Recalling The May 19 Govt Crackdown On Red-Shirt Protests

[Insight]

There was another red shirt rally in central Bangkok this week, one I wasn't aware of or I would not have found myself in that part of town when the masses in red were ranting about the ills and illegitimacy of the current government. Anyway, I ducked into a nearby 7 Eleven and while I was in there overheard a brief exchange between one of the staff and a red shirt. The red shirt was asked what this particular rally was all about, and his answer said it all to me - "Mai roo" which if you don't speak Thai means "I don't know" but the tone of the response suggested a more accurate translation might have been, "I don't have a clue!"

At the bottom of this week's Stickman weekly

(/edit - and if you click through, don't forget to pay attention to the top part of the article. Almost completely unrelated, but worthy of a read)

Stickmanbangkok.com the website for the expat family man community.

At the very bottom, just above the Sunbelt legal advice column I found the following recommendation:

"A good, accurate article titled Why Thailand's Sexpat Community Hates Taksin upset many this week, probably because it cut a bit too close to the bone for some!"

Yep, it's fair to say our Mr Stickman is a pretty balanced guy.

This is still my favourite however:

What I saw that night turned me against the red shirts. At that point in time it was being (erroneously) reported that the M79 grenade attack had caused 5 deaths and more than 80 people had been injured, numbers that were later revised down markedly – I believe there was only one death. But one death is one too many, not that the red shirts seemed to think so. When I arrived the reds were partying and celebrating like there was no tomorrow. They were singing, dancing and celebrating like demented demons, lighting lanterns that were launched into the sky, lanterns that are usually saved for the most special holidays and events. Squealing in delight at others' misfortune – deaths at their hands – was something I just couldn't accept and from that moment on I looked at the reds in a different light.

[JetsetBkk]

Stickmanbangkok.com the website for the expat family man community.

At the very bottom, just above the Sunbelt legal advice column I found the following recommendation:

"A good, accurate article titled Why Thailand's Sexpat Community Hates Taksin upset many this week, probably because it cut a bit too close to the bone for some!"

Ah! That explains it all!:

So make no mistake: the reason many members of the expat community fear Thaksin’s return is not that they prefer Abhisit and Korn’s technocratic style of governance. And it’s not because they fear a reprise of the war on drugs. It’s naked self-interest, plain and simple.

So if that overweight Englishman with the prison tats squirms uncomfortably whenever Yingluck Shinawatra appears on the TV screen, you know why. If there’s one thing that scares an addict, it’s having his drug taken away.