Whilst largely in agreement (especially the bit about TAT reeking of desperation), it seems to me that any exploration of Thailand and it’s culture and practices cannot be usefully undertaken and cannot come to any useful conclusions without a good understanding of the psychology of the Thai people.
I do think they are being bought, yes. The reward for this behaviour is that warm feeling that comes from knowing you’re a part of a crowd. The same phenomenon can be seen among football hooligans and other large groups and mobs.
Large groups of people tend to take on their own psychological characteristics, this is well known, and feeling good about yourself – that sense of ‘belonging’, of ‘being a part of’ is the reward for compliance and acceptance of the group’s mores.
The government claims that 300,000 Thais were present at the mourn-in, even though Sanam Luang only holds a maximum of 80,000 people. Lies and distortion are a way of life in the upper echelons of Thai society and the gullible line up to be lied to if it helps them feel they are special despite all the evidence that they are in fact a backward society which has been and is being milked at every opportunity by the kleptocracy. The same kleptocracy that most Thais struggle so hard to be a part of. So they can feel good about themselves. The same principle applies to their superstitions as well – Buddhism (or more accurately, what Buddhism in Thailand has become – which is a corruption of real Buddhist principles).
One of the most powerful needs within all people is self-esteem. This is what Thai souls are bought with. They line up to buy it and they are kept uneducated and unintelligent to ensure they keep lining up to buy.
Interesting analysis, although the sentence ‘younger, more liberal and more critical, generation’ is quite optimistic. The liberalism and critical ability of the new generations are not impressing so far.
Set aside Democracy, human rights, and other ideologies. The most important criterion to succeed is to have the right people in the right places.
Now, Suu Kyi has shown apparent unwillingness to give positions to pragmatic and energetic experts. She prefers loyalty over expertise. We have a minister who simply banned Thingyan because “poor cannot afford it.” We have an education minister who said “bad teachers will be exiled to far-away places.” We have an US Embassy-trained information minister who insulted a neighboring country as a “substandard democracy.” Are we seeing the pragmatism, energy, vision and leadership as shown by Lee Kuan Yew, Deng Xiao Ping, and Park Chung-hee? Far from it.
Even when she realizes and starts recruiting experts, there is a good chance that the ‘experts’ are trained in the West, and worship HR, PC, and other ideological nonsense that would lead Myanmar nowhere. So, the best Myanmar can hope is to become a Western puppet like Thailand, surviving as a rent-seeking parasite through aid and “tourism”, and serving as a cat to be kicked whenever the West needs to.
Public fear of persecution for wearing colourful clothing has disrupted the Thai clothing industry, so that exorbitant profits are being made on black, white and grey, and huge piles of colourful clothing remain unsold.
This is a fascinating piece of information and analysis of a breaking event.
Thanks Jake and Nick for equally interesting comments; it is difficult to get a complete and/or refined picture of what is going on. That is why NM can be such a productive format.
In effect, the TAT, which has longstanding roots in prior military regimes and must be a behemoth by now, transferred images from one context — mass, orchestrated mourning for the late king — to another — tourist advertising — switching its messages up as well to reiterate longstanding, reassuring orientalist drivel about Thai culture necessary to keep tourist and prostitution revenues on the rise.
When you think about it, this latest move of the TAT is slightly macabre and perhaps reeks of desperation. Times are uncertain, indeed, given the royal succession and the new political alignments that are occurring right under our noses, apparently without significant opposition — except for all those political prisoners and threatened journalists.
The aim of both Prayuth and the conservative Democrat Party is to completely eradicate Thaksin’s electoral (if not quite democratic) influence — borrowing the Pali term mokha for extinction to declare Yingluck’s “election null and void .” This is an ironic play on words since mokha, extinction, evokes the Buddhist term nirvana/nibbana, the final “blowing out” of “quenching” of life, i.e., the elimination of suffering, attachment and rebirth cycles altogether. This would appear to be yet another ironic? humorous? transfer of meaning from one domain (religion) to another (politics), such transfers having long been the essence of royal Thai capitalism and royal democracy — the means by which innovative power moves remain unseen, exempt from critical analysis (see Federico Ferrara’s 2015 “The Political Development of Modern Thailand” and Serhat Unaldi’s 2016 “Working towards the Monarchy”).
