Where Thai tabloids cross the line of decency
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Most cheap eateries in almost every corner of Thailand have one thing in common - copies of colourful tabloid dailies left for diners' perusal.
Equally common is the sight of diners digesting every gory photograph of crime victims as they eat their fried rice or slurp up their noodles.
But how does one explain the penchant that many Thais have for consuming images of dead and often mutilated bodies with their meals?
Also, why did it take eight European ambassadors to raise the issue of some Thai newspapers’ disturbing practice of displaying gruesome images of victims and peddling private information unnecessarily, as was in the case of the murders of two Britons on Koh Tao?
Could it be because the Thai mainstream media and Thai people in general are insensitive or indifferent?
The fact that some tabloids continue publishing pictures of dead bodies as well as personal details of Thai victims even after the envoys met representative of four major media organisations over this very issue is that the focus is not on foreign victims alone.
Horrific photos of both Thai and foreign murder and accident victims have a more or less equal chance of ending up on the front page of some Thai tabloids. Though some tabloids have done away with the practice, other major ones continue unperturbed.
However, one can’t help wondering if these photographs would indeed end up on the front page if the unfortunate people were related to tabloid owners?
What about the hundreds of thousands of tabloid readers? Would they be able to consume a plate of pad thai or grilled chicken, while looking at mutilated bodies of their relatives? The answer is most likely no.
Many readers don’t pay much mind to these photographs, as they belong to “the others” – outsiders who aren’t related to the consumer. As for the tabloids, the more gory a picture on the front page, the greater chance of copies flying off newstands.
Hence, one can surmise that for change to happen, it will take a lot more than just some ambassadors calling on media for restraint.
For actual change to take place, the majority of the public needs to realise that viewing photos of mutilated bodies over a plate of rice is just wrong!
They need to realise that this practice is not just disrespectful to the victims and their families, but also to the consumers. They need to ask themselves if they would find it acceptable if it the front-page pictures showed their own loved ones.
For some people, a dead person’s rights mean nothing because they are no longer alive – it’s nothing personal.
However, the rights of victims’ families and relatives are being violated, and – whether it is done knowingly or not – turning victims’ photographs into a commodity for public consumption is degrading for Thai society as a whole.
