‘Conscientious Thai’ just a code word for yellow-shirt junta supporter
Vint Chavala claims that any “conscientious” Thai will tell you the Democrats were more honest than Thaksin. He doesn’t explain why hardly anyone voted for the Democrats in the last election and why Yingluck Shinawatra kicked Abhisit’s butt when she ran against him for prime minister.
But it’s interesting to note that Khun Vint uses the word “conscientious”. In other words, since Thais who don’t agree with him are not “conscientious”, it doesn’t matter what they think. And if they elect a government the Democrats don’t like, these thugs think they have the right to shut down the city of Bangkok and overthrow the government. And if they don’t succeed in overthrowing it, the military does their dirty work.
Also, I never said that Thaksin was honest, as Vint claims. What I did say was that he appealed to the rural poor who had been ignored for so long by the Democrats. To make a comparison, it is absurd to say that Donald Trump is a man of the working people. But like Thaksin he is willing to address their grievances. And to deny Thaksin’s appeal to the rural poor – whom the Democrats say are “dirty”, “ignorant”, should not be allowed to vote and should even be exterminated if convicted of lese majeste – is to deny reality.
Eric Bahrt
Chiang Mai
