From my friend "upvotersfortruth" at /r/Thailand, liked it so much had to propagate it:

Bangkok is stressed. You can feel it, see it in people's faces and even in the traffic. Walking down the street, there's less of the sing-songy toned Thai we often use as a barometer and a more serious tone has taken hold. Glares and stares are more frequent. This is especially true near the protest sites.

I'm not speaking of the politicians, the protestors, the government, military or to some extent the police; I'm talking about the real people of Bangkok. The motorcycle taxis, street vendors, taxi drivers, beat cops and others who, while perhaps not living hand to mouth, really feel the pinch of the decreased economic activity and depend on normal levels of foot traffic. These are the people who have the most to lose and very little to gain, regardless of the outcome.

Each of us have different ways of going about living in Bangkok. Some are easy going even to a fault, others walk the street with a chip on their shoulder, and everything in between. Whatever your standard operating procedure, I would kindly recommend turning up the patience dial, the tolerance dial, the caring and kindness dial when dealing with the people who get us where we need to go, make our food and otherwise help make Bangkok the great city we have made our home.

Also please remember that the build up and resolution by whatever means of the situation is not the end of the trouble, the financial impact lingers on and hits even harder if there's a mass exodus of Bangkok residents who have the means to escape.

In 2010, my family lived on ratchaprarop road, just past Soi Rangnam, a focal point of violence and bloodshed. To this day the Massage Shop on the corner still has bullet holes in their aluminum shutters which serve as a constant, grim reminder of the potential for any situation to spiral out of control. We left with what I later learned from those who chose to stay was 45 minutes to spare before the exit to our condo was blocked, the power cut and became part of the "live fire" zone. Blood stains on the condo garden stepping stones, picnic tables and walls indicated deaths which may or may not have been counted in the official tally.

When we finally returned after three weeks or so, I went to my local street coffee guy, no longer there, bought my usual and offered him money in an effort to help him make up for my lost business while he had to shut down. He refused and said all he wanted was me to keep being his customer. So I did and maybe just bought a few more coffees than usual, whether he noticed or not, I don't know but we never spoke of it again. These are, for the most part, proud, intelligent and good people with a brilliant entrepreneurial spirit. My point being, I suppose, that the best way we can help is by continuing to give them our business and keeping a low profile.

I would absolutely be thrilled if others could weigh in here as I could be totally off base.

TL;DR - stop debating about these high level issues for just a minute and think about the people in your neighborhood you interact with everyday

bumpity

The people in my neighborhood have always glanced at me, stared at me and looked at me sideways.

That has not changed with protest.

I'm just glad I'm not the only talking point of their sad lives anymore.

Thank you protesters

Hey OP - lighten up. You'll live longer.