Big Power = Get Out Of Jail Free

[giddyup]

I ask my Thai lady what she thinks will be the outcome of the high profile cases on Thai TV, like the young girl who has been badly burned by boiling water by her Thai "parents", the Red Bull heir that killed the policeman in his Ferrari, the doctor who killed several of his workers etc, and I always get the same response. "Oh, nothing happen to them, they have big power". Of course, "big power" usually equates to big money, but it really is infuriating to hear this blind acceptance of criminals getting off scot free purely because they are rich. Not saying a healthy bank account doesn't help your case in the West, certainly can buy the best legal help, but here the cases don't even seem to get as far as the courtroom. As much as I love living in Thailand, I don't think I will ever get used to the Thai acceptance of injustice.

[Swiss1960]

And the news is???

[giddyup]

And the news is???

And the news is???

Not news, just an observation.

[TommoPhysicist]

Same everywhere ...... just need bigger power to get away with it in the west.

Chappaquiddick anyone?

Jimmy Saville?

Edited February 22, 2013 by TommoPhysicist

[robblok]

I agre with giddyup this is one of the things that infuriate me. As for Tommo his remarks it happens a lot less if at all in the West there we got a legal system that is better (not perfect that is for sure).

[giddyup]

Same everywhere ...... just need bigger power to get away with it in the west.

Chappaquiddick anyone?

Jimmy Saville?

Not saying that there hasn't been miscarriages of justice in Western countries, especially with high profile people like OJ and Robert Blake, but they are more the exception, in Thailand it is the rule.

[scorecard]

You mentioned 'blind acceptance', I don't think it's as simple as that.

I have regular contact with a group of about 15 Thais (all my ex uni students), all late 20's to mid 40's, all with education (not abroad), none of them are rich, just comfortable, salary range probably 25 - 35,000Baht a month, they all speak good to advanced English.

Recently another farang made the comment to the group: 'why is there no progress with the red bull - ferrari case'? Why doesn't someone demand action? 'Why aren't you angry about the lack of fair justice'?

They answered quickly and made it very clear that they are angry but feel totally helpless to challenge anybody / any institution on this and many more cases.

One guy, well respected by the rest said politely to the farang, 'this is all controlled by very powerful and if needed very ruthless people and money', I hate it but I'm not going to risk my life or put my kids at risk by standing up and saying something, and it won't change until we have a clean leader who is strong enough and has the needed support of clean people to challenge the police, etc., and where needed make heads roll.

Also, Thais do often laugh, smile, or make light of things which in fact are making them angry, all part of the 11 Thai smiles I guess.

Edited February 22, 2013 by scorecard

[giddyup]

You mentioned 'blind acceptance', I don't think it's as simple as that.

I have regular contact with a group of about 15 Thais (all my ex uni students), all late 20's to mid 40's, all with education (not abroad), none of them are rich, just comfortable, salary range probably 25 - 35,000Baht a month, they all speak good to advanced English.

Recently another farang made the comment to the group: 'why is there no progress with the red bull - ferrari case'? Why doesn't someone demand action? 'Why aren't you angry about the lack of fair justice'?

They answered quickly and made it very clear that they are angry but feel totally helpless to challenge anybody / any institution on this and many more cases.

One guy, well respected by the rest said politely to the farang, 'this is all controlled by very powerful and if needed very ruthless people and money', I hate it but I'm not going to risk my life or put my kids at risk by standing up and saying something, and it won't change until we have a clean leader who is strong enough and has the needed support of clean people to challenge the police, etc., and where needed make heads roll.

Also, Thais do often laugh, smile, or make light of things which in fact are making them angry, all part of the 11 Thai smiles I guess.

What's that famous quote, "All it takes for evil to flourish, is for good men to do nothing".

[doji]

Ok you tell me....which country doesn't run by the rich and powerful who can't seem to do anything wrong?

You seem to disgust that many cases here didn't even get pass the courtroom. Go and read western news, many cases in the west didn't even get investigated seriously. Just to be fair here.

MF Global, Barclay interest rate rigged, Goldman insider trading, gold an silver market manipulation, who is Mario Drarghi- you tell me... ects?

H E L L O

[giddyup]

doji, on 22 Feb 2013 - 10:39, said:

Ok you tell me....which country doesn't run by the rich and powerful who can't seem to do anything wrong?

You seem to disgust that many cases here didn't even get pass the courtroom. Go and read western news, many cases in the west didn't even get investigated seriously. Just to be fair here.

