Blessed are the kids

re: "Society must keep kids safe" (BP, Editorial, September 23, 2023)

Dear editor,

In attributing a fair share of blame for the horrendous crimes committed in the heart of a Thai family against innocent children, the Post rightly admits that "A community that remains silent and does nothing emboldens such perpetrators." This reminds us yet again that merely being a venerable tradition is no guarantee of moral worth. In this case, the hoary custom of not respecting the voice of the weak in deference to social status led to the vilest of abuse being continued for many years. Exactly the same toxic habit of blindly respecting saffron robes enabled child abuse to thrive in monasteries, as it did in Western Christian churches until respect was tempered by healthy critical questioning and respect for voices raised against traditional abuses blessed by social custom.

In Thailand, it is the law itself that too often sets the example of nurturing such ugly traditions with grievously harmful consequences for the innocent. What else is law that brutishly intimidates into silence by imprisoning children and other morally courageous citizens merely for the peaceful expression of honest opinion? Their voices, too, deserve to be heard, no matter that they offend against some tradition every bit as ancient and respected as that embodied in the silence blessed by custom that enabled the most recently unveiled evils to be committed for years on end against children in the bosom of their very own family, by their father and mother. 

Unless all voices are heard and respected, how can deeply entrenched moral corruption even be discovered, let alone healed? 

 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 September 25, 2023, under the title "Blessed are the kids" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2652283/lack-of-interest

Drug war harm

re: "The fight against drugs" (BP, Editorial, September 19, 2023) 

Dear editor,

Whilst the Post is right to warn against any repeat of the horror that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra unleashed in his infamous "war on drugs", it should not be forgot how truly popular that slaughter was. It was egged on by the morally deluded from all walks of life and all levels of society. Those behind that killing of thousands have never been brought to justice, nor have those whose public support enabled the executions and disappearances even been called out for their complicity as justice demands. 

Sadly, the Post's editorial responding to PM Srettha Thavisin's promise to "make the fight against narcotics part of the national agenda" (September 19) betrays exactly the same sort of blunted moral thinking that led not only to Thaksin's publicly lauded killing spree but to many other abuses equally committed in the name of law and allegedly noble ideals over the decades and today. 

Society would perhaps be better did the underlying conditions that foster recreational drug use not exist, although since that state of perfect abstinence would also be extremely abnormal in the history of human societies, it would require substantial analysis of the pros and cons before we rashly assume that our consistently drug-loving ancestors were so totally wrong about the joys of drugs: opium, alcohol, ganja, mushrooms, and all the rest of nature's bliss-bestowing bounty.

The Post's mistake that betrays the shallow, simplistic thinking required to naïvely describe PM Srettha's promise as "good news" is the failure to ask when and why it is ever justified for the state to force the personal likes and dislikes of some, even a majority, on an entire nation. No one disputes that drugs are harmful. They are all harmful to their users to varying degrees, from heroin and yaa baa, through alcohol, to the relatively harmless such as cannabis and Ecstasy. But in a society that values liberty and respects human rights, adults have the right to do things that harm themselves, even to the extreme of drinking whisky and fine wine until blotto. 

The only reason to criminalize an act is that it directly harms or threatens to harm others. The use of drugs does not meet this condition. Someone enjoying a glass of wine with dinner is no more a threat to another than is someone shooting heroin and nodding off, or someone gulping down ya ba on party night at the local club. True, many people do harm others under the influence of drugs, alcohol being by far the worst for this. This is why policies that encourage more constructive, informed, regulated, and safe drug use are to be applauded. 

It is salutary to note that since the effective legalization of cannabis over a year ago for both medical and recreational use that Thai society has not in fact collapsed, or even stumbled noticeably. For this constructive progress against the social problems caused by illegal drugs, Bhumjai Thai's sensible and right policy of legalizing that drug for sale and use by adults is to be commended.

If that same regulatory approach is held to work acceptably well even for the more socially harmful drug alcohol, rational people who value justice that respects the rights of others will also support the legalization with due regulation of all other drugs in popular recreational use.

Of course, such a sane, morally informed drug policy will be anathema to those who traditionally prosper from the long failing policy of irrationally discriminatory criminalization of some popular drugs: criminal gangs and their loyal aids in law enforcement with a Ferrari in the garage. Would anyone really want to inflict such a blow to this font of lucrative traditional corruption in the police and elsewhere? 

At the very least, there needs to be more public discussion about what could justify criminalizing some recreational drug use whilst legally blessing the use of other, more socially harmful drugs by adults. 

