A portrait of a dysfunctional family

COMMENTARY

A portrait of a dysfunctional family

Published: 5/06/2011 at 02:41 AM
Newspaper section: News

When there is action, what follows is reaction.

The initial reaction is an impulse. It's honest. It's raw. However, often it's not well considered. Yet subsequent reactions can be refined and thoughtful _ they can be well considered, if we so choose. This may come through our own realisations, or through someone else stirring our better thoughts.

The Culture Ministry wants to ban the use of Buddha images and religious motifs for commercial purposes to stop the tattooing of these images on the pale, pinkish skin of Western tourists.

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About the author

: Writer: Voranai Vanijaka; Position: Political and Social Commentator

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Aussie John
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Discussion 15 : 06/06/2011 at 05:01 AM15
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Khun Voranai. Finally I read an article that goes to the core of Thailand's political and social problems. The cancerous 'patronage system' has no place in a progressive democracy yet in Thailand it thrives as an accepted pseudo culture. If only the people could see it for what it really is; a mafia style arrangement where those with money and influence control their areas like chiefdom's. The only way to bring it down is to fully expose it for what it really stands for. To do this you really need a 'social revolution' with real leaders who can proclaim the truth and bring real respect back to a culture that is a lot more than what you find in a tourist brochure. Where are these leaders????
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wantmyony
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Discussion 14 : 05/06/2011 at 11:23 PM14
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Buddha is a teacher never a God, he preaches what he gain from enlightment. To have his image on temple walls or someone else back is another way of acknowleging his existence but not his teachings. To put some control over his image is like trying to own him, a kind of copyright reek of commercialism. As for your patronage system in thailand where rules of law are determine by the person breaking the law has been recorded in history since dinosaur walked the planet. It will take several more decades to shake off the current system thailand is trapped in, red, yellow, black, white or multi colour are all the same serving individual masters.
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jamjon01
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Discussion 13 : 05/06/2011 at 07:20 PM13
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Those of us who have lived long enough--just call it life-deal with it--chill out dude. Tis not the end of destiny, etc. as this is simply life, get over your bad self.
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micklan
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Discussion 12 : 05/06/2011 at 03:08 PM12
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Arh - oop_tham. so arbitary and confused with all the pii/nong misalignment.
Mate; the classic here is mis-spellings with Tats_see Thai/English transliterations.
Buyer beware_why put something there you have no idea about what it means, and can't spell it. Pictures r a little safer. A Khrut is a nice tat and also all those Tiger ones from up north with Sansckit script for safety purposes.
2ter.
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ronniec
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Discussion 11 : 05/06/2011 at 01:54 PM11
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airborne d6:
more like 1,000,000:1 in favour of your compact sack of ash unless we crawl out of the cave of ignorance which we see as rich and full.
Class, caste, consumerism, materialism, religion, nationalism, patriotism, intellectualism, and all the over closed-minded straight-jackets that we gladly adorn to pamper ego and in the process push us apart and away from the truth. That sh*t's got to go!
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garabaldi
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Discussion 10 : 05/06/2011 at 12:24 PM10
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It has taken centuries of sad experience to arrive at the mode de vivre in which religion and the state are separate. For the Ministry of Culture to "make" rulings about tattoos for reasons of religion is a contempt of the Constitution and the legal system. One must not only ignore them, but also fight against such adventurism. Meanwhile there are criteria of good taste and the avoidance of what could be offensive to others to recommend aspects of social behaviour.
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trojan
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Discussion 9 : 05/06/2011 at 09:52 AM9
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Spot on as always.
I'm guessing the daily grind of living in Bangkok (Thailand) must make you as miserable and cynical as me.
Although the one point I don't agree is that I couldn't care less whether people respect or understand the significance of their tattoos.
The fact that so many westerners don't give a hoot about religion is one of few things that makes me slightly happy.
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dougo
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Discussion 8 : 05/06/2011 at 09:46 AM8
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Dirty old man? A common enough expression. What does it really mean? Is a 75 year old man who is still interested in a conjugal relationship with his wife of 50 years "dirty"? If not, why is a man of the same age but unattached by reason of divorce or widowhood "dirty" for having the same desires? An 89 year old Norwegian man once told me, "You never lose interest. Even when you can't do it any more, you still think about it every day." If he's right, then all unattached older men are "dirty" and the expression is redundant.
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travis
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Discussion 7 : 05/06/2011 at 09:20 AM7
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Excuse me, Khun Voranai, but what are "principles"? Do they exist in Thailand?
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airborne
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Discussion 6 : 05/06/2011 at 09:13 AM6
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D1 - It is an even bet that the destiny of mankind is to end up a compact sack of ash.
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