MF Global, Barclay interest rate rigged, Goldman insider trading, gold an silver market manipulation, who is Mario Drarghi- you tell me... ects?

H E L L O

There's been plenty of Western high fliers that have gone to jail, especially those that have bilked honest people out of their life savings. You can't compare Thailand and the West when it comes to dispensing justice. The Western media also demands answers where injustice is seen, not here. Edited February 22, 2013 by giddyup

[Berkshire]

I agre with giddyup this is one of the things that infuriate me. As for Tommo his remarks it happens a lot less if at all in the West there we got a legal system that is better (not perfect that is for sure).

Let's put it this way: When the rich and powerful get off in the west, you won't know about it.

[kevvy]

I know it bothers alot of western people about the laws here, we can talk about it but it is not our country and we dont have the right to vote .Unfortunately it will always be the same, maybe sometime in the distant future it will slowly change

[giddyup]

I agre with giddyup this is one of the things that infuriate me. As for Tommo his remarks it happens a lot less if at all in the West there we got a legal system that is better (not perfect that is for sure).

Let's put it this way: When the rich and powerful get off in the west, you won't know about it.

You do if there's a trial.

[StreetCowboy]

I know it bothers alot of western people about the laws here, we can talk about it but it is not our country and we dont have the right to vote .Unfortunately it will always be the same, maybe sometime in the distant future it will slowly change

We can vote with our feet.

Obviously it doesn't really bother a lot of people.

SC

[robblok]

I agre with giddyup this is one of the things that infuriate me. As for Tommo his remarks it happens a lot less if at all in the West there we got a legal system that is better (not perfect that is for sure).

Let's put it this way: When the rich and powerful get off in the west, you won't know about it.

Yes sure good remark it happens but we just dont see it... you can't prove that statement but its good to act like this because then Thailand does not look so bad.

[giddyup]

I agre with giddyup this is one of the things that infuriate me. As for Tommo his remarks it happens a lot less if at all in the West there we got a legal system that is better (not perfect that is for sure).

Let's put it this way: When the rich and powerful get off in the west, you won't know about it.

Yes sure good remark it happens but we just dont see it... you can't prove that statement but its good to act like this because then Thailand does not look so bad.

The thing is generally we do know about it. There is far more transparency with the Western media and less opportunity to sweep things under the carpet.

[robblok]

I know it bothers alot of western people about the laws here, we can talk about it but it is not our country and we dont have the right to vote .Unfortunately it will always be the same, maybe sometime in the distant future it will slowly change

We can vote with our feet.

Obviously it doesn't really bother a lot of people.

SC

Bothers me for sure but not enough to leave the country.

[giddyup]

I know it bothers alot of western people about the laws here, we can talk about it but it is not our country and we dont have the right to vote .Unfortunately it will always be the same, maybe sometime in the distant future it will slowly change

We can vote with our feet.

Obviously it doesn't really bother a lot of people.

SC

Bothers me for sure but not enough to leave the country.

Same here, it doesn't directly affect me per se, any more than shonky jet ski operators affect my day to day living.

[StreetCowboy]

I agre with giddyup this is one of the things that infuriate me. As for Tommo his remarks it happens a lot less if at all in the West there we got a legal system that is better (not perfect that is for sure).

Let's put it this way: When the rich and powerful get off in the west, you won't know about it.

Yes sure good remark it happens but we just dont see it... you can't prove that statement but its good to act like this because then Thailand does not look so bad.

If we pretend things are there that we can't see, then it becomes easier to turn a blind eye to things that we can see.

SC

[doji]

doji, on 22 Feb 2013 - 10:39, said:

Ok you tell me....which country doesn't run by the rich and powerful who can't seem to do anything wrong?

You seem to disgust that many cases here didn't even get pass the courtroom. Go and read western news, many cases in the west didn't even get investigated seriously. Just to be fair here.

MF Global, Barclay interest rate rigged, Goldman insider trading, gold an silver market manipulation, who is Mario Drarghi- you tell me... ects?

H E L L O

There's been plenty of Western high fliers that have gone to jail, especially those that have bilked honest people out of their life savings. You can't compare Thailand and the West when it comes to dispensing justice. The Western media also demands answers where injustice is seen, not here.

Stamford?...Madoff?___just a drop in the bucket. They are nothing when comparing to the powerful EU, the Fed, or Goldman of what they are doing to millions of people in their region (s), country, and around the world... Wake UP

"You can't compare Thailand and the West when it comes to dispensing justice"....haha daydreaming or wishful thinking ?