 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 September 23, 2023, under the title "Drug war harm" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2651633/tax-rule-needs-clarity

Totally unethical

re: "Senate must walk its talk" (BP, Editorial, September 20, 2023) 

Dear editor,

The Post writes that "It is hoped that the Upper House will display the high ethical standards they demanded in selecting prime ministerial candidates." This is confusing. The senate did not demand "high ethical standards" at all. It was, on the contrary, that party's unusually high ethical standards, which had won Move Forward the support of the electorate, that offended the senate appointed by former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to do exactly what it did. It is unlikely that more than a single digit percentage of Thai voters suspect this senate of engaging in ethical conduct. 

 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 September 22, 2023, under the title "Totally unethical" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2651042/all-should-compete

Pick a just policy

re: "PM Srettha vows to eliminate speed pills" (BP, September 17, 2023) 

Dear editor,

How thrilling to hear that new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's "government will eliminate the abuse of methamphetamine pills within its tenure." Two of his flagship policies now copy the renowned of two former prime ministers. Under his watch as prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra also famously eradicated illegal drugs, and Prayut Chan-o-cha with equal righteousness reformed the Royal Thai Police with the blessing of all. Thaksin and Prayut having set the crown on their new-found relationship as best mates with that most gracious pardon signed off on on September 1, it is only fitting that the new government should adopt their well-remembered policy promises. The known historical record sets a memorable standard for PM Srettha to match.

That said, it must be conceded that whatever qualms decent people might have about its role in forming PM Srettha's well-cobbled government, coalition partner Bhumjai Thai does have a proven solution to solving illegal drug problems. Legalizing cannabis really did pretty much end that illegal drug problem literally at a pen stroke. It is also the just policy, recognizing that adults have a right to engage in reckless behaviour that directly harms only themselves. But if that sensible approach to solving illegal drug problems is to be followed, the same legal regulations must also be applied to that socially most harmful drug of them all, alcohol. 

Of course, when drug users go on to commit other crimes, such as domestic abuse, which is so often fueled by alcohol, fatal traffic accidents when under the influence, fights driven by drunken rage, and rape driven by alcohol induced lust, those auxiliary crimes must still be strictly punished. The right of adults to seriously harm themselves by reckless drug use does not extend to directly harming others absent their consent as participants in the high fun. 

 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 September 20, 2023, under the title "Pick a just policy" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2649995/murder-cover-up-

Fathoming low births

re: "Fertility needs urgent steps" (BP, Editorial, September 18, 2023) 

Dear editor,

Having "rightly", as the Bangkok Post puts it, "identified the country's low fertility rate issue as a pressing concern," Public Health Minister Dr Cholnan Srikaew should perhaps consider that people who choose not to have children are responding responsibly to the reality embodied in the government that Dr Cholnan serves.

When people cannot even vote in the government they want, that helplessness before blatant injustice protected by law is hardly a world into which to bring innocent children. No more was the Thailand forged by the previous government, itself now part of Dr Cholnan's unwanted coalition, when the birthrate plummeted. When a mother's children are imprisoned under morally indefensible law merely for the peaceful expression of honest opinion that allegedly offends against tradition holding back progress, responsible people will think twice before bearing them only to cast their own children into a world of such systemic, legally blessed inequality.

Whilst mentioning the need for a nation "where children can live and prosper," the Post's focus on the monetary value of children itself reveals a reason to think twice before producing children. Why would good people create children merely to serve the economic interests represented by ruling Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and former Prime Ministers Prayut Chan-o-cha and Thaksin Shinawatra, whose factories and power bases demand fresh fodder? 

 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 September 19, 2023, under the title "Fathoming low births " at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2649374/drug-vows-are-hot-air

A waiting game

re: "Give govt a chance" (BP, PostBag, September 12, 2023) 

Dear editor,

In his tirade against my objections to the perfectly legal machinations committed since May 14, Randy Hurlburt overlooks salient facts. Setting aside his reckless rounding down of Move Forward's share of the vote from the actual 38% to his deceitfully correct "more than 25%", he also fails to note that Move Forward's popularity has risen even more since May 14, as confirmed in the by-election in Rayong held this last Sunday, September 10.

Mr Hurlburt seems also unaware of the fact that Thais voted for Pheu Thai on the explicit understanding that that party would never form a coalition with any party complicit in a coup or seen to be aligned with military figures seeking greater business opportunities. Pheu Thai broke that promise to its voters for no good reason.

