Not a class thing
Re: "Class system to blame", (PostBag, July 6).
Lungstib tried to convince Thais that we are "indoctrinated with the belief that there are classes in society". He stressed that even a child born in this country must know where he or she belongs in this system.
Allow me to remind Lungstib that even his name -- which I presume to have come from the words "Lung Steve" in Thai -- comes directly from a class system that he has invented for us. (Lung in Thai means "big uncle").
I wouldn't be surprised if one day Lungstib should tell us which foot to use when we come out of our homes each day -- so that our country and society will become more democratic.
Please answer these simple questions: Which country is the best democracy in the world at the moment? And how is China -- which is absolutely not a democracy -- developing economically, technologically, and educationally far better than any democracy in the world?
Vint Chavala
Nothing lasts forever
Re: "Right-wing Isan party", (PostBag, July 7).
Khun Paul, Thai politics is so unpredictable that even seasoned politicians never know what's actually going on, aside from day-to-day functioning. The old proverb, "Here today, gone tomorrow" is a reality here, not only in politics, but in broadcasting, industry, friendships, marriages, and other.
There is something to the reasoning that today's friends are tomorrow's enemies, and vice versa. Politics, like most other things, create "strange bedfellows". Alliances are made and broken, based not on what's good for the country, but personal gains.
Yankeleh
Give it a chance
General Golani (Postbag, July 5) says democracy will never work in Thailand. How does he know that? Thailand has never had a real democracy.
His attitude is typical of snooty expats who believe the Thais are too "uncivilised" for democracy. And if Thais get thrown in jail for engaging in political dissent? Tough darts!
As long as civilian governments know that any time the military can step in and overthrow them if it isn't happy, the real power will always belong to the military. Thus, genuine democracy in Thailand has never been given a chance to thrive.
Eric Bahrt
It's an art form
Groucho Marx once said, "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it wrongly, and applying unsuitable remedies."
Dave and Nee Anheluk
Not as bad as you say
I wonder if Fred Ligon have ever ridden in a New York City subway train (PostBag, July 7). I don't mean this sarcastically, so no offence meant please. Yes, the BTS cars do resemble cattle cars at times, commuters packed in with no space to even move hands. (Hands are actually above heads clutching mobiles, so there is little chance for groping).
New York city trains are smelly, packed, many lack air conditioning, the smell of sweaty bodies, garlic and beer breath, unwashed clothes, the electrical smell associated with trains hurtling through tunnels, is very unpleasant. The worst are the unexplained long stops in tunnels, long enough to nauseate most people. Try that for a change.
One word says it all. Feh! And like the BTS, probably no transit authority management has ever taken the subway system to work.
Charcoal Ridgeback
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