Let sleeping addicts lie

re: "Death penalty ineffective" (Editorial, March 21)

Dear editor,

Even if the death penalty were effective, it's use would remain indefensible as a remedy to the social harms caused by drug use. Singapore, for example, wrongly treats its citizens not as free persons deciding their own lives, but as tools of the state, in the name of which it terrorizes decent citizens who would use without harm to others drugs not approved by the politicians making up unreasoning law. Thaksin's wildly popular "war on drugs" was an equally ugly crime against Thai citizens.

There is as much reason to execute the dealers of the addictive drug alcohol as there is the dealers of other popular drugs. In fact, not only do exactly the same arguments apply, but since alcohol is generally more harmful to others, with such harm being the only reason justifying any punishment, both reason and moral consistency demand that the dealers and users of alcohol be punished more harshly than those whose preferred drug is one of the many drugs typically less harmful to others, such as marijuana, yaa baa, and even opioids: foolishly suicidal as their drug use might be for them personally, junkies do not tend to commit the rape, domestic abuse, pub fights, and other violence that is so common with alcohol use. And then there are the families torn apart by those killers who drink and drive.

But does Trump care either for reason or for moral consistency? Rather than copying the violence of Duterte's, Singapore's and Thaksin's  failures, the US President would do better in every sense to follow the lead of the Portuguese success story in reducing drug-related harm to society.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on March 24, 2018, under the title "Let sleeping addicts lie" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1434166/not-you-too
  

History of greed

re: "Nitirat chief warns of new 'Black May'" (BP, March 20)

Dear editor,

As the road map unfolding with military precision attests, it is not so much that the ruling politicians who selfishly delivered the Thai nation from the good morals that found democracy are stupid (such a rude word) as that they are greedily serving their mates in the oligarchy, whose traditions of Thai-niyom inherited from the ancestors dictate they dictate the lives of the low classes duty bound by feudal patronage to cater to the lusts to control of their betters.

Thai history shows all too well the brute nature of Thainess regnant.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on March 21, 2018, under the title "History of greed" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1432330/history-of-greed
  

Do as I say, not as I do

re: "Tycoon must report to cops Wednesday" (BP, march 13)

Dear editor,

It is nice of the deputy national police to admit that "The rich and the poor must be treated equally under the law." It must be an accident beyond his control that this is not what happens.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on March 15, 2018, under the title "Do as I say, not as I do" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1428483/hollow-promises
  

Theft of a nation

re: "Seksan blasts divisive politics" (BP, March 10)

Dear editor,

Academic Seksan Prasertkul is a sensible man. Ad hominem insults that arrogantly dismiss those you disagree with as being "bad" contradict the basic premise of democracy: all have an equal right to a voice in the form of their society and its government, however offensive some might (disingenuously) claim such ideas to be. Those who colluded to seize power by brute force on the grounds that the popular choice was "bad" have but proved their rejection of the good morals that found democracy.

If you think a choice is wrong, you use reason and facts to persuade others, not force. Resorting to force is an admission that you have no sound reasons for your selfish prejudices. The currently ruling politicians who stole the Thai nation from the Thai people, who are the Thai nation, are necessarily bad in their explicit rejection of the basic moral ideals of democracy. They should properly be rejected by all good people, irrespective of how those good people feel towards the pretty awful Pheu Thai group. Respect for democracy does demand that those who espouse ideas that are held to be offensive, even by a majority, must be accorded the right to state and argue for their opinions as to how Thai society and its government should be organized. Contrary to eight decades of modern Thai history, that reason and good morals are against you fails to justify the use of military force against the nation.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on March 12, 2018, under the title "Theft of a nation" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1426523/theft-of-a-nation
  

Threat to their power

re: "Majority want election date to be clearly set: Poll" (BP, March 4)

Dear editor,

Who would not want a clear commitment to an election date, preferably earlier rather than later? Who, indeed, would not want an election or a freely elected government?

Most obviously, those who oppose the categorical moral imperative underlying democracy that the people of the Thai nation, as much as the people of any other nation, have the right to determine the form of their government and of their society. These regressives do not want elections presumably because they fear, with good reason, that such respect for good morals poses a threat to their traditionally undeserved power, property and prestige. Thus, they reject the ideal that all are equally citizens of the nation with exactly the same right to a voice in the evolution of the customs, the laws, the institutions and the politics of their nation.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on March 5, 2018, under the title "Threat to their power" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1422435/we-need-food-activists
  

Legalise, don't criticise

re: "Use law to fix tainted image" (BP Editorial, March 1)

Dear editor,

The moral and sensible reform, one long overdue, is to legalize prostitution. But since that would deal a body blow to much entrenched corruption by Thai officials in the lucrative Thai-justice business, the farce of Thai male adults in uniforms pretending to oppose sex for money will continue unabated.

The embarrassment should not be that Thailand has a reputation as a go to place for sex tourists, but that Thai law and its officials corruptly pretend to have high moral standards as an excuse to rip off money from the sex industry by exploiting the morally bad law made up for that purpose.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on March 3, 2018, under the title "Legalise, don't criticise" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1421478/driven-to-sex-trade