Heavy-duty oxymoronic, indeed.
It’s very difficult to counter these moves unless you can “think” or analyze them; images and spectacle are designed to be sensorily overwhelming and also impense — unthought. As a consequence, angry, upset and reductionist responses to cultural analysis generally fall along the lines of What’s the big deal? This is obvious! once the analysis has taken place, and/or We know this already! Farangs tend to be among the former –There’s always been a dictatorship! Thai, the latter: We already know that Bangkok Bank is using royal kathin ceremonies at Buddhist temples to penetrate rural areas. This is nothing new! … unless one is analyzing connections between culture and political economy.
The fact that the TAT kept this latest twist in state hegemony out of sight of the persons whose images were so captured — or hijacked — indicates a certain level of discomfort with the strategy.
It is good to remember that Thai kings since Mongkut and probably before were extremely skilled at separating out audiences and contexts as a means of managing western colonial powers, prostration in the presence of royalty or kow-tow being a major case in point. (Chulalongkorn did abolish court prostration! No, he didn’t! He did it on this date! No, he did it on that date!)
What was shocking to me in recent years was the utter insouciance of middle-aged royals in NOT separating out “western” and “Thai” contexts, surrounding themselves by kneeling, genuflecting or crawling royal servants in European AND Thai public contexts. Prayuth himself crawled — full-face prostration — in the presence of the Crown Prince and his daughter at the Bike4Mom event . Certainly funerary rituals are replete with such images. So farang are being told what?
I was shocked by this phenomenon because a) it’s bad PR, or it used to be, and b) during the period of my fieldwork in the late 1970s, when American influence was at a peak, it was, for the most part, painstakingly kept out of sight of farang, confined to private ritual moments.
Thailand is a nation of contradiction and painfully contradictory ideologies due to its colonial and neocolonial past. Dr. Phillips observes an interesting historical twist in management of those contradictions.
Yes, everyone is waiting to see if the lid blows off, but tourist revenue is a necessary source of power and revenue for the new elite or power configuration. Part of what Dr. Phillips is saying, I think, is if farang continue to believe the malarky, to be drawn in by these images and the imposed interpretations by the TAT, then we/they are aiding the state in supporting the dictatorship, which is promoting truly dismal education for its people and taking extraordinary steps to keep them in the dark.
We need to hear more of what Jake is saying. What are the sources of resistance? How are old stereotypes breaking down? How extensive are these inter-generational (and not just class) breaks?
This type of analysis takes a lot of work and time. It begins with intuition, the sense that something’s a little off, then involves a lot of thought and research. Cultural analysis itself is somewhat new to this site, but why the effort to demean scholars who are working in these areas except to discourage open discussion and analysis? In the end, I believe, we share the same goals. What’s going on is painful to everyone, or it is if you believe in education and democratic process. We are all, to some degree, complicit in the above, and we are all trying to get out of it.
Thailand already has Western style democracy. They are just particularly amateurish at concealing its underlying oligarchy. Ordinary Westerners have no more access to real political power than ordinary Thais.
Radical new ideas are required to tackle climate change. Capitalism and its captive democracies are worse than useless.
Welcome comments of course, but not really elucidating. I’m still feeling a little overwhelmed as to what conclusions you drew from what seemed to me (and still seems to me) to be quite a meandering (and naive) post in many respects as well as the subsequent expansion on it. Perhaps you would be charitable enough to summarise what the conclusion was? Surely the point cannot only have been that TAT has hijacked for its own purposes a manufactured scene of grief? Because largely manufactured is what it was, and I just expressed that in 3 lines.
Some assistance would be appreciated for me and any other thickos who might be reading…
Not thick at all Jake. Your comments were thoughtful and intelligent and deserved a long and considered reply. The question made me think and helped me to reflect more seriously about the conclusion. Your thoughts were in no way reductionist, or simplistic. It was a straight forward question to help further understanding and improve the conversation. There is too little of that here. Thanks again for reading all my words!