The west is no better than Thailand, except in Thailand we may see more cases of primitive in nature and only affect a small group of people in each case. I think you’re taking it to heart, because it’s stirring you basic human emotion just imagining it.

But the real cupids in life changing of the mass and many future generations to come (in bad ways) are from the WEST! Just because you can’t see or have emotional connection to them, it doesn't mean what happening inThailand are worse.

Edited February 22, 2013 by doji

[giddyup]

doji, on 22 Feb 2013 - 10:39, said:

Ok you tell me....which country doesn't run by the rich and powerful who can't seem to do anything wrong?

You seem to disgust that many cases here didn't even get pass the courtroom. Go and read western news, many cases in the west didn't even get investigated seriously. Just to be fair here.

MF Global, Barclay interest rate rigged, Goldman insider trading, gold an silver market manipulation, who is Mario Drarghi- you tell me... ects?

H E L L O

There's been plenty of Western high fliers that have gone to jail, especially those that have bilked honest people out of their life savings. You can't compare Thailand and the West when it comes to dispensing justice. The Western media also demands answers where injustice is seen, not here.

Stamford?...Madoff?___just a drop in the bucket. They are nothing when comparing to the powerful EU, the Fed, or Goldman of what they are doing to millions of people in their region (s), country, and around the world... Wake UP

"You can't compare Thailand and the West when it comes to dispensing justice"....haha daydreaming or wishful thinking ?

The west is no better than Thailand, except in Thailand we may see more cases of primitive in nature and only affect a small group of people in each case. I think you’re taking it heart, because it’s stirring you basic human emotion just imagining it.

But the real cupids in life changing of the mass and many future generations to come (in bad ways) are from the WEST! Just because you can’t see or have emotional connection to them, it doesn't mean what happening inThailand are worse.

OK, I get it, the whole world is just a bottomless pit full of snakesh*t. Thailand is no better or worse than anywhere else.

[doji]

doji, on 22 Feb 2013 - 10:39, said:

Ok you tell me....which country doesn't run by the rich and powerful who can't seem to do anything wrong?

You seem to disgust that many cases here didn't even get pass the courtroom. Go and read western news, many cases in the west didn't even get investigated seriously. Just to be fair here.

MF Global, Barclay interest rate rigged, Goldman insider trading, gold an silver market manipulation, who is Mario Drarghi- you tell me... ects?

H E L L O

There's been plenty of Western high fliers that have gone to jail, especially those that have bilked honest people out of their life savings. You can't compare Thailand and the West when it comes to dispensing justice. The Western media also demands answers where injustice is seen, not here.

Stamford?...Madoff?___just a drop in the bucket. They are nothing when comparing to the powerful EU, the Fed, or Goldman of what they are doing to millions of people in their region (s), country, and around the world... Wake UP

"You can't compare Thailand and the West when it comes to dispensing justice"....haha daydreaming or wishful thinking ?

The west is no better than Thailand, except in Thailand we may see more cases of primitive in nature and only affect a small group of people in each case. I think you’re taking it heart, because it’s stirring you basic human emotion just imagining it.

But the real cupids in life changing of the mass and many future generations to come (in bad ways) are from the WEST! Just because you can’t see or have emotional connection to them, it doesn't mean what happening inThailand are worse.

OK, I get it, the whole world is just a bottomless pit full of snakesh*t. Thailand is no better or worse than anywhere else.

.......

[StreetCowboy]

doji, on 22 Feb 2013 - 10:39, said:

Ok you tell me....which country doesn't run by the rich and powerful who can't seem to do anything wrong?

You seem to disgust that many cases here didn't even get pass the courtroom. Go and read western news, many cases in the west didn't even get investigated seriously. Just to be fair here.

MF Global, Barclay interest rate rigged, Goldman insider trading, gold an silver market manipulation, who is Mario Drarghi- you tell me... ects?

H E L L O

There's been plenty of Western high fliers that have gone to jail, especially those that have bilked honest people out of their life savings. You can't compare Thailand and the West when it comes to dispensing justice. The Western media also demands answers where injustice is seen, not here.

Stamford?...Madoff?___just a drop in the bucket. They are nothing when comparing to the powerful EU, the Fed, or Goldman of what they are doing to millions of people in their region (s), country, and around the world... Wake UP

"You can't compare Thailand and the West when it comes to dispensing justice"....haha daydreaming or wishful thinking ?

