Chronic cronyism

re: "Senators hiring kin deemed 'legal'" (BP, June 21, 2022) 

Dear editor,

He might well be right about the strict legality according to Thai law made up for that purpose. In his glorious defence of traditional, systemic Thai nepotism, however, Senate Speaker (who else?) Pornpetch Wichitcholchai  goes much further, insisting that "if hiring cousins broke no law, it would also not violate moral ethics either." 

How, after all, could anything that strictly follows law created with intent to pervert justice be less than morally perfect? This is regrettable because it publicly exposes the moral values of such model Thais in all of their ethically stunted reality. 

 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 June 24, 2022, under the title "Chronic cronyism" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2332923/chronic-cronyism 

re: "The G.O.P. Tries to Build a Gay Ghetto"

re: "The G.O.P. Tries to Build a Gay Ghetto" (The New York Times, June 22, 2022)

As usual, the malignancy that is faith-based ideology (aka religion) posing itself infallible and immortal spreads its evil founded solidly on crude superstition. 

The blatant God talk by those promoting such false beliefs and the moral errors they spawn gives away the ugly reality behind their agenda to suppress decent morals in favour of the morally stunted and stunting dictates of the ideologies to which they swear allegiance.

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The above comment was submitted by Felix Qui to The New York Times article.

It is published there at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/opinion/republican-attack-gay-rights.html#commentsContainer&permid=118930059:118930059

State irreligion

re: "Respect the robe" (BP, June 13, 2022) 

Dear editor,

Patcharawalai Sanyanusin is doubtless sincere in that perfect faith she has in Thailand's National Office of Buddhism. The problem is that the very existence of such an official state institution as a National Office of Buddhism betrays the true nature of the religion known as Thai Buddhism: it is not Buddhism, but Thai Buddhism. A religion that operates under the auspices of politicians to serve political purposes, as Thai Buddhism always has in exchange for grand temples and other gorgeous gifts, constitutes itself a political tool wielded for political purposes by political players. Indeed, Thai Buddhism is openly touted as a "pillar of the nation", than which nothing could be more explicitly political, no less political are those who most sedulously push that unBuddhist "pillar of the nation" narrative about the religion.

If Buddhism in Thailand wishes to be respected as a religion that teaches and practices spiritual principles of worth, it needs to free itself from the tradition going back many generations of loyally serving political players who find it a most useful tool for achieving their purposes, which too often have nothing to do with the Buddha's wisdom. Are the gilded temples luring in tourists worth the spiritual cost? 

 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 June 19, 2022, under the title "State irreligion" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2329278/by-the-same-tokin

Amazing claims

re: "PM urges demonstrators to obey the law" (BP, June 14, 2022) 

Dear editor,

For Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, the man who committed an armed coup to overthrew the supreme law of the Thai nation, to urge others to obey the law he has had made to replace the law that he had smashed is rich. Richer still is that the PM General appears oblivious to the fact that the bespoke law made up for that purpose perverts justice, rendering his law that which good people who value justice over mere legality cannot in good faith respect. 

But richest of all is the extraordinary claim that "Everybody wants democracy and the government isn't opposed to that." This claim does not stand up to scrutiny.  Those who want democracy do in fact respect the most fundamental principles of democracy; they do not lock up, in perfect accord with unjust law enacted for exactly that abuse, internationally honoured human rights advocates, true patriots for a democratic Thailand, who peacefully protest for such values as openness, transparency and accountability. 

 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 June 15, 2022, under the title "Amazing claims" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2326503/watch-carefully

Uncosy confines

re: "Power of protest" (BP, PostBag, June 9, 2022) 

Dear editor,

Closets, of course, come in a variety of forms. The traditional gay closet was so called because it is so easy for gay men and lesbian women to publicly deny that major aspect of their lives, and by passing as heterosexual to reinforce the morally repugnant social constructs fuelling hate and fear of how nature creates about 5% of the human species. Other socially constructed closets long confined women to overtly inferior status in society. And then there are the closets constructed to keep those of different skin tones segregated from each other, with those in the inferior space expected to be grateful for the alleged tolerance granted them by legalized containment in their proper places. All such cramped and cramping closets deserve to be smashed. 

Another hell-hole closet is that protected by Thai law that imprisons patriotic Thais who choose not to pass as alleged normals in unquestioning faith in allegedly hoary myth, choosing instead to honestly advocate for the basic human right to hold and peacefully express an opinion as an equal member of their society. Such pro-democracy patriots do not, as bigots falsely allege, "hate the nation." On the contrary, their suffering at the hands of unjust law backing the slurs of bigotted intolerance is proof that they are the true Thai patriots, making very real personal sacrifice to help their nation move forward socially, politically, and morally, which benevolent and righteous progress history teaches us correlates strongly with improved economic growth, justice and equality for all.  

 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 June 12, 2022, under the title "Uncosy confines" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2324498/rank-injustice

Power of protest

re: "Bangkok celebrates first Pride parade in 16 years" (BP, June 6, 2022) 

Dear editor,

Whilst past my own days of hearty protest and parading in Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parades, those annual highlights from late 70s until I retired from Australia, I must congratulate Thailand's LGBTQ community on the cheerful public celebration of their presence enriching Thai society.

Keep up the good work. Keep up the cheerful, peaceful parades. Keep up the protests. Keep up the just demands for equality of rights. The experience of the Stonewall Riots of 1969 and of subsequent annual marches, parades and raising of voices internationally moved the world blessed with more-or-less liberal democratic forms of government from religiously inspired traditional fear, loathing and intolerance to the legalization of same-sex marriage in a mere three decades or so. That is a powerful testament to the power of persistent, proud, peaceful protest.

