Wilful ignorance

re: "A slap in the face of civility" (BP, Editorial, March 30, 2022) 

Dear editor,

To be honest, when I saw the title "A slap in the face of civility", I thought the Bangkok Post's editorial was going to be about the Prayut Government's latest assault on civil society, the bill to slap down pesky NGO's that raise embarrassing truths about Thailand and its allegedly revered ones such as forest encroachers, human traffickers, Joe Ferraris and the like, all benevolently and righteously doing their best to selflessly serve. Still, some discussion of the Thai parallels with the literal use of violence to slap down what offends is not amiss. 

In his apology subsequent to slapping Chris Rock on live TV on Oscar night, Will Smith calls violence not only "unacceptable and inexcusable," but also "poisonous and destructive". That is a lesson you would think Thailand might have learned long ago from the persistent malaise it has for decades been plunged into by coup after coup committed by those practicing violence as they preach peace, respect, unity and all things glorious. Those acts of violence against it have for many decades poisoned Thailand's civil society and wrought destruction on the nation.

The poison delivered by the example of using it in response to alleged offences is glaring in the perversion of justice by law made up to inflict violence on those alleged to have offended by peacefully expressing dissenting opinions, which may or may not be comical. That iconic photograph taken in Sanam Luang in October 1976 of cheering Thais still seems too apt an expression of the too true nature of too large a portion of a "country (that) prides itself on being a peace-loving nation," as the Bangkok Post alleges it to. Locking people up for years merely because they said something that offended someone is exactly like Will Smith or a school yard bully lashing out to slap down someone for an imagined insult, except that such law and its execution is arguably worse in that it is blatantly wielded not only, and still indefensibly, against what might be construed as an actual insult, but also against honest calls for reform and discussion to discover truth. 

The comically offensive Chris Rock and the mythic Will Smith are perhaps not looking so bad after all. At least they have the decency to admit their wrongs and to apologize. 

 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 31, 2022, under the title "Wilful ignorance" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2287926/wilful-ignorance