America apologises - for doing the right thing

[webfact]

STOPPAGE TIME
America apologises - for doing the right thing
Tulsathit Taptim
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- If you've been doing cartwheels or rolling on the floor laughing at the US embassy's "anti-Thaksin" slip, stop and think. There are two ways to look at it: The Americans have either been embarrassed, or they are cleverly using the incident to shame Thailand even more.

I really don't have a problem with the embassy officially calling one of its Fourth of July party invitees an "anti-Thaksin activist". It's the subsequent "apology" that has been bothering me.

Okay, you don't like Thaksin Shinawatra. Big deal. I mean, that's a really, really big deal. You should be proud about it, right? You have taken a stand and, right or wrong - it's not something you should hide. The guy who received the invitation card identifying him as an "anti-Thaksin activist" should have run out of his home like a madman and waved it like a lottery ticket that's won first prize. What happened instead? Anti-Thaksin people cried foul and the US charge d'affaires apologised.

Mind you, the invitation gaffe was a Freudian slip, but the apology was a genuine insult, to me at least. It's America's unequivocal statement that being "anti-Thaksin" is bad. Simply put, would the acting ambassador have to personally apologise if an invitee was wrongly categorised as a "professor" or "political expert" or "CEO"?

You apologise when you accidentally describe your guest as an "alcoholic", a "womaniser" or a "sugar daddy". That the envoy had to personally seek forgiveness from Pramote Nakornthab automatically placed Pramote in an unpleasant category. Basically, the ambassador was saying to Pramote, "Sorry we gave you a bad name."

The only sensible apology in Pramote's case is nowhere near being offered. The embassy "classifies" Thais and, worse still, it uses Thaksin as a barometer. Thais, in the embassy's eyes, are either pro- or anti-Thaksin, and that's it. The situation, however, is a lot more complicated than that. There are people who love democracy but think Thaksin endangers it. There are probably pro-Thaksin people with dictatorial tendencies, too.

It's very complex, but the embassy made its own judgement about what's bad and good or right and wrong in this country. The classification somehow must have made its way to the computer and the rest is history. The clerk or junior official responsible for sending that invitation to Pramote was just a downstream product of the embassy's ideological cultivation that is dubious at best or misguided at worst.

But enough of that already. Many Thais, me included, have warned Washington that Thailand's problem is not about a small bunch of people trying to control or abuse the majority. It's a national strife with the country divided almost down the middle. If the United States wants to take sides, it does so at its own great risk.

What has happened is just a glimpse of what's in store for the United States. The incident drew cynical chuckles, but it also has added another straw to the collective Thai back. The so-called apology speaks volumes, and not in a good way.

"To err is human," said American envoy Patrick Murphy on Twitter, using a "humble pie" hashtag. The American embassy has apologised in both a serious and a cheeky manner. Murphy personally presented Pramote with what was called a "proper" invitation card. I saw their photo and wonder why the "activist" looked rather grim and the diplomat looked a bit proud.

"To forgive is divine" is perhaps what the envoy wanted "anti-Thaksin" Thais to add to his Twitter message. Well, the full sentence - To err is human; to forgive is divine - leaves no doubt as to which act is harder.

To me, calling Pramote an "anti-Thaksin activist" on an invitation card is not a mistake. Undiplomatic it might be, but never was it a mistake. Making a mistake is when you intend one thing and do something else. A mistake is when your action contradicts your intent. A mistake is when you call John Kerry "Mr President" instead of Secretary of State. Pramote must have been regarded as "anti-Thaksin" by the embassy's people, and somehow their perception of him became public, and that's that.

The invitation card was nobody's mistake. It's not Pramote's fault if he's anti-Thaksin. It wasn't the embassy's fault to say so on the card. Why does the embassy have to apologise for calling a man what he is, quite correctly?

So what "erring" was the American envoy referring to? He needs to educate me on that one.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/America-apologises--for-doing-the-right-thing-30263451.html


-- The Nation 2015-07-01

[LomSak27]

Ahh The Nation, that bastion of Thailand's free press, is at it again. The fact that the hired help couldn't manage a mail merge feature on the software is an opportunity to pump out yet another Op/Ed piece. And all this about a 4th of July party, meh.

