Strange comments in letters yesterday

Somsak Pola asked what would Abhisit Vejjajiva do if he were in the same position as Spanish athlete Ivan Fernandez Anaya when faced with a chance of winning due to the fault of his running opponent. A wonderful story and immensely relevant to Thai politics!

It depends. If Abhisit was asked that when he first came back from Oxford, definitely, as a trained gentleman when life was so pure, he would do exactly what the Spanish athlete did in pointing out his opponent’s mistake. But if you ask him now, he would be silent and grab at the chance of winning and immediately transfer the DSI chief to the border by Khao Phra Viharn. Why? Simply, he has so many axes to grind for the many things that have been unjustly levied on him once he entered into Thai politics.

Meanwhile, in another letter – “Why the big fuss over Lance Armstrong?” – Eric Bahrt admonished us for feeling disgusted with Armstrong when, in his view, all sportsmen use dope anyway, 99 per cent of the population don’t care for integrity and Letters readers are no different from Armstrong.

First, sports would not have thrived, even become more globalised, and the world would not have been survivable if his extraordinary view were correct. Fortunately, most people believe that one cannot hide the truth forever and we are all brought up differently and are not stereotypes like Bahrt says.

Second, all the runners-up in the seven Tour de France races that Armstrong won but now has his titles for them stripped must have felt robbed of their chance at glory. If one is decent, one should weep for them.

Third, granted that some sportsmen use drugs and are not caught, few would have been so meticulous as Armstrong in fooling the anti-drug agencies for so long and so consistently. The truth is always revealed by those around a cheat who still have enough sense of decency to feel disgusted and blow the whistle.

If one thinks deeply enough, honesty is still the best policy in life. One may lie to others but, if one is brought up well, one cannot lie to oneself. 

Songdej Praditsmanont

Bangkok