Suthep unveils "adopt-a-protester" fund-raising scheme
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Well, you can't have your revolution running out of cash, can you? The Great Bangkok Shutdown is costing more than Bt10 million a day (which is, for the record, way more than the Americans and French spent on their revolutions in the 1700s).
In Thailand they need that much to feed the hordes at the scattered rally sites and rent all the gear – giant TV screens don’t grow on trees, you know.
The donations that people keep thrusting into protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban’s hands and the circulating donation boxes can’t possibly pay all the bills, so other steps are being taken to help keep the cash flow mobilised. We’ve seen specially printed T-shirts designed by Soda boutique’s Benya Nantakwang, Kai boutique’s Somchai Kaewthong, cartoonist Chai Ratchawat and Lips magazine editor Sakchai Guy selling like hotcakes. Everybody wants a memento of their heady times on the barricades.
Sakchai had a “pre-sale” of his latest limited-edition collection on Sunday. It’s a long-sleeved denim shirt that says “Bangkok Shutdown” on the back and has Suthep’s autograph on the front. You too can get “endorsed” for Bt5,000 – put in your order at the People’s Democratic Reform Committee booth at the Pathumwan rally site. And Benya’s “Now and Never” tee sold out again a second time, but a huge batch of Soda’s long-sleeved T-shirts are expected to be available at the boutique in Siam Square this week.
As the occupation of Bangkok rolls into its second week, more fund-raising activities have been dreamed up. “The Underwear Hero”, for one, is doing what he can. Weerachat “Kob” Premsakul, who became an online sensational when a photo of him in pitched battle with the riot cops wearing only his underpants hit the webwaves last month, is auctioning off the “reward” he received.
Rapper Jetrin “J” Wattanasin, impressed by the outlandish protester’s bravery, had given Kob (who’d stripped down to wash off a dosing of teargas) a lifetime pass to all of his shows. Now Kob is selling the musical privilege off to the highest bidder, with the proceeds split between the PDRC and the Students Network. And he asked J to consider matching it with another one. As of Sunday night, the top bid was Bt50,000. You can still put in an offer at (093) 861 7717.
Meanwhile a two-by-three-metre painting that veteran artist Thepsiri Suksopha created live on a rally stage fetched Bt388,888. He’s one of many artists who are selling their work to aid the grand cause. Some others have created giant signboards bearing photos and slogans from the rallies where protesters can pose for pictures in return for a donation.
More fund-raising ideas are cropping up all the time. One frankly hopes, though, that it doesn’t come down to Suthep offering to give folks a kiss at $100 per pucker. But you never know when Lips magazine is involved.
