'October spirit' lacking as reds mark uprising

COMMENTARY

'October spirit' lacking as reds mark uprising

Published: 19 Oct 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

I happened to find myself in the middle of a red-shirt gathering at the Democracy Monument on Sunday. It was Oct 14, and the people in red were celebrating an historic event associated with our nation's democracy _ the student-led uprising in 1973 against Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn and his clan.

It was my first encounter with the people in red in the flesh. The whole area was red, with banners and vendors selling red-shirt stuff like T-shirts and caps that were going like hot cakes.

Like many political gatherings, the leaders on stage kept shouting into the microphone non-stop to keep the event brisk and lively even though not many people seemed to be listening. Their main message was only to be expected _ a blasting of the military and dictatorship repeated again and again.

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hangover
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Discussion 8 : 21 Oct 2012 at 08.488
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"It was my first encounter with the people in red in the flesh. The whole area was red, with banners and vendors selling red-shirt stuff like T-shirts and caps that were going like hot cakes....."

So before this, you have mixed with yellow shirts only?
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johninbkk
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Discussion 7 : 21 Oct 2012 at 03.347
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"It was my first encounter with the people in red in the flesh."
The author is the Deputy Editorial Pages Editor of BangkokPost, and has never personally seen the red shirts before until today?! That explains quite a lot . . .
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ringmaster
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Discussion 6 : 20 Oct 2012 at 07.406
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History prefers nobility to brutality, soaring speeches to quiet deeds. History remembers the battle, but forgets the blood. However history remembers October 14, 1973, it shall only remember a fraction of the truth. And as long as it is remembered as "an uprising of students" instead of "a massacre of students" then there will be more uprisings and subsequently more massacres.
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wakeup
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Discussion 5 : 20 Oct 2012 at 02.215
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Maybe no one else was at democracy monument because the reds have a tendency to use violence against those who disagree with them politically. Truly ironic that the antithesis of informed representative governance was holding the monument hostage to 'celebrate' the ousting of one autocratic dictator while defending another.
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jacksprat
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Discussion 4 : 19 Oct 2012 at 19.094
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I wonder how many of those older red shirts of today belonged to the Village Scouts back in 1976.
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raimund
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Discussion 3 : 19 Oct 2012 at 09.353
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Who wants to go to the Democracy Monument when red shirts occupied the place already with their crooked understanding of democracy.
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Eric
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Discussion 2 : 19 Oct 2012 at 08.422
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In democracy, we should have and even encourage difference in opinion and choice. It is the opinion of others not to join in the Oct 14 gathering and that is a democratic choice. Its healthy democracy to have diverse opinions even to the extent of robust vocal speeches which we hear from both sides of the divides. Thailand now bask in a elected government and oppositions in Parliment and senate which is truly democratic. As long as the military stay away from politics and the police maintain law and order, we have democracy.
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howell
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Discussion 1 : 19 Oct 2012 at 08.031
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'The group's extremism is reminiscent of the means used by the ultra-right wing Krating Daeng group...'

Spot on. These people do not understand democracy; they are confusing it with dictatorship.
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'October spirit' lacking as reds mark uprising | Bangkok Post: opinion