OPINION

Road rule madness

Re: "Kid car seats mandatory from Sept 5", (BP, May 9).

The latest regulations on seat belts and restraints seem to be nothing more than bureaucracy trying to justify its existence.

Can I assume that all new cars sold in Thailand have seat belts for all seats? Will three restrained adults in rear seats holding young children on their laps be legal? How will older vehicles (like mine) with no rear seat belts be policed? Will it still be legal to carry six totally unrestrained passengers in the tray of a pickup?

How could any police force be expected to enforce such incoherent regulations?

Religious freedoms

Re: "No state business", (PostBag, May 10).

Thanks, Burin Kantabutra for your defence of monks. There is no concept of "expulsion" in Hinduism or any other religion in India. You may choose to belong to a religion and you can leave and join some other. The same is the practice in the US -- true freedom of choice!

In the very first place, the whole concept of monks being celibate, or unmarried is against the law of nature. Sex is a natural function of the human body. Forced celibacy is the root cause of all sex scandals involving priests, monks, and pundits.

I had two very close Muslim friends in the US who frequented a bar after work. They did not feel guilty about doing what a mainstream American would do. And they did not attend Friday prayers. It was their personal choice.

Buddhists may choose to remain celibate when ordained as monks. But there is nothing against getting married or having sex with consenting adults. Religion should not be a litmus test for living on this planet.

Covid wake-up call

Re: "Phuket boy's blindness due to sinusitis, not Pfizer jab", (BP, May 10).

Of course it's just a coincidence that a 12-year-old boy lost consciousness immediately after receiving his second Pfizer jab and is now blind. The blindness was totally due to nasal problems, according to his doctor.

On the other hand, if the boy had cancer, diabetes, full-blown Aids and Covid and then died the death would be attributed to Covid and it would be just a coincidence that he had all those other health problems!

For God's sake, fellow reader, wake up!

Weird education

Re: "Mental health guidance amid Covid", (Opinion, May 6) and "Semen hazing will be probed", (BP, April 30).

I find it interesting to see the topic of education being brought up again and again in recent weeks. Thai youth are thought to be frustrated at the "traditional" methods of education they are currently exposed to. During this time there has been a report of a naval officer who forced conscripts to drink his semen, a cult leader who preached eating faeces and drinking urine and phlegm as a cure to various illnesses and a monk involved in a sex and payoff scandal. There certainly does appear to be some trouble over what certain people consider to be correct and normal. All this makes the upcoming ceremony where chosen cows will forecast this year's level of agricultural yield and rain to be rather benign but it does seem that education has somehow lost its way.