Argument hinges on whether pre-coup govt could govern

Steve CM asks where were the insults against me in his letters.

In his letter of June 6, he accused me of “erecting straw men and toppling them” and of rewriting his original words to use as a target. In his latest, he accused me of distorting what he said. The accusations are low, untrue and unsubstantiated. His letters remind me of hit-and-run tactics adopted by the hired foreign lawyers/publicists who thrived during our political crisis. 

He maintains that the coup was unjustified since there was still a legitimate government in place, while I disagree because the government was in fact ineffective and unable to govern. Sathit Sehgal’s original contention – that there was effectively no government in place – is correct. 

There is no incentive for me to twist Steve CM’s words. One is not rewarded for being right or punished for being wrong in this column, which is a small sanctuary of reasonable debate amid endless tasteless forums and no-holds-barred social networks. 

It also permits contributors to use a pen name, which encourages free and uninhibited expression. The downside is they can hide behind that pen name while freely insulting a fellow writer.

Songdej Praditsmanont