Have at it! Maybe if you talk long enough Thailand's economic, fiscal, drought, fishing fleet and tourism problems will magically vanish. By the way any dates on those elections ?

[rijb]

I can see why this journalist is confused. The Thai government doesn't admit mistakes.

[Praematura]

Hey Thailand, the USA doesn't give a <deleted> about your county. We are happy your getting on China's tit now as you have been on ours for 50 years.

[BigBadGeordie]

"He needs to educate me on that one" I suspect that there may be other issues the OP may need a little education about.

[ezzra]

This no more than a BBQ diplomacy photo opp, nothing to read into it, the US did or didn't do this

or that, by the 5th of July it will all blow away together with the used napkins the esteemed guests

wiped the BBQ sauce with......

[Manbing]

Isn't the key point here that the US embassy classifies people by political allegiance, rather than on personal merit.

After all, a persons political allegiance shouldn't not define their inherent value.

Saying that there are cases for these labels, for example in the UK, Ed Miliband could once have been described as the 'opposition leader'.

But that's a function, a university lecturer should not be primarily classified as pro/anti anything. This speaks negatively, to the level of intelligence gathering as well, a tradition not as proud as it should be given the Wiki leaks disclosure of USA communications with Washington about Thailand.

[Bluespunk]

Take the "at" out of the name of the author of this piece and you have the perfect 4 letter word to describe it.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Bluespunk

[Always18]

"Many people............have warned Washington that Thailand's problem is not about a small bunch of people trying to control or abuse the majority................."

Well actually, that is the ENTIRE problem, in a nutshell....................

[fred Kubasa]

That "apology" was, If I'm not mistaken, ( and I am rarely mistaken ), a "tongue in cheek" apology and

a reminder to Thailand that they have been naughty and subject to more intentional U.S. " mistakes",

possibly of a more serious nature.

[Neocon]

My first thought was that the address label "choice" was intentional to prove that the US Embassy is mutually inclusive of individuals across political ideologies.

But maybe, just maybe, not removing the activist label really was just an inattentive clerical error.

[phoenixdoglover]

The author is disingenuous.

Mind you, the invitation gaffe was a Freudian slip, but the apology was a genuine insult, to me at least. It's America's unequivocal statement that being "anti-Thaksin" is bad.

It wasn't a "Freudian slip". Everyone knows it was a clerical error.

The apology wasn't for classifying someone as "anti-Thaksin". The apology was for including the classification on an invitation.

I am imagining the author is in the embassy database:

Name: Tulsathit Taptim

Notes: Pedantic jerk

[Neocon]

Many organizations (governmental, NGO, corporate, etc.) keep categorical lists of individuals to serve multiple uses. One such list where I previously worked was titled "Friends of________." It served a very specific proprietary purpose.

[Time Traveller]

"Thais, in the embassy's eyes, are either pro- or anti-Thaksin, and that's it. The situation, however, is a lot more complicated than that........ "

"It's very complex...."

--- Our brains are so small we have trouble explaining our views that are not loaded with hypocrisy and biases in a way that we can justify to ourselves and to the foreign media/diplomats. So we just say it's complicated

Edited July 1, 2015 by Time Traveller

[Orac]

The embassy made a mistake, the recipient of the invite didn't like it and put it on facebook so the embassy apologised - not exactly rocket science.

I am not sure what The Notions point here is - it is not as if this guy wasn't an anti-Thaksin activist and if the author of this article is unsure then he only needs to check back to this editorial from The Nation when he was the managing editor:

"What Sondhi and his associates have done is counter-productive to Thai democracy, which is already struggling to break free from the political mess wrought by Thaksin and his party through a culture of deceit and corruption. In fact, by compromising the quality of public discourse - which should serve as the underpinning of any vibrant democracy - with an emotionally charged hate campaign, Sondhi and company have done even worse."

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/homeHatred-debases-public-discourse-30005048.html

[LomSak27]

Isn't the key point here that the US embassy classifies people by political allegiance, rather than on personal merit.