I think there is a generational issue to the theme you are presenting, professor. If we consider the rise of the new urban class in the 90’s, these were the sons and daughters of the rural poor who were the beneficiaries of all that scrimping and saving to get one of the family members into a university such as Ramkhamhaeng and then the degree that would win them an office job in Bangkok.
So there were definitely plenty of paternal feelings towards the rural poor and the desire to raise them out of dire poverty because of the family connections.
I remember from my time of working with the urban middle classes of how they still felt real home was back on the farm and Bangkok was just a place to make money.
But if we move the clock on a decade or more we are beginning to see the appearance of the next generation of urbanites entering the workforce who dont have the same affection for the provinces because they were raises in Bangkok. For these people the provinces mean grandparents and dodgy internet connections. A visit upcountry is something to be endured rather than enjoyed.
As a result a chasm has opened up between the rural family and the urban family. They are now distinct and increasingly more distant entities. Now the rural poor jave been abandoned and there is no one to speak for them and no one around whom they can gather and make their feelings known. I think that civil war is a long way off, as much we would like to see change.
It is very kind of you to make such a long and detailed reply to my questions, and I will need some time to read and re-read your response in order to further understand the points you are making.
I’m one of the thick one’s too.
“they will vote for Ahok because he is more predictable and transparent than the erratic Anies”
To my mind, Ahok is the much more erratic one between the two. Anies’ rebranding of himself makes perfect sense when we stop expecting him to behave like a public intellectual who values integrity and start thinking of him as just another opportunistic politician
It’s worth noting that Ahok’s supporters are way beyond the “upmarket largely Chinese suburb Pluit” where they “MASSIVELY gained” from Ahok’s approach with flood management. Therefore it’s not accurate to depict the situation as ‘rich, mostly Chinese Ahok supporters’ benefiting from the ‘mostly poor indigenous people in slums.’ Especially when Jokowi-Ahok’s flagship policies such as KJP and KJS are generally well-received
The only people always looking to start a war is the USA. This keeps the military complex going and keep the USA in the lead in “world order”
BTW, if you think you can start another “opium war”, think again, and if you think you can come out of a third world war as a winner, you are definitely smoking illegal stuff…
Yes, Pramoedya was an ideological warrior who saw liberals and some leftists as an obstacle to Sukarno’s grand plans for Indonesia. In my view he often ignored the serious flaws of Sukarno’s leadership. But no-one was innocent in these struggles. Some of Pram’s enemies of the early 1960s, especially the US-friendly liberals, became vocal supporters of the New Order as it got started in the late 1960s: people like Soedjatmoko, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, and even former socialists like Adam Malik. I agree, though, it’s important to critically contextualise Pram’s views, instead of idolising him either as a noble victim of oppression (as Western commentators often do) or as an all-knowing political guru (as some Indonesians do). Thanks for your comment! — Jarrah
Very good article on the propaganda machine. But it goes much further. The selling of an image of Thailand to the farang and the entire outside world is even far more sophisticated. It’s a well oiled machine in which other very important factors are as well incorporated, such as the arts, where supposedly social critical artists are sponsored, and lured in with positions and wealth to represent a supposedly tolerant Thailand to the outside world. Their pseudo social critical work however never leaves the limits of the permitted, and when necessary, are drawn in when the is a real social struggle, as we saw many of such artists working with the different Yellow Alliance configurations, latest the PDRC. Academia is drawn in as well, by the funding of Thai studies departments in important Universities.
This construct however is partly collapsing, academia and journalism have to some degree left and broken that alliance of mutual convenience (being silent can give many institutional and personal benefits), and the other not so nice side of this Thai construct is unleashed. Even some parts of the art world have begun to revolt, as we saw in the Gwangju exhibition.
In this present era of enforced silence this sheen of renewed Thainess can be kept up. But what will happen when this period will be over, which one day it will? Is the genie back in the bottle or will the social developments that have taken place during the past years of conflict come back and haunt the system with a vehemence?
Lots of words Matthew, including the obligatory ‘trope’ and ‘rubric’ You missed out on ‘meme’, but not to be picky, and I’m trying very hard not to appear unfriendly despite the possibly yawning chasm between world-views in Thailand. Do you live in Thailand or have you spent any recent, substantial time among Thais? Genuine question.
