Thailand's political divide is now so deep that seemingly minor incidents can spark outrage between people who have never even met each other
Hatred is probably the most controversial emotion as far as Thai politics is concerned nowadays. To be more exact, hatred has a dual personality in Thailand. When you hate, you have the right to. When others hate, it's either a witch-hunt or the haters can be subjected to a witch-hunt. What would you do if someone showed public contempt toward a person you love or worship? In other words, what would you do if a portrait of someone you love was insulted? What would you do if someone declared a desire to pour coffee on the face of the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra?
Both extremes have happened on both sides of Thailand's political divide. On both occasions there has been uproar. On both occasions a social witch-hunt ensued. Who are the real victims here? Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the flight attendant who wrote on Facebook about her desire to pour coffee on Paetongtarn's face, or both?
Cathay Pacific has been caught in the crossfire. It's decision to fire the flight attendant was made with its hands virtually tired - a classic damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation. The pro-Thaksin camp had threatened to boycott the airline if it let the flight attendant stay on, but, since her contract has been terminated, "the other side" is now turning the heat up on Cathay Pacific. The airline may even end up losing passengers from both sides of the Thai polarity.
To her supporters, the flight attendant is a heroine - albeit an unprofessional one, since her feeling toward Paetongtarn prompted her to break rules concerning passenger privacy. To the other side, she's an unmistakable villain seeking political vengeance on an innocent girl. As for Paetongtarn, she is either a victim or deserves to be one.
And who's being witch-hunted? The flight attendant has come under fire for what she did, which triggered a big outcry from the ruling party. Paetongtarn can say her family has to endure harassment simply because it bears the name Shinawatra.
There is no correct answer. The only sensible explanation is that everything originated from hatred. What is too divisive to ask is who caused the hatred to spread from hostility toward Thaksin Shinawatra on one side, and his enemies on the other, to people like the flight attendant, or, also recently, a female red-shirt supporter who allegedly showed contempt for a royal portrait.
The saddest part is that everyone mentioned loves nam prik pla tu, goes to temples, says Buddhist prayers, enjoys Songkran and watches the same TV soap operas. What can make people who have so much in common, and who believe in the same spiritual seclusion, hate each other so much? The answer is "politics". How does politics do this? Through relentless, mutual, hateful propaganda that feeds on itself.
First, politics spawns hatred to serve its own purpose. Then hatred becomes an uncontrollable beast, and not even politics can stop it. Thailand is now at a juncture where Thaksin and his enemies need do nothing to make their respective supporters hate each other lethally. Reconciliation is no longer up to the people who started the war, but the casualties of the war.
What will it take for everyone to calm down? Both sides will say "justice", but that will be as much as they can agree on. Ask one side what they mean by "justice", and their answer will be scorned as a travesty by the other side.
The social media may have exaggerated Thailand's divisiveness a little bit. Without Facebook, the "coffee" threat could still have been something smouldering in the flight attendant's head, and it could have soon faded away without anyone knowing. Without Twitter, many people who don't even know each other in person would never have generated so much dislike toward each other.
The bottom line is, in Thai politics nowadays, it's hard to tell who are the witch-hunters and who are the hunted "witches".
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Source: http://www.news.thethailandlinks.com/2012/12/05/a-vicious-circle-of-mutual-loathing-caused-by-politics/
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