No,

I'm sure that on the d base they have a number of his noteworthy articles, speeches, political views etc. But you do not print those out when you pop in mail merge to print envelopes Of course if you have never done that I guess you would not know. Lots of people use computers but few seem to had a job with them.

This is an office clerical error, no matter how desperately The Nation, and your manbing would like to pretend otherwise.

[EnglishJohn]

I think a lot of people are unable to grasp that the USA has only one interest : the National interest.

Sure they would like every country to be democratic and free, but that is not their prime concern. The are happy with a friendly dictator : the only issue there is he might change his mind.

So when it comes to the Junta/Thaksin/Pheu-Thai or whoever, they don't give a damn about the internal politics. The only concern is that the USA has a friendly place to put some bases and (if they have oil) a nice place of business for American interests.

The bottom line is that they would be quite happy with Thaksin as PM because they know he and his followers can simply be bribed. They don't give a stuff about the detail. They described Thaksin as telling Thai society "That greed is OK" and they knew full well how corrupt he was. But that means they have easy access to oil and few deals in the right direction give them a political decision they want.

Don't get me wrong : I'm a big supporter of the USA because they are the only ones who will stand up for what's right in the big picture but they are far from honest bedfellows.

[winstonc]

Hey Thailand, the USA doesn't give a <deleted> about your county. We are happy your getting on China's tit now as you have been on ours for 50 years.

and remember no-one gives a &lt;deleted&gt; about the usa..and no the us government are not happy about being in bed with china do you watch the news i dont mean fox either

[mmh8]

I don't get it, the article seems to be someone apologising about calling someone an anti thaksin supporter. its nowt to do with human rights

[elgordo38]

I think a lot of people are unable to grasp that the USA has only one interest : the National interest.

Sure they would like every country to be democratic and free, but that is not their prime concern. The are happy with a friendly dictator : the only issue there is he might change his mind.

So when it comes to the Junta/Thaksin/Pheu-Thai or whoever, they don't give a damn about the internal politics. The only concern is that the USA has a friendly place to put some bases and (if they have oil) a nice place of business for American interests.

The bottom line is that they would be quite happy with Thaksin as PM because they know he and his followers can simply be bribed. They don't give a stuff about the detail. They described Thaksin as telling Thai society "That greed is OK" and they knew full well how corrupt he was. But that means they have easy access to oil and few deals in the right direction give them a political decision they want.

Don't get me wrong : I'm a big supporter of the USA because they are the only ones who will stand up for what's right in the big picture but they are far from honest bedfellows.

Quote Don't get me wrong : I'm a big supporter of the USA because they are the only ones who will stand up for what's right in the big picture but they are far from honest bedfellows.

I think this ideology is changing as they seem to be in a circle the wagons mode. They are tired of borrowing money to be the world's police force and having brickbats thrown at them in the process. They are war weary. The Chinese did the same centuries ago after Admiral Zheng He circled the globe in his big ships. The dynasty/leader at the time became weary of footing the bill. They even went to great lengths to destroy any and all books and papers on his miraculous deeds. At 17 trillion in debt and counting the USA is realizing that wars on the cuff are not solving the worlds problems only increasing their fiscal demise. Empires have come and gone and history does to a certain degree repeat itself. I am afraid the next alternative the big C red star rising is going really polarize the world. Asia is already tucked under its wings you can see it here. It is changing the Asian landscape with impunity.

[elgordo38]

I think a lot of people are unable to grasp that the USA has only one interest : the National interest.

Sure they would like every country to be democratic and free, but that is not their prime concern. The are happy with a friendly dictator : the only issue there is he might change his mind.

So when it comes to the Junta/Thaksin/Pheu-Thai or whoever, they don't give a damn about the internal politics. The only concern is that the USA has a friendly place to put some bases and (if they have oil) a nice place of business for American interests.

The bottom line is that they would be quite happy with Thaksin as PM because they know he and his followers can simply be bribed. They don't give a stuff about the detail. They described Thaksin as telling Thai society "That greed is OK" and they knew full well how corrupt he was. But that means they have easy access to oil and few deals in the right direction give them a political decision they want.