I’m not sure where the beef is though – the words don’t seem to lead to any conclusion or fulfil any real purpose, except for being words. Perhaps I’m just too thick to understand, that’s possible – too long in Thailand I suppose…
Writing off Ahok in the second round is a mistake, for two reasons:
1. On a political level, this is no longer a case of Islamists vs Ahok, but rather Prabowo vs Jokowi. It is a mini replay of the 2014 election as well as a prelude for the 2019 election. Even now, the pro-Agus Islamist parties – namely PPP and PKB – are in a dilemma of whether to switch to Anies or not. To do so will risk the wrath of Jokowi and cost them cushy government positions that they have only gained recently by defecting from Prabowo’s camp in 2015-16.
2. Many Muslim voters may still be angry at Ahok, but that may not necessarily translate to support for Anies. As Anies “past sins” are gradually exposed as well as new ones were highlighted (i.e. his recent association with extreme radical groups), moderate Muslim voters may prefer “the Devil you know”. Either they will vote for Ahok because he is more predictable and transparent than the erratic Anies, or decide to abstain (Golput) in the second round. Either way, Ahok will benefit significantly.
There are other lesser reasons that improve Ahok’s chances, including liberal media support, investors and foreign’ support, etc. Ahok is not out of the race just yet.
Remember, 2012 and 2014 elections? Jokowi and Ahok took the same type and amount of attacks back then. As I recall, most Western academics also wrote them off back then, also by citing “the rise of hardliners” argument. They were wrong then . . .
” I applaud Bumiphol for his many great, good works.””
Really? Seriously? Can you name any 4 ‘great, good works’ that were not undertaken exclusively for self-aggrandisement? In fact can you name any 4 ‘great, good works’ at all? Of any kind?
Methinks you have succumbed to the same propaganda as many Thais fall prey to.
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Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
Whilst largely in agreement (especially the bit about TAT reeking of desperation), it seems to me that any exploration of Thailand and it’s culture and practices cannot be usefully undertaken and cannot come to any useful conclusions without a good understanding of the psychology of the Thai people.
Everything flows from this.
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
I do think they are being bought, yes. The reward for this behaviour is that warm feeling that comes from knowing you’re a part of a crowd. The same phenomenon can be seen among football hooligans and other large groups and mobs.
Large groups of people tend to take on their own psychological characteristics, this is well known, and feeling good about yourself – that sense of ‘belonging’, of ‘being a part of’ is the reward for compliance and acceptance of the group’s mores.
The government claims that 300,000 Thais were present at the mourn-in, even though Sanam Luang only holds a maximum of 80,000 people. Lies and distortion are a way of life in the upper echelons of Thai society and the gullible line up to be lied to if it helps them feel they are special despite all the evidence that they are in fact a backward society which has been and is being milked at every opportunity by the kleptocracy. The same kleptocracy that most Thais struggle so hard to be a part of. So they can feel good about themselves. The same principle applies to their superstitions as well – Buddhism (or more accurately, what Buddhism in Thailand has become – which is a corruption of real Buddhist principles).
One of the most powerful needs within all people is self-esteem. This is what Thai souls are bought with. They line up to buy it and they are kept uneducated and unintelligent to ensure they keep lining up to buy.
Restoring Thailand’s spiritual realm
Interesting analysis, although the sentence ‘younger, more liberal and more critical, generation’ is quite optimistic. The liberalism and critical ability of the new generations are not impressing so far.
Will Myanmar’s march to democracy trip up?
Set aside Democracy, human rights, and other ideologies. The most important criterion to succeed is to have the right people in the right places.
Now, Suu Kyi has shown apparent unwillingness to give positions to pragmatic and energetic experts. She prefers loyalty over expertise. We have a minister who simply banned Thingyan because “poor cannot afford it.” We have an education minister who said “bad teachers will be exiled to far-away places.” We have an US Embassy-trained information minister who insulted a neighboring country as a “substandard democracy.” Are we seeing the pragmatism, energy, vision and leadership as shown by Lee Kuan Yew, Deng Xiao Ping, and Park Chung-hee? Far from it.
