It comes in a package. A coup that is not a coup. Airport seizures that are retroactively described as self-imposed closures by the authorities themselves. An act of forcing freshmen to strip naked and simulate sex acts is explained away as a rite of passage and bonding activity.
Tribalism goes hand-in-hand with self-absorption. The social characteristic may be an integral part of Thai society but its increasing prominence as seen through several recent incidents could pose a dilemma as the country seeks a more conciliatory future.
An allegation by freshman students at the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University, that they experienced abuse at the initiation ceremony was shocking. A machismo atmosphere at the art school is one thing. An accusation that senior students at the faculty, which has produced quite a few renowned artists, forced freshmen to strip naked, shower together and perform sex acts on their peers is another.
If proved true, the activities would qualify as rights abuse and sexual harassment. Silpakorn University is investigating the scandal after it surfaced via social media. It also issued an order that all hazing ceremonies be stopped immediately.
Atiya Achakulwisut is a columnist, Bangkok Post.
Many people upon learning of the allegation condemned such activities. One would assume that such a reaction would be the norm in these times when protecting rights is more widely recognised. But Thai society never ceases to amaze. As shocking as the scandal is, reactions by people who defended the alleged practice are even more appalling.
It's almost incredible to hear people say that it's "normal" for senior students to force junior ones to go through abusive activities because they were made to go through similar rituals themselves. So, along this line of thinking, anything that has gone before is a tradition which can be blindly followed regardless of changing times.
Worse, there are people who said forcing freshmen to strip naked or perform simulated sex acts on their peers are bonding activities which will help them survive the difficult years of college or harsh realities in the professional world once they graduate. It is astonishing that a sizeable number of people really seem to believe in this kind of thinking. They are true subscribers of collectivism and an idea that seniority equals unquestionable power. Individual rights and freedoms, even something as intimate as sexuality, can be trampled on as long as such abuse strengthens the group's psyche.
If attempts to justify the alleged abusive hazing activities give us goosebumps, a revisionist history by yellow-shirt leaders that they never raided and seized Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports in 2008 could cause some heads to spin. The Supreme Court ordered last week that 13 leaders of the now-defunct People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) pay the Airports Authority of Thailand 522 million baht in compensation for damage caused by their protests. The occupations caused authorities to shut the airports down to ensure traveller safety.
Following the ruling, one of the leaders, Pibhob Dhongchai, insisted the PAD protesters did not seize the airports. They only went to gather there and it was the airport authorities who ordered the facilities shut down, thus abandoning the passengers. Mr Pibhob even said that yellow-shirt "volunteers" who spoke English had to help travellers who were "cast adrift" by airport officials. Again, this could be another case of how tribalism or a network mentality can still reign supreme in a supposedly modernised Thai society. Despite a ruling by the highest court telling them to pay up for the transgression, the PAD leader still manages to cling on to an egotistical excuse no matter how incredible it may sound.
And if we take a close look at society, we may see that self-serving collectivism and a failure in logic is flourishing. The army's 340-million-baht blimp was rarely used and viewed as being impractical. Still, the army keeps afloat its seemingly empty assertion that the spy airship was not only frequently used but helpful in curbing the southern insurgency. The same is true with supporters of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra who continue to defend her even after she seemingly fled the country before hearing the court's judgement in her trial.
The ultimate self-serving fallacy, of course, is the declaration by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon that what happened on May 22, 2014 was not a coup, just an intervention by the military. Also, the country is a democracy, just without an election. If these misconceptions can fly, tribalism is thriving, and so will the regime of intervention democracy.