Bedwyr is probably the most active commenter on this blog. He is one of my favorite commenters to read because he usually says some offbeat stuff that incites discussion. In the absence of my beloved Sooksiam, there haven’t been many arguments in the comments recently… until now. Just yesterday, a new commenter, Gonzobrains, joined the fray and left a lengthy comment for Bedwyr, although he did it on a very old post. Allowing him his constitutional right to reply, this one is for you Bedwyr.

Bedwyr, I am curious about your background. Like Sooksiam, you frequently come up with interesting intellectual tidbits but really manage to disappointment me on other occasions. Why does Thailand produce people who are “essentially dirty, incompetent, stupid and amoral”? BECAUSE THEIR F*CKIN’ POOR, DUDE!!! You think everyone here consciously chooses to live in a cess pool? You think they choose to be incompetent and stupid? Let’s face it, man, Thailand is a poor country. Ignorance is a result of lack of education, by definition. Not everyone is stupid here, but the country as a whole is simply poor. That is that.

I was born in the USA, and we have a lot more dirty stupid people than Thailand (if you want to make such a gross judgment). But, then again, we have more people.

Actually, Thais are some of the cleverest people I have ever seen. They make some of the most ingenious creations from our trash and hand-me-downs. I have seen street vendors make barbecue grill blowers from old vehicle radiator fans. I have seen vehicle reflectors made from old computer CD-Rs and compact discs. I have seen mopeds converted into “work trucks”, and toilet paper passed as napkins. You may scoff at it as jerry-rigging, but, for as poor as Thailand is, I look at it as ingenious improvisation.

As for producing “amoral” people, I assume you mean they lack morals. I do not think the Thais lack morals. I think their morals are just different from yours, whatever those morals may be. When I first got here, I used to get angry at all the blood-sucking touts, beggars, etc. that used to bother me because I am white and round-eyed. Just like the mosquitoes that bite me here every night, they can spot me even in the dark, and never let up. But walk a mile in their shoes, and maybe you would realize you would do the same if you only earned a few dollars a day.

This morning I heard on the news a boy was sent to jail for petty theft, because his poor mother upcountry continued to nag him for money. I don’t think trying to help your mother is “amoral” by any standards. If he had a Harvard degree and $250k/year job and was engaged in thievery, okay maybe you could call him amoral. But the guy has nothing in a country that has little, so what can he do? This kind of thing goes on all the time here. At least when the thieves steal from homes they leave some sort of religious gift/icon to apologize to the owners. Ridiculous? Yes, maybe to us Westerners but such a gesture indicates to me at least a modicum of morality, even for a thief.

I think it is useless to harp on the monarchy. Monarchs have existed worldwide for centuries. If it works, why break it? Maybe you should learn at little bit about it before start talking trash? Why make fun of people who are proud to live in the country? If they want to wear yellow shirts on Monday what’s it to you?

Every country has their nationalist tendencies. As an American, I prefer to look inward rather than criticize Thailand. I live by the idea that we play the same game but in a different ballpark. To criticize Thailand is only criticizing their specific manifestations of our human tendencies. Thailand has the same problems America does ( or anywhere else humankind exists ). America has prostitution, gambling, corruption, pedophiles, morality issues, etc. We have false ideas about our national identity. One thing that really gets me miffed is all this negative talk about the Thai monarchy when, in fact, it is more respected than any European royal family could ever hope to accomplish. Now, much of it may be by royal decree but that’s how royalty works.

Even in America, we get caught up with whining about the Constitution, Founding Fathers, blah blah. The Constitution is just a paper. Action over words, in my book. And the Founding Fathers that wrote it are not gods, the are fallible humans just like the rest of us.

And “the good old days” are no more holy or sacred than “nowadays”. People were pissing and moaning over the same bullshit we are today.

Same game, different ballpark.

The murder of Hanna Backlund has been doing the rounds on the Thai Visa forum, but now things are getting ridiculous. I logged onto Thai Visa this morning to find a thread titled “No Less Then Death Penalty For Hanna’s Murderer, Show of force at the hearings”. The post reads like this:

It is possible to see that justice is done. Will anyone help me to attend hearings, show a cohesive presence and attempt to lobby the court so as to assure the death penalty in this case?