Cowering in silence in a closet never won slaves, women, black people, the disabled or any other group any rights, respect or protection by the law. Be out. Be proud. Be strong. And be loud. You deserve it. Thailand deserves it. 

 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 June 9, 2022, under the title "Power of protest" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2322978/an-ideal-path

Just legalise it all

re: "Health Ministry, agencies aim to deter recreational weed use" (BP, May 28, 2022) 

Dear editor,

Why not simply legalize the growing, sale and use of hemp in any all forms by and for adults. The statistics from US states and and from nations that have done this in recent years suggest that society does not fall apart as a result. Is Thai society super-delicate and especially prone to disintegration in ways that other nations' are not? Is there some common genetic defect that would make Thais more prone to disaster by following the example of straight out legalization of marijuana for recreational use? Or is there a fatal flaw in Thai culture that would ensure catastrophic social collapse were marijuana legalized for adult use? I don't believe so.

However, it is entirely believable that criminal gangs currently getting rich of criminalizing personal acts, foolish though those acts might be, that do not directly harm or threaten to harm anyone else would object to the serious disruption that legalization would inflict on their incomes. Naturally, the Joe Ferraris who similarly get rich from prevailing drug policy would also object to legalizing personal activity that does not harm others absent their consent. Other than these two groups, it's hard to see why any other group could object to legalizing and similarly regulating any drug that is less harmful to society than alcohol is. 

 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 June 3, 2022, under the title "Just legalise it all" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2320166/just-legalise-it-all

Toxically un-Thai

re: "Wissanu rejects dumping Thai numbers" (BP, May 31, 2022) 

Dear editor,

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam has his priorities right as he rightly rejects out of hand the impertinent suggestion that Thai numerals be dropped in place of Arabic numerals, which the Western world adopted centuries ago merely for their practical convenience. As the subsequent performance of Western nations shows, when you reform antiquated systems to make them more responsive to the needs of those they are supposed to serve, the people of the nation, putting mere convenience, efficiency and effectiveness above hoary tradition allegedly bestowed by the gods or even more superior beings, you can only get the abject failure and severely limited influence that has characterized Western civilization these past centuries since it increasingly embraced such new fangled notions as science, reason and humanism some 500 years ago. Could there be any better example of what must come from falling into the error of putting sensible reform in the direction of a more flourishing society over zealous adherence to the ways of the ancestors?

Thai numerals are a pillar of Thai culture, both its globally potent soft power and its battle-tested real-world influence. To suggest reform of that pillar of the Thai nation's pride and joy for centuries is clearly to seek to overthrow it. Such an assault must be met with the full weight of the law, lest Thailand be dragged into something as unimaginably unThai as the 20th century, or even the 21st. Could a 15 year prison sentence for each instance of daring to suggest open discussion to reform such a revered Thai institution as its anciently venerated number system, a true pillar of the nation's culture and essence, be deemed remotely draconian?

To further ensure the enshrined exceptionalism of Thailand's most anciently venerated ways, efforts must also be made to halt and reverse other Western, foreign, that is, encroachments already taken root. An obvious example is the invasion of motor cars, motorbikes, BTS trains and such like that have, in the name of mere convenience, efficiency and thriving growth, long made Bangkok and every Thai city, town and village places cursed by the ensuing evils of Western civilization that they inevitably bring, which curses of better living are indeed the very reason for their popularity with the Thai people. The Thai people deserve to be freed from all these modern boons by a return to the ancestors' duly revered buffalo-drawn carts so that rather than the ever diminishing exhaust fumes, the streets will once more be redolent of buffalo droppings swirling in the unmitigated waters freed from Western-style drainage. 

As reported, the promotion of Arabic numerals is likely "part of a wider scheme to bring about a radical change to how the country is governed." As such, it must be rejected. 

Has there ever been a case where the adoption of Arabic numerals, so wickedly Western, was not immediately followed by the imposition of sharia law and all the other cultural baggage that comes with them? 

 

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 June 2, 2022, under the title "Toxically un-Thai" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2319694/tone-deaf

Failing drug policies

re: "Record billion meth pills seized in East, SE Asia last year: UN" (BP, May 30, 2022)

Dear editor,

If the fact reported that the surging supply of methamphetamine pills "has sent street prices in Thailand and Malaysia crashing to all-time lows" as criminal gangs cash in big thanks to drug policy that has for many decades failed absolutely to reduce drug use and drug harms is not yet further solid proof of absolute failure, what is it? A ringing testament to success? Applying the same apparent reasoning, does that mean we have also been interpreting the 1997 Tom Yum Kung crisis all wrong, that it was in reality, when correctly understood, a highly successful masterpiece of economic planning that brought only wealth to Thailand and the other nations blessed by eagerly following the Thai lead? 

The criminal gangs, meanwhile, are plainly happy with the prevailing policy of willfully repeating known failure, and the Joe Ferrari's snugly entrenched as poster boys of law enforcement, at least until inconvenient videos are rudely made public, are keen supporters of the status quo for obvious reasons. It must, however, be wondered whether any sane person who cares about reducing drug-related harm to society can applaud this persistent proof of abject failure bought at massive economic, social and moral cost. Are those high costs worth it merely to profit criminals and their loyal aids keeping the wheels spinning? 

 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 June 1, 2022, under the title "Failing drug policies" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2319122/failing-drug-policies