However, the fact that singly disproves Mr Hurlburt's stirring defence of the government of the unwanted cobbled together by dubious players to be foist on their nation by law is that not a single Thai person voted for the senate. Had the senate, appointed by you know who, not deliberately defied the perfectly clear will of Thai voters, Thailand would already have had a government led by Move Forward these past two months. It does not. 

But I agree with Mr Hurlburt that we should now peacefully await the next election, when the evidence already points to an outright landslide for a government that will make the reforms that the Thai people increasingly want, that they voted for on May 14, and that the nation has so sorely needed on all fronts these many decades. 

 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 September 17, 2023, under the title "A waiting game" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2648062/congrats-to-the-sec

Injustice abounds

re: "Restore trust in justice" (BP, Editorial, September 8, 2023) 

Dear editor,

In an editorial actually titled "Restore trust in justice", the Post fails to even mention the injustice rooted in a rule by law that allowed an unelected senate to thwart the will of the Thai nation these last three months almost. And then there are the conveniently strict legalities behind Thaksin Shinawatra's pardon in record speed. Those similarly timed legal deeds, far more so than the saga of Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya or Ittiphol Konplome, cut deep as examples of the "odious twisting of the legal system" the Post rightly rails against.  

If truly concerned about the lack of faith in Thailand's justice system, the Post might also have mentioned the traditional abuse that imprisons good Thai citizens merely for peacefully expressing honest, reasonable opinion, or simply asking pertinent questions. Every bit as much as does democratic principle, justice requires that the law not violate but actively protect the right to such speech, offensive though some might find it. It is no accident that Move Forward so quickly won the genuine respect of at least 38% of the Thai people. As a proxy for the Nida polls that have conspicuously not been conducted, I suspect the by-election in Rayong this Sunday, September 10, will show, following the strictly legal acts perpetrated since May 14, that Move Forward's popularity has soared. Move Forward has shown how to truly "Restore trust in justice". 

The Post is correct that the ongoing Boss saga and like reflections of traditional practice in the institutions of the Thai legal system point to deep corruption in high places in Thai society, but they are small potatoes compared to law that is itself a tool weaponized to oppose justice. 

 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 September 10, 2023, under the title "Injustice abounds" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2644515/injustice-abounds

Betrayal of voters

re: "No special care for ex-PM" (BP, Editorial, September 4, 2023) and "Fighting to regain the public's trust" (BP, September 4, 2023)

Dear editor,

In their so-called "special report", to use their own tellingly chosen adjective, on Pheu Thai's betrayal of voters, both its own and others', three of the Post's so-called reporters (Mongol Bangprapa, Penchan Charoensuthipan, and Apinya Wipatayotin) begin  by admitting the indisputable (not at all so-called) fact that Srettha Thavisin's government, hobbled together by Pheu Thai and those partying with them, is not what the Thai nation voted for on May 14. As the authors more impartially write, "the result of the May 14 general election was widely seen as voters sending a message that they want change after nine years of national administration led by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha." 

The three then more partially go no to note that "Pheu Thai's move, harshly criticized by so-called (sic) pro-democracy supporters as an act of betrayal, has raised questions about its trust and integrity and what ethical standards politicians can be held to." These question the so-called journalists pose deserve answers. 

Those answers are obvious. They were obvious to Thai voters on May 14. They entail respect for justice under democracy. The ethical standards politicians can and should be held to are those exemplified by Move Forward. This fully explains Move Forward's popular success on election day. The Move Forward Party's integrity, honour, and standing up for principle to respect the people, especially the 38% who voted for them, refreshingly smash the norms of traditional Thai politics. That Move Forward possesses in plain sufficiency these ethical standards expected of their politicians by a majority of Thai people, some of whom were tricked into voting for Pheu Thai, are also the reason the senate laid the grounds for Pheu Thai and worse to block the people's choice of government. Some cannot abide the thought of a government that would threaten the traditional corruption embedded deep for decades by coup after coup. 

And prompting the Post's extraordinary editorial seeking to mitigate the widespread outrage it has engendered, there was that crowning scene acted out last Friday, September 1, when a tradition-bound trinity came together as Prayut and one like-minded signed off on the crowning jewel of a deal widely suspected to have been hatched by Thaksin himself, for which deal Pheu Thai eagerly betrayed its voters. In so doing, that party has joined the senate in damning in the eyes of the Thai electorate all those involved in this latest affront. But this time they have exposed their true selves in public to a degree that will not be undone, no matter how many saccharine editorials the Post shamelessly publishes to vainly sweeten the rancid aftertaste of what has been forced down the people's throat. 

