that like to break the country into pieces.'

I keep seeing red shirts groups coming in and out of Bangkok, and I have no idea why. It's not like they're going to get anywhere with their actions.

But what about the pink, green and blue shirts? What are they doing now?

Just shows you how disjointed this country has become. I remember a time when Thais were just Thais, and not this colour/that colour, etc.

Edited April 8, 2011 by metisdead
Off topic comments removed.

[Beetlejuice]

I think Suthichai Yoon is living in cloud cuckoo land.

Reds and yellows are other terms describing their political believes and class distinctions among Thai society.

To us farangs we may see all Thais as the same, no matter what colors they wear, but to other Thais they see conflicting groups as the opposition and not as the same at all. Almost as a different people with another culture.

This is what politics and religion does, it separates people.

So if our Suthichai Yoon wishes to be seen as Thai by all of the population, then the reds and yellows must be disbanded. One belief, one nation. But that would be in a perfect world, which of course it is not.

[SanitreeNapikin]

I have a dream that we can all unite as pink shirts! Or maybe lavender.

Sanitree