Also from the original poster:

I also know that doing nothing is not an acceptable alternative. If we can’ t get into courtroom, we can stand outside. If we can’t stand outside we can write letters, we can appeal to the press.

Maybe a bikini rally where we all wear bikinis, men and women! And then mockenly stab each other, eh?

That will get some action !

I know who the original poster is, although I don’t know her personally. The problem I have with this is that I have no doubt that the poster will go through with what she is preaching, making a mockery of the whole trial.

The man police arrested may or may not be the killer. He is yet to be convicted either way. There is a chance that he is a scapegoat. Some of the details I have learnt about corruption in Thailand show me that nothing is clear cut. There are things I can’t write about on this blog, but corruption exists and scapegoats are used. Innocent people are arrested while the guilty walk free.

By Thai law, the man accused of murdering Hanna Backlund cannot receive the death penalty. He gave himself up in a “deal” with the police. If convicted, he will get life imprisonment. By lobbying at the court, the poster and her clan will be attempting to change Thai law.

Yes, a farang was killed, but people are killed in Thailand every day. Were those who will lobby at the court demanding the death penalty for people suspected of killing Thais, Burmese, whoever. Have these same people been pressuring police to find the killers of other farangs who have been murdered in Phuket?

Really, who is the original poster doing this for? Is she working on behalf of Hanna’s family? I suspect that Hanna’s family would want to distance themselves from this type of action. I am strongly against the death penalty. If the poster wants to change Thai law, this is not the place to call for it. This crusade for “justice” is bad news. The case already has a high enough profile without turning it into even more of a media circus.

I’d love hear other people’s thought about this because the thread on Thai Visa made me extremely uncomfortable.

I’m starting to wonder what we are all doing here. We live in this bizarre world where we can no longer look at teachers and take them seriously. I’m not even talking about the hapless travellers who make their way to Phuket and discover the meaning of life — there are individuals even more despicable.

A brief digression about these travellers: I was sat with work colleague at a restaurant during my lunch break yesterday. On this particular lunch break, a dreadlocked lady walked past, looked at us and burst out laughing. Nobody saw her except me, but I knew exactly what she was thinking.

We weren’t doing the Thailand right. We weren’t living her dream, sat in that restaurant. It’s she — with her refined sense of worldliness — who sees things from the other side. A group of shirted foreigners eating Western fare is unacceptable.

My editor and news editor were having lunch in the same restaurant some time ago, when an aged teacher walked over to their table and said, “I feel bad for you guys coming to Thailand and just eating Western food.” They just nodded and said, “Thank you.”

There must be some great disorder in the world if these are not the people who give teachers a bad name.

James John Betts: He could be any one of the thousands of teachers working in Thailand. Fifty-one years old. Employed at an all-boys school in Bangkok. Wanted in the US on 184 counts of child pornography. Investigators announced his arrest yesterday.

The stigma that now goes with being a teacher in Thailand comes from the motley bunch of characters whom you have seen skulking around the country without suspecting them of being anything more than introverted.

Will it end? It’s unlikely. We can but hope that America stops allowing its wanted criminals to vacation to Thailand, Mexico and so on.

Drum ’n’ bass pioneer, BBC Radio 1 DJ and clubland legend Grooverider, real name Raymond Bingham, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment after being found guilty of possession and illegally bringing marijuana into the United Arab Emirates. This is terrible news, but ’Rider only has himself to blame. Story from AFP:

A court in Dubai has sentenced British dance DJ Grooverider to four years in prison for drug possession, Gulf News reports.

The English language daily says on its website that [Grooverider] will be deported after serving his sentence.

He was detained at Dubai International Airport in November, as he arrived to perform a gig in the emirate - known as one of the Middle East’s party capitals.

The newspaper says 2.16 grams of marijuana was found in his luggage.

[T]he UAE imposes tough penalties for all drug-related offences.

Four years is the usual sentence for possession, while trafficking carries the death penalty.

Grooverider told judges, “The drugs were in my possession and I forgot I had them in my trousers.”

Hold up your lighters for Grooverider next time you’re at a rave.

Yes, it’s not really a date, but I will be hanging out with someone who is, apparently, very famous. I didn’t know much about Sonia Couling until recently (well, I’m doing my research tonight), but I think it’ll be an interesting interview. I’m still waiting for my chance to interview Four Mod. Hopefully that will come soon.