Posted on 08/09/2015 1:33:27 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
True, but our "No Sweat" Cards would keep you out of jail.
Norton II will soon sign an EO for a simiar policy.
similar
Indeed.
One has to remember though that the King/royalty is the one institution that holds the country together. It's the one thing almost every Thai agrees on. So when the "reds" and "yellows" battle it out for example, the winner eventually gets the royal stamp of approval and that typically ends much of the violence and strife (for awhile).
Having lived there years ago and returned fairly often (was there recently during the BKK shutdown and shortly after the coup that put General Prayut in power) I would say it is probably a good thing that the King is still able to act as a power broker the bulk of the public considers reasonably fair.
Really, for us, it would be like burning the American flag. We've had, at times, laws on the books to prosecute people who do that - and some want a constitutional amendment banning it. So while Thailand's lese majeste laws are strict, they are not so much an oddity if you compare the Thai King to other countries revered institutions or symbols.
yes yes, with all their faults, Thai love their king!
Wow!
America would be at full employment, building prisons for those criticizing our monarchy......
>> Isn’t there a younger Thai Prince that was disinherited for marrying a German woman? <<
No, you’re thinking about the King’s oldest daughter, who went to school in California and married an American. She was estranged from her family for many years, but finally got divorced and went back to Thailand — where she is much loved today by the populace.
(Her son — half American — was drowned in the tsunami that hit ten years ago.)
Many years ago, I knew an NCO who’d been stationed at a comms facility in Thailand. One day he was in a local establishment, dropped some change accidentally and went to stop it with his foot. He realized to his horror that it was a Thai coin, and quickly picked it up and left. Don’t mess with their king.
“ERRORS CEASING TO BE DANGEROUS WHEN IT IS PERMITTED FREELY TO CONTRA... {static}...
Thailand's deep reverence for the King, together with the associated lèse-majesté laws, constitutes a socio-political "tradeoff" that has served Thailand well. It's deceptively easy for us foreigners to tut-tut and criticize, but the Thai populace is basically satisfied.
In fact, without the King's moral authority, Thailand almost surely would long ago have been torn apart by civil war and communist guerilla activity. I think the King's role is the main reason that Thailand today is a pretty much a happy and successful country -- as compared to its basket-case nextdoor neighbors, Burma, Laos and Cambodia.
On the other hand, when the King dies and his son assumes the throne, all Hell could break loose. So if you've been postponing a tour of Thailand, best to go soon. Five or ten years from now may be too late. Seriously.
Really, there's not much enforcement needed, because the overwhelming majority of the Thai people seem genuinely to love and respect the King.
(I've been there 20-plus times, beginning in 1967. So I speak from experience.)
And by the way, the King periodically pardons people jailed under the lèse-majesté law. So there's no way these two citizens will serve anywhere close to 28 or 30 years. Probably more like one or two years.
“No embassy could get you out of a Thai jail.”
The last place I’d look for help if I was in a Thai jail would be the US Embassy. The United States State Department pursues the interests of the United States State Department.
Sometimes those interests coincide with the interests of the United States and its people, but only sometimes.
Anyone who has been to Thailand knows you don’t mess around with this law. And you had better stand for the national anthem before the movie.
no, you are thinking of the 3rd ( Crown princess , Ubolratana ) who once once disavowed for marrying an American man . Now divorced and now reinstated in the good graces of the Royal family . She has some exceptional ‘luuk krung’ kids .
You know ‘luuk krung’ ? Obama types
oh , you mean the same U.S. Embassy in Thailand that does it’s level best to keep every possible beautiful Thai woman from getting a U.S. visa ? While at the same time their counterparts in Middle eastern countries virtually hand visas out like cheap lunch tickets at a promotional ?
Unless things have changed , and I doubt it , the USE in BGK is staffed with pretty despicable people
The Thai family I was with explained that this was appropriate action and that disrespect to the King was never tolerated. Yeah, I guess. The movie was the original Die Hard and every seat, other than where the french had been sitting, was filled. Good times.
dear flash,
the U.S. at the time, while engaged in the Vietnam War, did not have, notr make any agreement with the Thai government, as to the extraction of American personnel from any Thai jails. Reason being, that we were ‘invited’ to their country, so we were always ‘guests’, although we had over 100 B-52’s, KC-135’s, C-130’s, o-2’s, and an occasional u-2, when compared to the Thai naval SU-16, one each, and the five T-33 jet fighters stationed there.
Call me crazy but I really enjoy visiting Bangkok.
“Yes, I am the king of the sex-tourism capital of the world. You dare not criticize my moral authority.”
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