Stop scapegoating the Shinawatras; Thailand's problems go much deeper

It is fairly obvious that letter-writer Vint Chavala understood neither the content or point of my letter, because what he wrote had nothing to do with what I suggested. Vint, you are correct, it is not my country. But I did not “claim” to live in the Northeast. I do live in the Northeast and have for 17 years. I have a Thai wife and two kids and we live on a farm between two villages. Trust me when I tell you that I am aware of what the problems of Thailand are, even though I am nothing but a visitor. 

In a nutshell, it boils down to what I see in the villages and what I read in the newspapers. I think when the burglars of the government man’s house in Bangkok found bags and bags of cash in his closet, that pretty much said it all. How it got that way is pretty much evident history. 

The only thing I ask of you is to please not try to convince me that any one or two or 10 people caused it. A whole lot of people over four or five decades caused it. And until the rich and powerful of this country acknowledge that fact and make a sincere effort to correct it, it will go on and on as it has in the past, Yingluck or no Yingluck.

John Arnone

Yasothon