Rykande aktuellt från dagens Bkkpost:
If you are in the Thai Facebook social media network, you surely will have seen the most shared video this week – the moving speech of actor Pongpat Wachirabanjong expressing his deep, protective love for His Majesty the King.
Becoming an instant talk of the town, the speech has been circulated on social media networks , re-run on TV and reported in most local papers. When he finished the acceptance speech for his Best Supporting Role at the Nataraj Awards ceremony, the audience was in tears. As they rose up to give him a standing ovation, the same night saw Bangkok burning in the country’s worst political unrest in recent history.
In his speech, he likened Thailand to a house and His Majesty the King to a father who is continuing his forefather’s sacrifices for the country by tirelessly devoting himself to the people.
“If one is burning with anger against someone or feeling frustrated with something but vents that anger on father, hates him, slanders him, and even thinks of chasing him out of the house, then I will walk straight to that person and say this: “If you hate father, if you no longer love him, then leave. Because this house belongs to father. This land belongs to him.
“I love my King,” he declared to rousing cheers. “I believe everyone here loves him too. We belong to the same si (colour). And this srisa (head), I proudly give to His Majesty the King.” I confess. What he said brought tears to my eyes.
Another confession. Although I share Pongpat’s frustrations for the injustice the King has been unfairly receiving from unfounded allegations, slander and downright hate speech, I disagree with his cold “good riddance” solution which seems to have struck a chord with much of the public.
His is the belief that if we dislike anything, the easy solution is just to eliminate it. If anything, this very thinking underlies the violently divisive politics that is destroying our country now.
Violence will not end when we do not believe that violence begets violence.
Like most people in my generation, I grew up with a deep respect for the King for what he has done all his life for the weak and poor in this country, and for being the pillar of morality and goodness when our society is plagued with corruption and we ourselves are plunging into selfish individualism.
It is maddening to see the person we love get attacked so viciously. But how mature we are is measured by our own reactions. Tolerance is maturity. Efforts to review the lese majeste laws to ensure rational debate within the bounds of cultural sensitivity is maturity. Elimination is not.
For a country is much more than a house. It consists of people of different cultures, beliefs and frustrations. When conflicts in views and ideologies arise, we cannot just kick out the people we don’t like.
If we truly respect the King, we must also respect his inclusive approach.
When the country was rocked by the communist insurgency in the ‘70s, he travelled to dangerous zones to help people, including the communist sympathisers.
When the hilltribe people were vilified as drug traffickers and forest destroyers, he brought them substitute crops, encouraged citizenship, and talked about ancestral land rights.
When the southern violence broke out, his advice was to reach out, understand the people’s grievances and help.
Bara en grej jag såg och tänkte på denna tråden.
En folklig Kung, som gjort vad han kan för Thailand och dess olika folk, är vad jag tror.
egentligen nästan hela artikeln http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/178645/saying-good-riddance-is-no-answer-to-our-problems
MVH Tommy