Don't get me wrong : I'm a big supporter of the USA because they are the only ones who will stand up for what's right in the big picture but they are far from honest bedfellows.

Quote Don't get me wrong : I'm a big supporter of the USA because they are the only ones who will stand up for what's right in the big picture but they are far from honest bedfellows.

I think this ideology is changing as they seem to be in a circle the wagons mode. They are tired of borrowing money to be the world's police force and having brickbats thrown at them in the process. They are war weary. The Chinese did the same centuries ago after Admiral Zheng He circled the globe in his big ships. The dynasty/leader at the time became weary of footing the bill. They even went to great lengths to destroy any and all books and papers on his miraculous deeds. At 17 trillion in debt and counting the USA is realizing that wars on the cuff are not solving the worlds problems only increasing their fiscal demise. Empires have come and gone and history does to a certain degree repeat itself. I am afraid the next alternative the big C red star rising is going really polarize the world. Asia is already tucked under its wings you can see it here. It is changing the Asian landscape with impunity.

I think this ideology is changing as they seem to be in a circle the wagons mode. They are tired of borrowing money to be the world's police force and having brickbats thrown at them in the process. They are war weary. The Chinese did the same centuries ago after Admiral Zheng He circled the globe in his big ships. The dynasty/leader at the time became weary of footing the bill. They even went to great lengths to destroy any and all books and papers on his miraculous deeds. At 17 trillion in debt and counting the USA is realizing that wars on the cuff are not solving the worlds problems only increasing their fiscal demise. Empires have come and gone and history does to a certain degree repeat itself. I am afraid the next alternative the big C red star rising is going really polarize the world. Asia is already tucked under its wings you can see it here. It is changing the Asian landscape with impunity.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

In todays world to be politicaly or socialy correct have become more important than telling the truth. For once the embassy told the truth and afterwards was politicaly correct.

[IAMHERE]

Clerical error for sure. America invited one anti for every one pro. They had to add the 'anti' 'pro' in order to keep track. Perhaps the USA invited two females for every male, that would be the extent of their unequal treatment.

[willyumiii]

I would like to see one of invitations.

Is it normal or necessary to classify guest who are invited to anything?

I don't think even wedding invitations specify if you are there in support of the bride or groom!

[MockingJay]

So far in history, the US of a.... has backstabbed any former ally, why should they proceed differently with Thailand?

Another masterpiece of The Nation blabla about an absolutely insignificant subject. Why is this news?

[phoenixdoglover]

This kind of thing happens to everyone responsible for producing documents.

Some years ago, our company submitted a proposal to a good client for preparation of a "Biosolids Management Plan".

Just before the proposal went to print, somebody decided to do a spell-check and accepted a variety of corrections. Friday afternoon, the proposal was submitted on time.

Monday afternoon, my good friend in marketing received a call from the client. "Hi John. Thanks for submitting the proposal. We will give it a fair evaluation. Just one question, though. What is a Bestiality Management Plan?"

We didn't get the project.

But we did do lots more work for that client.

Edited July 1, 2015 by phoenixdoglover

[HooHaa]

who gives a crap about any of this, the only thing america should be doing right now is apologizing for the TPP discussions, explaining what the unleaked chapters complain and stop obfuscating the whole issue with those dammed rainbow flags.

[BigBadGeordie]

who gives a crap about any of this, the only thing america should be doing right now is apologizing for the TPP discussions, explaining what the unleaked chapters complain and stop obfuscating the whole issue with those dammed rainbow flags.

OK.

Was the nurse late with the medication today?

[jcisco]

This author has a long history of producing articles which people take offense to, based on his journalism, less than his message. It is what it is, his conclusions are rubbish, its the Nation....

[Orac]

This author has a long history of producing articles which people take offense to, based on his journalism, less than his message. It is what it is, his conclusions are rubbish, its the Nation....

Indeed - maybe the embassy should be apologising for inviting this rabble rousing nutter in the first place.

It is interesting to see a statement after one of his articles that you can find more balanced and objective reports if you look to Tony Cartalucci and Michael Yon. It has got to take some effort to be classed as less balanced and objective than that pair!

http://thaisnet.com/PDF/Nodemocraticelection.pdf