absolutelyBangkok archive · News & Media
Originally published March 19, 2010
Fascinating to see how multiple-sided the current sea of red emotion is. You can read into the movement whatever you want. Even if you’re there yourself, if you’re a fervent red, you’ll be able to find all kinds of justifications covering the whole spectrum from radicals to pro to diehard anti. Just pick your truth.
If you’re surfing through the English-language Thai blogosphere you’re witnessing a real people’s march with cheerful local crowds, a movement with a solid agenda and learn that some missions are accomplished. BangkokPundit has an interesting collection of positives:
Red Shirts Losing?
On the other hand, depending on the sources you favor, there were fewer than 5,000 reds the other day. There’s material everywhere dealing with the disarray within the reds, with Thaksin’s questionable past and difficult character, with the futile wait for anything to be achieved, not to mention — to put it mildly — Thai society’s doubts and reservations about today’s reds. So what to believe? Who’s lying less? What’s “true”?
There’s some kind of serendipity back in Thai politics. You knew where your heart is, what is right and what is wrong. Now this wake-up call. For me at least the red march serves as a timely reminder to clear up and define one’s one position. They couldn’t make it clearer by their actions who they most probably are. Well it’s a march of records, kind of. Now they’re promising the world’s longest protest caravan. 80 km long, 2,000 cars… Looks like they don’t yet have an environment policy.
Maybe you always knew what is right and what is wrong. Maybe you didn’t change your mind, but adjust your mind — or are now even more convinced that you were always right, depending on how you “read” and “filtered” what information available. I, for one, am grateful the reds marched — to separate the wheat from the chaff. What was fuzzier before is slightly more clear. Face off. Maybe. For how long?
Did/does the red march change your mind?
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