Even when she realizes and starts recruiting experts, there is a good chance that the ‘experts’ are trained in the West, and worship HR, PC, and other ideological nonsense that would lead Myanmar nowhere. So, the best Myanmar can hope is to become a Western puppet like Thailand, surviving as a rent-seeking parasite through aid and “tourism”, and serving as a cat to be kicked whenever the West needs to.
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
Public fear of persecution for wearing colourful clothing has disrupted the Thai clothing industry, so that exorbitant profits are being made on black, white and grey, and huge piles of colourful clothing remain unsold.
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
This is a fascinating piece of information and analysis of a breaking event.
Thanks Jake and Nick for equally interesting comments; it is difficult to get a complete and/or refined picture of what is going on. That is why NM can be such a productive format.
In effect, the TAT, which has longstanding roots in prior military regimes and must be a behemoth by now, transferred images from one context — mass, orchestrated mourning for the late king — to another — tourist advertising — switching its messages up as well to reiterate longstanding, reassuring orientalist drivel about Thai culture necessary to keep tourist and prostitution revenues on the rise.
When you think about it, this latest move of the TAT is slightly macabre and perhaps reeks of desperation. Times are uncertain, indeed, given the royal succession and the new political alignments that are occurring right under our noses, apparently without significant opposition — except for all those political prisoners and threatened journalists.
The aim of both Prayuth and the conservative Democrat Party is to completely eradicate Thaksin’s electoral (if not quite democratic) influence — borrowing the Pali term mokha for extinction to declare Yingluck’s “election null and void .” This is an ironic play on words since mokha, extinction, evokes the Buddhist term nirvana/nibbana, the final “blowing out” of “quenching” of life, i.e., the elimination of suffering, attachment and rebirth cycles altogether. This would appear to be yet another ironic? humorous? transfer of meaning from one domain (religion) to another (politics), such transfers having long been the essence of royal Thai capitalism and royal democracy — the means by which innovative power moves remain unseen, exempt from critical analysis (see Federico Ferrara’s 2015 “The Political Development of Modern Thailand” and Serhat Unaldi’s 2016 “Working towards the Monarchy”).
Heavy-duty oxymoronic, indeed.
It’s very difficult to counter these moves unless you can “think” or analyze them; images and spectacle are designed to be sensorily overwhelming and also impense — unthought. As a consequence, angry, upset and reductionist responses to cultural analysis generally fall along the lines of What’s the big deal? This is obvious! once the analysis has taken place, and/or We know this already! Farangs tend to be among the former –There’s always been a dictatorship! Thai, the latter: We already know that Bangkok Bank is using royal kathin ceremonies at Buddhist temples to penetrate rural areas. This is nothing new! … unless one is analyzing connections between culture and political economy.
The fact that the TAT kept this latest twist in state hegemony out of sight of the persons whose images were so captured — or hijacked — indicates a certain level of discomfort with the strategy.
It is good to remember that Thai kings since Mongkut and probably before were extremely skilled at separating out audiences and contexts as a means of managing western colonial powers, prostration in the presence of royalty or kow-tow being a major case in point. (Chulalongkorn did abolish court prostration! No, he didn’t! He did it on this date! No, he did it on that date!)
What was shocking to me in recent years was the utter insouciance of middle-aged royals in NOT separating out “western” and “Thai” contexts, surrounding themselves by kneeling, genuflecting or crawling royal servants in European AND Thai public contexts. Prayuth himself crawled — full-face prostration — in the presence of the Crown Prince and his daughter at the Bike4Mom event . Certainly funerary rituals are replete with such images. So farang are being told what?
I was shocked by this phenomenon because a) it’s bad PR, or it used to be, and b) during the period of my fieldwork in the late 1970s, when American influence was at a peak, it was, for the most part, painstakingly kept out of sight of farang, confined to private ritual moments.
Thailand is a nation of contradiction and painfully contradictory ideologies due to its colonial and neocolonial past. Dr. Phillips observes an interesting historical twist in management of those contradictions.