The west is no better than Thailand, except in Thailand we may see more cases of primitive in nature and only affect a small group of people in each case. I think you’re taking it heart, because it’s stirring you basic human emotion just imagining it.

But the real cupids in life changing of the mass and many future generations to come (in bad ways) are from the WEST! Just because you can’t see or have emotional connection to them, it doesn't mean what happening inThailand are worse.

OK, I get it, the whole world is just a bottomless pit full of snakesh*t. Thailand is no better or worse than anywhere else.

Once we accept moral relativism than it is much easier to discard our principles and abandon the standards of our culture without guilt.

SC

[Bangkokhatter]

Those that say it's just as bad in the west are comparing apples with oranges. The OP mentioned high profile cases that involved people being killed and burned etc, I doubt there are many cases in the West where rich people have got away with such crimes. Please don't mention OJ, he stood trial, here the culprits rarely stand trail and it's all swept under the carpet.

The Thais i know through work are as equally pissed off about it as those that scorecard mentioned.

[scotto]

I know it bothers alot of western people about the laws here, we can talk about it but it is not our country and we dont have the right to vote .Unfortunately it will always be the same, maybe sometime in the distant future it will slowly change

No mate it will never ever change it is what it is nothing you can do about it

so do what i do do not think about it !!

[giddyup]

Those that say it's just as bad in the west are comparing apples with oranges. The OP mentioned high profile cases that involved people being killed and burned etc, I doubt there are many cases in the West where rich people have got away with such crimes. Please don't mention OJ, he stood trial, here the culprits rarely stand trail and it's all swept under the carpet.

The Thais i know through work are as equally pissed off about it as those that scorecard mentioned.

We always have this comparism whenever any criticism is levelled against Thailand. Oh, but what about the fat cats that get away with ripping off millions in the US, or the Kennedy that drove his car off the bridge? I can't recall reading about a couple that tortured a child by pouring boiling water over her for a prolonged period of time and walked free in any western country recently though. Oh, but that's insignificant in the grand scheme of things!

[scorecard]

I agre with giddyup this is one of the things that infuriate me. As for Tommo his remarks it happens a lot less if at all in the West there we got a legal system that is better (not perfect that is for sure).

Let's put it this way: When the rich and powerful get off in the west, you won't know about it.

Yes sure good remark it happens but we just dont see it... you can't prove that statement but its good to act like this because then Thailand does not look so bad.

The thing is generally we do know about it. There is far more transparency with the Western media and less opportunity to sweep things under the carpet.

This leads to the comment you hear often enough from foreigners in Thailand: 'Why don't Thai journalists do a lot more investigative joutnalism?'

The truth is they are simply afraid to. Afraid of being sued and afraid of being killed.

Also, unfortunately, what has developed here is the Thai reporters just listen and then write what they have heard into a newspaper article. Often when they listen to politicians etc., there are no questions or very simplistic questions but rarely any challenging questions. And what often appears in the newspaper seems even incoherent or one piece of information doesn't jel with other parts of the simple detail included.

Go back a few years to when a foreign journalist (in Thailand) challenged the then PM. Response from the PM was to say 'Idiot scum' and a warning. The guy was deported the next day.

[Scottythai]

T I T

[giddyup]

T I T

I really love these informative comments.

[Berkshire]

I agre with giddyup this is one of the things that infuriate me. As for Tommo his remarks it happens a lot less if at all in the West there we got a legal system that is better (not perfect that is for sure).

Let's put it this way: When the rich and powerful get off in the west, you won't know about it.

Yes sure good remark it happens but we just dont see it... you can't prove that statement but its good to act like this because then Thailand does not look so bad.

No, not trying to defend the nepotism or corruption occurring in Thailand. But let's face it, the only way we find out anything about the rich and powerful in America or elsewhere is if it shows up on CNN. Too many times I've found out about shady dealings in the US many years later. Which leads me to believe that something nefarious is always going on right under our noses, but beyond our view. For instance, there was a documentary I saw recently about the demise of the first generation electric car in the US years ago. For years, I've pondered as to why an old technology such as the combustion engine was still in use today. That movie explained a lot. And then there were the origins of the financial crisis. I can go on and on.

Anyways, don't want to ramble. You can choose to believe that the rich and powerful in the west follow the same rules we do. That senators and CEOs are always ethical and looking out for you and not for themselves. If that's your rose-colored view of the west, so be it.