We don't need to look at Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's resume to know that her family's background is in trading.
When she broke her silence on Tuesday, saying the Senate would decide the fate of the amnesty bill, she was obviously just trying to buy time.
Clearly it was not a genuine wish of hers to lead the country out of a political crisis by aborting the contentious amnesty push.
Of course, she and others in her clique might have been shaken by the overwhelming public response against the bill.
The massive crowd which gathered under the whistle-blowing campaign led by the Democrat Party in Silom on Monday must have exceeded the prime minister's nightmares.
It stood in sharp contrast to previous short-lived protests by groups of anti-government activists, remnants of the yellow shirts or other anti-Thaksin groups which drew just a few hundred people.
After this flying start, city protesters, many from middle-class and well-heeled circles, plan a series of whistle-blowing campaigns in various locations in addition to the main protest site at the Democracy Monument.
Joining the mass protests, in person and on social media, are people in the entertainment industry who traditionally try to keep politically neutral for fear of a political backlash.
Many civil servants have also risked disciplinary action to join the anti-amnesty bill movement, including some in the medical profession.
Educational institutions, starting with Chulalongkorn University students and alumni on Tuesday, have joined the chorus of critics. Social media also has been swamped with anti-amnesty bill postings and protest pictures.
To me, these phenomenal protests are not about the blanket amnesty bill alone.
For many, the decision by Pheu Thai Party MPs to push through the bill at the unholy time of 4.25am last Friday was simply the last straw. The dubious manner in which the bill was passed has only intensified public frustration over the government's recent performance which was already bubbling beneath the surface.
Its shameful conduct ranges from the lack of transparency over the rice scheme that has resulted in heavy financial losses and the destruction of the Thai rice market, to doubtful water and flood management projects, to its enormous loan plans, unfair treatment of its political opponents, and so on.
The use of whistles reflects an evolution of protest tactics which suit the occasion, while social media has played a big role in ensuring the mass gatherings are well run.
More importantly, the protest discourse goes beyond "No to [blanket] amnesty". Instead, the crowd chanted in a united voice "Get out!"
However, there is a challenge for the protesters and the public in general _ that is how to make the protest more than just a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon. Or how not to deal with it like just another anti-government protest but a worthwhile learning experience.
We should make sure we are no longer fooled by bad politicians, especially as this bill can always come back to haunt us after the Senate makes its move.
Will the government, Prime Minister Yingluck in particular, learn something from this conflict? I really doubt it and her remarks on Tuesday simply confirm that to me.
Like her brother, fugitive ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra, Ms Yingluck keeps mentioning "distortion of the government's reconciliation effort" in her speeches.
Thaksin himself, while insisting he respects those with different opinions, underscored this "distortion" statement in his latest posting from afar.
Both Ms Yingluck and Thaksin should have known that such remarks will fuel public anger rather than appease it. Such a stance is confirmation that they do not have any remorse. Nor will they step back. On top of that, if hard-core red shirts come out to counter the protests by anti-Thaksin groups, it is clear that more political difficulties lie ahead.
Prime Minister Yingluck has chosen to buy time. But with her family background as shrewd traders, she should realise that the stakes this time are very high indeed.
Ploenpote Atthakor is Deputy Editorial Pages Editor, Bangkok Post.