Yes, everyone is waiting to see if the lid blows off, but tourist revenue is a necessary source of power and revenue for the new elite or power configuration. Part of what Dr. Phillips is saying, I think, is if farang continue to believe the malarky, to be drawn in by these images and the imposed interpretations by the TAT, then we/they are aiding the state in supporting the dictatorship, which is promoting truly dismal education for its people and taking extraordinary steps to keep them in the dark.
We need to hear more of what Jake is saying. What are the sources of resistance? How are old stereotypes breaking down? How extensive are these inter-generational (and not just class) breaks?
This type of analysis takes a lot of work and time. It begins with intuition, the sense that something’s a little off, then involves a lot of thought and research. Cultural analysis itself is somewhat new to this site, but why the effort to demean scholars who are working in these areas except to discourage open discussion and analysis? In the end, I believe, we share the same goals. What’s going on is painful to everyone, or it is if you believe in education and democratic process. We are all, to some degree, complicit in the above, and we are all trying to get out of it.
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
Thailand already has Western style democracy. They are just particularly amateurish at concealing its underlying oligarchy. Ordinary Westerners have no more access to real political power than ordinary Thais.
Radical new ideas are required to tackle climate change. Capitalism and its captive democracies are worse than useless.
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
Welcome comments of course, but not really elucidating. I’m still feeling a little overwhelmed as to what conclusions you drew from what seemed to me (and still seems to me) to be quite a meandering (and naive) post in many respects as well as the subsequent expansion on it. Perhaps you would be charitable enough to summarise what the conclusion was? Surely the point cannot only have been that TAT has hijacked for its own purposes a manufactured scene of grief? Because largely manufactured is what it was, and I just expressed that in 3 lines.
Some assistance would be appreciated for me and any other thickos who might be reading…
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
Not thick at all Jake. Your comments were thoughtful and intelligent and deserved a long and considered reply. The question made me think and helped me to reflect more seriously about the conclusion. Your thoughts were in no way reductionist, or simplistic. It was a straight forward question to help further understanding and improve the conversation. There is too little of that here. Thanks again for reading all my words!
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
I think there is a generational issue to the theme you are presenting, professor. If we consider the rise of the new urban class in the 90’s, these were the sons and daughters of the rural poor who were the beneficiaries of all that scrimping and saving to get one of the family members into a university such as Ramkhamhaeng and then the degree that would win them an office job in Bangkok.
So there were definitely plenty of paternal feelings towards the rural poor and the desire to raise them out of dire poverty because of the family connections.
I remember from my time of working with the urban middle classes of how they still felt real home was back on the farm and Bangkok was just a place to make money.
But if we move the clock on a decade or more we are beginning to see the appearance of the next generation of urbanites entering the workforce who dont have the same affection for the provinces because they were raises in Bangkok. For these people the provinces mean grandparents and dodgy internet connections. A visit upcountry is something to be endured rather than enjoyed.
As a result a chasm has opened up between the rural family and the urban family. They are now distinct and increasingly more distant entities. Now the rural poor jave been abandoned and there is no one to speak for them and no one around whom they can gather and make their feelings known. I think that civil war is a long way off, as much we would like to see change.
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
It is very kind of you to make such a long and detailed reply to my questions, and I will need some time to read and re-read your response in order to further understand the points you are making.
I’m one of the thick one’s too.
Interpreting the Jakarta election
“they will vote for Ahok because he is more predictable and transparent than the erratic Anies”
To my mind, Ahok is the much more erratic one between the two. Anies’ rebranding of himself makes perfect sense when we stop expecting him to behave like a public intellectual who values integrity and start thinking of him as just another opportunistic politician
Interpreting the Jakarta election
It’s worth noting that Ahok’s supporters are way beyond the “upmarket largely Chinese suburb Pluit” where they “MASSIVELY gained” from Ahok’s approach with flood management. Therefore it’s not accurate to depict the situation as ‘rich, mostly Chinese Ahok supporters’ benefiting from the ‘mostly poor indigenous people in slums.’ Especially when Jokowi-Ahok’s flagship policies such as KJP and KJS are generally well-received
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
Totally agree Nick. The web / networks are large and draw in the creative talents of many.
