OPINION

Respect your neighbours

Re: "Time to cut the 'superior' down to size" (Bangkok Post, Aug 18).

Khun Paritta Wangkiat is to be commended for calling out Thai supremacist attitudes, but she doesn't go far enough. It is not only the elites' attitude of looking down on the rural poor in the Northeast and South that is deplorable. The pervasive attitude of Thais looking down on citizens of neighbouring countries -- particularly those from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia -- should be condemned by all.

Thailand would not be what it is today, economically and culturally, without the vast contributions made by migrant workers and immigrants.

I agree with the Aug 18 editorial "A need to look in the mirror" that Thai tourists should have respectful behaviour when visiting attractions both in Thailand and abroad, just as non-Thai tourists should act the same way. I encountered the video clip from Yellowstone National Park that sparked the debate when a Thai Facebook friend posted it earlier this week. It garnered comments criticising the Thai visitors to the park, but I had a different reaction, and think the tourists shown actually had good reasons to believe they were doing nothing wrong.

The American fellow who recorded the video, showed it to a park official and then posted it online seemed more intent on incriminating the tourists than actually making them aware of a perceived problem. He starts recording before saying anything, and then only shouts out "Hey, get out of there" twice with no other explanation before going silent as he continues to photograph them. He is heard to say that he was going to turn it in and states he took close-ups so individuals can be identified to park officials. However, four non-Asian, "Western-looking" people have been digitally blurred out so they cannot be identified.

The "danger" sign was quite small, and the single log it is on appears to be there to block motor vehicles, not people. He titled the video "Asian Group Damages Yellowstone National Park Thermal Feature" even though it appears no damage was done and that the intent of the warning was to prevent damage to people, not the geology of the park.

The sign stated in very small print "Stay on officially marked and maintained trails", yet the person recording later tells one lady it says "No walking". The thermal pool is immediately next to the road, and no trail is needed to access it. If the intent was to restrict people from visiting it, the sign should indicate "No entrance" and a barrier of some sort be erected.

If this is not the case, which is what I believe, these Thai visitors were acting decently. I am a geologist, and the place where they were walking appeared to be very firm and solid and fairly well-trodden.

As an American, I feel like apologising for the overzealous attitude of my fellow countryman as I think he misunderstood the situation and was rude to visitors as a result of this. I would have reacted negatively to a camera being thrust in my face.

I took the train from Prachin Buri to Aranyaprathet. I counted nine people, just in my coach alone, throwing paper cups, food wrappers and styrofoam out of the windows during a 3.5-hour trip. If I had photographed and reported them, and split the fines, I'd have earned more than the 300-baht minimum daily wage. Someone could earn a good living riding a round trip on a daily basis. Of course it is an uncomfortable, boring trip, but for those with nothing to do or out of work, it would make for a good tax-free living.

According to what I read in Spectrum (Aug 13), there are 39,000 women in Thai prisons, 80% of whom are there because of being convicted of drug-related offences and most of them are living in extremely cramped and uncomfortable conditions. That seems outrageous to me.

Why doesn't Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha use his powers under Section 44 to release as many of these people as possible so they can go back to their families and live a productive life taking care of their families?

If I were prime minister, I don't think I could sleep at night knowing such an outrage was going on and I had the power to do something about it.

I love Eric Bahrt calling both US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un roly-poly sociopaths (PostBag, Aug 15).

Will Mr Bahrt tell us which world leader is not yet a sociopath? If there are a few sane ones out there, then they are sociopaths in the making. It happens to the best of them after a while.

Turkey's Erdogan, Venezuela's Maduro, Cuba's Castro, Russia's Putin, the Iranian ayatollahs and Iraqi leadership, and let's toss Syria's Assad in for good measure. Don't forget China. These are just a few.

With all Eric Bahrt's constant complaining and worrying over the past years, I think a nuclear conflagration might put an end to all his complaints and worries permanently.