Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej Dies at 88

Post by rodgerd » Thu, Oct 13, 2016, 6:35 PM UTC

dageshi wrote: post #27

kafkaesq wrote: post #7

According to the FT ("King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, 1927-2016"): "Bhumibol Adulyadej ... chose not to condemn the 1976 massacre at Bangkok's Thammasat University of dozens of pro-democracy protesters ..." Time Magazine: "Thailand Bids Farewell to Beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej", regarding said events: In early October of that year, demonstrations convulsed Bangkok in response to the arrest of prominent studen…

Thailand has cycled between elected government and military dictatorship something like 15 times while he was King, the miracle is he didn't have an outright civil war during his reign. If you've ever visited Thailand, you'd know that compared to surrounding countries (with the exception of Malysia perhaps) the level of infrastructure and standard of living is much higher in Thailand, things generally work there wher…

Post by rodgerd » Thu, Oct 13, 2016, 6:36 PM UTC

hx87 wrote: post #26

nihonde wrote: post #4

The reverence that Thai people have for this King is no joking matter. They take their monarch deadly seriously and it seems fair to let them honor the King as they see fit without a lot of outsiders casually weighing in with half-baked opinions.

Not insulting the king while in Thailand or on Thai sites sounds fair enough, but it shouldn't apply to those of us in the rest of the world. Just as US laws and norms shouldn't apply outside of the US, Thai norms and laws should not apply outside of Thailand.

Post by kbutler » Thu, Oct 13, 2016, 6:39 PM UTC

ethbro wrote: post #20

ddeck wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unsurprisingly there is no byline on that article. For those unaware, it has been illegal to defame or insult the monarchy for the last 100 years or so under the country's Lèse majesté law, widely used to silence critics. Some notable cases from Wikipedia [1]: 2008, Harry Nicolaides from Melbourne, Australia - Wrote an offending passage in his self-published book Verisimilitude. The book, which sold a mere 7 copies,…

Not being Thai, I won't comment on his effectiveness and I mourn anyone's passing. But it would seem like it's a lot easier to be 'widely loved' when you make it illegal to feel or communicate anything negative.

Post by zymhan » Thu, Oct 13, 2016, 6:42 PM UTC

stuaxo wrote: post #3

zymhan wrote: post #2

It blows my mind that someone could reign from just after WWII until this year. I hope that Thailand will stay stable. Support of the King has been key to successful military coups and transitions. The Crown Prince is much less admired, and quite odd: "The 63-year-old crown prince, Vajiralongkorn (pictured), is spoilt and demanding, and—to put it mildly—widely loathed. Three times divorced, he spends a lot of time ab…

Stopped reading at the "Calm and orderly" bit - if you've ever spent any time in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, this is far from the case.

Post by ethbro » Thu, Oct 13, 2016, 6:55 PM UTC

kbutler wrote: post #36

ethbro wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not being Thai, I won't comment on his effectiveness and I mourn anyone's passing. But it would seem like it's a lot easier to be 'widely loved' when you make it illegal to feel or communicate anything negative.

Laws preventing criticism don't generally motivate people to hang pictures of the king in their homes. A more plausible cynical position would argue that the widespread development projects funded by revenue from the king's vast royal fortune bought the affection. But the Thai people seem to generally respect, even revere King Bhumibol, feeling that he sincerely cared for the well-being of his people.