Risk and imagination in the Trump era
The only people always looking to start a war is the USA. This keeps the military complex going and keep the USA in the lead in “world order”
BTW, if you think you can start another “opium war”, think again, and if you think you can come out of a third world war as a winner, you are definitely smoking illegal stuff…
Pramoedya’s Message to the Youth of Indonesia
Yes, Pramoedya was an ideological warrior who saw liberals and some leftists as an obstacle to Sukarno’s grand plans for Indonesia. In my view he often ignored the serious flaws of Sukarno’s leadership. But no-one was innocent in these struggles. Some of Pram’s enemies of the early 1960s, especially the US-friendly liberals, became vocal supporters of the New Order as it got started in the late 1960s: people like Soedjatmoko, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, and even former socialists like Adam Malik. I agree, though, it’s important to critically contextualise Pram’s views, instead of idolising him either as a noble victim of oppression (as Western commentators often do) or as an all-knowing political guru (as some Indonesians do). Thanks for your comment! — Jarrah
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
Very good article on the propaganda machine. But it goes much further. The selling of an image of Thailand to the farang and the entire outside world is even far more sophisticated. It’s a well oiled machine in which other very important factors are as well incorporated, such as the arts, where supposedly social critical artists are sponsored, and lured in with positions and wealth to represent a supposedly tolerant Thailand to the outside world. Their pseudo social critical work however never leaves the limits of the permitted, and when necessary, are drawn in when the is a real social struggle, as we saw many of such artists working with the different Yellow Alliance configurations, latest the PDRC. Academia is drawn in as well, by the funding of Thai studies departments in important Universities.
This construct however is partly collapsing, academia and journalism have to some degree left and broken that alliance of mutual convenience (being silent can give many institutional and personal benefits), and the other not so nice side of this Thai construct is unleashed. Even some parts of the art world have begun to revolt, as we saw in the Gwangju exhibition.
In this present era of enforced silence this sheen of renewed Thainess can be kept up. But what will happen when this period will be over, which one day it will? Is the genie back in the bottle or will the social developments that have taken place during the past years of conflict come back and haunt the system with a vehemence?
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
Lots of words Matthew, including the obligatory ‘trope’ and ‘rubric’ You missed out on ‘meme’, but not to be picky, and I’m trying very hard not to appear unfriendly despite the possibly yawning chasm between world-views in Thailand. Do you live in Thailand or have you spent any recent, substantial time among Thais? Genuine question.
I’m not sure where the beef is though – the words don’t seem to lead to any conclusion or fulfil any real purpose, except for being words. Perhaps I’m just too thick to understand, that’s possible – too long in Thailand I suppose…
Interpreting the Jakarta election
Writing off Ahok in the second round is a mistake, for two reasons:
1. On a political level, this is no longer a case of Islamists vs Ahok, but rather Prabowo vs Jokowi. It is a mini replay of the 2014 election as well as a prelude for the 2019 election. Even now, the pro-Agus Islamist parties – namely PPP and PKB – are in a dilemma of whether to switch to Anies or not. To do so will risk the wrath of Jokowi and cost them cushy government positions that they have only gained recently by defecting from Prabowo’s camp in 2015-16.
2. Many Muslim voters may still be angry at Ahok, but that may not necessarily translate to support for Anies. As Anies “past sins” are gradually exposed as well as new ones were highlighted (i.e. his recent association with extreme radical groups), moderate Muslim voters may prefer “the Devil you know”. Either they will vote for Ahok because he is more predictable and transparent than the erratic Anies, or decide to abstain (Golput) in the second round. Either way, Ahok will benefit significantly.
There are other lesser reasons that improve Ahok’s chances, including liberal media support, investors and foreign’ support, etc. Ahok is not out of the race just yet.
Remember, 2012 and 2014 elections? Jokowi and Ahok took the same type and amount of attacks back then. As I recall, most Western academics also wrote them off back then, also by citing “the rise of hardliners” argument. They were wrong then . . .
Private: Grieving as Thainess in 2017
” I applaud Bumiphol for his many great, good works.””
Really? Seriously? Can you name any 4 ‘great, good works’ that were not undertaken exclusively for self-aggrandisement? In fact can you name any 4 ‘great, good works’ at all? Of any kind?
Methinks you have succumbed to the same propaganda as many Thais fall prey to.