The silver lining is that support for Move Forward and every one of its policies has likely now soared to new heights as the events of the past three and a half months have opened a lot more eyes that will never again be closed. This is the most pertinent poll that Nida could now run: were there an election held tomorrow, for whom would you vote? That poll must be worth far more than the uninformed speculations of so-called political experts and any number of unfounded claims of so-called "respect".  As a proxy for national feeling, it will be interesting to see how people vote in the upcoming by-election in Rayong on next Sunday, September 10.  

 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 Septermber 9, 2023, under the title "Betrayal of voters" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2644122/double-standards

Checks still needed

re: "Cabinet picks to go before King" (BP, September 1, 2023) 

Dear editor,

Smiling quite as exuberantly as former Prime Minister (PM) army general Prayut Chan-o-cha new sprung from committing his coup that overthrew the rule of inconvenient law, newly anointed PM Srettha Thavisin insists of his cabinet choices, that "there was no need to worry about the candidates' ethical conduct, as they were picked based on their qualifications, as required by law." He appears to forget that exactly the same sort of unethical law was instrumental in making him PM against the wishes of the Thai nation.

The leader of the government that the majority of Thai voters did not and do not want has, however, let slip how much himself and his new government value ethical conduct: they deem it an irrelevance to be ignored when unjust law so much better serves their ends, which lusts for power, property and forced shows of obsequious respect apparently know no sufficiency. 

The PM has publicly exposed a cabinet to match what has been committed since May 14, and what yet looms in Thaksin Shinawatra's amazing return as Pheu Thai's poisoned chalice inviting the rash to deeply quaff. 

 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 September 3, 2023, under the title "Checks still needed" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2640613/heed-water-dump-danger

re: "Pope’s Remarks on ‘Reactionary’ U.S. Catholics Rankle, and Resonate"

re: "Pope’s Remarks on ‘Reactionary’ U.S. Catholics Rankle, and Resonate" (The New York Times, September 1, 2023)

Francis is rising in my esteem as he seeks to lead his church to some long overdue moral progress. 

Those comfortably ensconced in old ways have never liked that sort of thing. The Biblical account tells us that is why the social conservatives of the time, the high priests of ancient Jerusalem intent on protecting their beloved traditions, used the law to kill Jesus, the upstart radical on the streets. 

Law-and-order authoritarianism has a long history of opposing moral progress. 

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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/2023/09/01/us/pope-francis-conservative.html#commentsContainer&permid=127452132:127452132

re: "Pope Says a Strong U.S. Faction Offers a Backward, Narrow View of the Church"

re: "Pope Says a Strong U.S. Faction Offers a Backward, Narrow View of the Church" (The New York Times, August 30, 2023)

As pope, Francis can be infallible if he so wishes on matters of doctrine. That traditionalist doctrine being surely upheld by the conservative US rump, Francis should use his option of papal infallibility to correct a few inherited errors in prevailing Catholic dogma. 

Should a schism come, that is nothing to be feared. Christianity has schismed since its founding. 

Francis is right to seek to put decent moral values over the commands of the rather despotic god of the Bible, including St Paul's petty-minded, vindictive god of the New Testament preaching, for example, to slaves to "obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ" (Ephesians 6:5) — that is not something fit for any religion in today's more morally enlightened world. 

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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/2023/08/30/world/europe/pope-francis-american-conservatives.html#commentsContainer&permid=127400740:127401590

All deities equal

re: "Dealing with deities" (BP, PostBag, August 31 2023) and "Demon or deity?", (BP, PostBag, Aug 29)

Dear editor,

Michael Setter is right to correct an apparent misunderstanding by Yingwai Suchaovanich, who appeared to hold that there were degrees of proof and evidence for the various gods, heavens, hells, goddesses, souls, ghosts, demons, and other motley supernatural things. It is not so. 

The reality of all divine beings, abodes and accoutrements is equally proved by the identical set of objective, verifiable evidence. The evidence proving YAHWEH to be the one true deity is precisely the same as the evidence in favour of both Ares and Mars, which is exactly identical to the evidence supporting Kali's claims to godheadedness, and all of those are identically well proved as Sekhmet, and of course that new deified one causing so much chatter about the literally fantastic, Kru Kai Kaeo. The evidence proving all of these and every other deity or divine thing is, without exception, identical, being the same, one, true such set of elements. Every mathematician knows that there is, and can only be, one such set, which is necessarily identical with itself. 

But if any reader has a shred of objective evidence that more truly proves the reality of one god or other divine entity over any other, they might like to share that for independent verification. It will surely win them at least the Nobel Prize for Physics. 

 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 September 1, 2023, under the title "All deities equal" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2639679/all-deities-equal