Kudos to the farang who shamed queue-jumpers

On Sunday, December 4 at about 6pm I was waiting in line at the express lane at Tesco-Lotus on Srinakarin Road, Samut Prakan. The lane has only one waiting line to share four cash registers, but the traffic hardly moved because most people did not care to queue up; instead they slithered their way directly to the cash registers. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a foreign lady, who apparently had been waiting in line before I arrived, marched towards the express lane. A man, probably a supervisor or manager, followed her. She animatedly explained in English to him about queue jumping, while people gawked at her, wondering what was going on. The man then led her to the next available cash register and she was checked out. When I finally got to the same cashier, I asked her what was wrong with the woman. The cashier smiled and said, “I don’t know why she made such a big fuss.”

Madam, if you happen to read this, I admire your courage to protest when your right was trampled. I am ashamed of myself for doing nothing but staying in line with a long face. There are too many people like me; that’s why Thais never learn to wait in line and that’s why motorcyclists keep terrorising pedestrians on sidewalks. If the sidewalks were wide enough, I bet cars would be up there too. Edmund Burke, the Irish statesman and philosopher, was right when he said, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” 

Somsak Pola 

Bangkok