Let them eat cake

re: "Focus on the good in times of crisis" (BP, Opinion, May 25, 2020)

Dear editor,

I'm sorry Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, but from my perspective, as you would have us put it, your column is a morally disturbing defense of the indefensible. "The highly revered monk Phra Paisal Visalo" was piously doing what the unBuddhist religion known as Thai Buddhism, administered by the "amazing trusted Thailand" state under the National Office of Buddhism, has always done. He was propping up the conservative status quo of many generations in exchange for gilded temples, rich offerings and forced social reverence. "The highly revered monk" and you need to read and ponder the actual teachings of the Buddha, not the pseudo-spiritual gaudiness of rich self-adulation.

You might also find it helpful to read the excellent opinion piece by Paritta Wangkiat, "Thai TV series give ugly truths a rosy hue", also published in the opinion section of the May 25 edition of the Bangkok Post. Your "highly revered monk" seems as guilty as charged as the Thai TV series that Ms. Wangkiat rightly rails against.

 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 May 29, 2020, under the title "Let them eat cake" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1926100/perks-of-being-thai
  

Anthem blues

re: "Police swarm Hong Kong ahead of flashpoint anthem debate" (BP, May 27, 2020) 

Dear editor,

If you criminalize insulting songs, flags, political leaders and the like, then you do not respect the good morals of democracy. China clearly does not respect the Chinese citizens of Hong Kong, but instead uses the law to force a show of respect for symbols that that very law proves unworthy of the legally dictated show of worthless respect being forced by the state.

In marked contrast, neither the US flag nor national anthem need any such despotic force to be genuinely respected by the American people.

 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 May 28, 2020, under the title "Anthem blues" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1925520/anthem-blues
  

Uncaring gods

re: "22 killed as 'super cyclone' ravages Bangladesh, India" (BP, May 21, 2020)

Dear editor,

It was a welcome relief that there was no mention of praying to appease the gods in "22 killed as 'super cyclone' ravages Bangladesh, India" (Bangkok Post, May 21, 2020). If the gods cared in the least, were not outright malevolent, or had one whit of potency, these natural disasters would not kill millions of innocent humans, that potentially horrific death toll mitigated only, as reported, by effective human action against the assaults of dear Mother Nature.

 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 May 23, 2020, under the title "Uncaring gods" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1922864/stop-bailing-out-thai
  

Home truths needed

re: "A light touch needed" (BP, Editorial, May 14, 2020)

Dear editor,

It is hard to see how any Thai institution that respects the wise teachings of the Buddha could oppose a call to "search for the truth" (Bangkok Post, Editorial, May 14, 2020). 

The life of the Buddha as he went from prince, to ascetic, to enlightenment exemplifies the need to continually seek out the truth, even when it might be uncomfortable or contradict traditional prejudices.

The Buddha's teachings explicitly stress the importance of right understanding in all things, with none so unspeakable that the truth should be rejected in favour of ignorance. And as the Buddha's Kalama Sutta bluntly tells us, neither tradition nor authority, not even of monks, certainly not state officials, is any guarantee of truth, but that we must earnestly seek informed understanding by critically assessing, and reassessing in the light of new information, the sources available to us.

The efforts of the Progressive Movement would seem to align well with the wholesome precepts of Buddhism.  Surely official Thai institutions can comport themselves to similarly respect fundamental principles of Buddhist teaching?

 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 May 15, 2020, under the title "Home truths needed" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1918484/home-truths-needed
  

Themselves to blame

re: "Police extortion racket in the crosshairs" (BP, May 13, 2020)

Dear editor,

The most recent reports of extortion founded on bad law are consistent with what the Thai public has long expected of the Royal Thai Police. The reports also help explain why the police are so consistently opposed to rational, just drug laws based on evidence: you can't extort people for victimless crimes unless their acts are deemed crimes, however harmless to society.

Apart from enabling mafia gangs to get rich, the major consequence of criminalizing personal decisions that do not harm others is to encourage corruption, including the reported extortion. If the drug laws were sane and in accord with good morals, the police and like-minded officials would lose a major source of income, and Thai society would be much better off in every way.

 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 May 14, 2020, under the title "Themselves to blame" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1917788/themselves-to-blame
  

Rape case roots

re: "Gang rape charges mount" (BP, May 12, 2020)

Dear editor,

Vile as these reported crimes committed by teachers (suspect also of being pillars of the community) against children are, at least some progress is being made in that they are more spoken about today so that the guilty may not so easily hide behind the respect traditionally accorded the institutions they are members of, which morally corrupt institutions from the conservative bad old days sheltered the abusers in their ranks, whether teachers, monks, state officials, police officers, army officers, or worse.

 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 May 13, 2020, under the title "Rape case roots" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1917152/plastic-problems/
  

Sobering thought

re: "Booze ban extended to May 31" (BP, May 1, 2020)

Dear editor,

Whilst it can only profit the criminal drug suppliers of alcohol and their corrupt enabling officials, it must be conceded that a possible silver lining to the alcohol ban is that since brains work better without drugs, the Thai people will see ever more clearly how morally corrupt the self made PM and his government of the bad really are. And the good people of Thailand  will have clear minds as they then unite to finally rid their nation of that scourge of many decades propped up by coup after coup.

With such a cheerful outlook on the horizon, who would not mind a spell without their usual drugs of choice? The final suppression of the diseased status quo of many decades is surely worth some small personal sacrifice by all for the good of 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 May 2, 2020, under the title "Sobering thought" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1911432/road-to-where-