If Freedom Could Talk, This Would Be The Message: Thai Opinion

[webfact]

STOPPAGE TIME

If freedom could talk, this would be the message

Tulsathit Taptim

Sometimes I wish the scriptwriters hadn't made Mel Gibson scream my name at the end of "Braveheart".

BANGKOK: -- I guess most of you know what scene I'm talking about. It's horrifying and sad and yet very inspiring. Too inspiring perhaps. It's hard to watch that and not want to go out and fight for all the enslaved people of the world.

Thing is, being "enslaved" nowadays is a bit different from the time when Scotland's Sir William Wallace (portrayed by Gibson) was eviscerated in public. You no longer have to hide your produce out of fear of dictatorial taxation. Nor do you have to huddle in secret rendezvous and utter my name in code. You don't need to paint your face, live in the jungle and sleep with a sword in order to fight for me.

I have come a long way but I would be lying if I said I don't miss the old days. There were so many slaves and few heroes back then. My name was associated with things that were very tangible - the right to keep what you cultivated and harvested, the liberty to sing your songs and dance your dances, and the end to forceful recruitment that made you die for a man you detested.

Today? Heroes are everywhere but show me the slaves. Everyone wants to be William Wallace, but they wear suits and ties, sip good wine and enjoy celebrity status. I don't mind that, really. I'm happy that people having me as their rallying cry are getting good pay for what they do. I know times have changed and I need an opposite number to stay relevant. I thank today's heroes for that. But, as I told you, I just miss the ways things were.

All I'm asking for is a bit of a perspective. It's not the end of the world when the Thai Culture Ministry threatens to ban SIMSIMI. Idiotic, yes, but of battling King Edward I proportions? No. The same goes for Thammasat University's decision to keep anti-Article 112 campaigners off of its campus. You still have Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for crying out loud. If you want to be a "freedom fighter", be one, not a whiner.

Thailand is being unfairly attacked, I have to say. It happens when people get confused between a power struggle (two camps that are more or less equally equipped, throwing everything at each other) and underprivileged people clamouring for less duty, a place to make a stand and the right to worship without fear. I concur that things are far from perfect, but the imbalance between the sticks Thailand is getting and the praise Burma is receiving is driving me up the wall.

And while we are at it, look around. Would you rather fight for me in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia or Singapore even? If you truly cherish me, search your hearts and tell me if you are horribly unfortunate or damned lucky to be a "freedom fighter" in Thailand. I'm not saying there are "slaves" in those countries, but I dare you to set up anti-government villages in any of them, or open an online account, using your real name, to ridicule the powers-that-be.

You may think I'm trying to talk myself into extinction, but the truth is that an over-hyped "freedom" awareness is not helping, either. Of course, I want to stay relevant, but I also want to be relevant with substance, if you know what that means. My name used to be about the birth of nations, about the fall of regimes that took everything from their people, or about, yes, Sir William Wallace. Now, I have to be content with an "uprising" against a ban on profanity on a Korean-born app.

Granted, I have to evolve like all of you. If your tweets are to be banned in your country, it affects me, too. However, I'm begging you to develop a sense of proportion. Imagine a world where people can say anything to anyone, anywhere, any time. The line between anarchy and me must be very thin indeed. That's why a lot people believe that I am my own worst enemy. Hope you can help me prove them wrong.

Hatred is not something I want you to associate me with, but I acknowledge your right to hate. Just remember, while you can hate, others can love, or they can hate you back. It's not easy to find a compromise, not least because a compromise is often misconstrued as a restriction on freedom. The last thing that I want to say to you is not the least: You don't have to always be in the extreme to be seen as being on my side. This may be news to you, but, more often than not, I exist on the middle path.

-- The Nation 2012-02-08

[noitom]

Can anyone translate this diatribe into a coherent piece of English writing?

[Soutpeel]

If real freedom could talk...the message would be......Dont let our man in dubai back in the country

[Siripon]

Can anyone translate this diatribe into a coherent piece of English writing?

For a few years now Tulsathit has sometimes written his column with 'democracy' or 'corruption' speaking in the first person, he was trying to articulate the struggle in Thailand between various forces claiming legitimacy as pro democracy, the realities of corruption in money politics as opposed to ideals.

In this article,using 'freedom' in the first person, he's saying Thais have a lot more freedom than the people in its neighbouring countries and they should remember that. The banning of Nitirat from speaking at Thammasart or the Korean robot taken offline are not serious issues of persecution,for there are many other channels where people can express their opinions.

[FOODLOVER]

He screamed, "Tulsathit Taptim" at the end of Brave Heart?

[CalgaryII]

If real freedom could talk...the message would be......Dont let our man in dubai back in the country

There is a difference between freedom and fear of your political adversaries.

[rubl]

"eviscerated". Actually William wallace was hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians.

Hopefully skirting the fine line in the forum rules, but ... anyone for changing article 112 a wee bit

Edited February 8, 2012 by rubl

[hellodolly]

If real freedom could talk...the message would be......Dont let our man in dubai back in the country

There is a difference between freedom and fear of your political adversaries.

Many times Thaksin has said he is through with politics. I have yet to hear him say he is involved in politics.

Now how can a man like that have political enemies. Unless you call the law a political enemy. If so he has every reason to be terrorized.