In your Dec 24 editorial "Xmas spirit a Thai virtue" we read, "The Christmas spirit may have foreign roots, but it is a positive reinforcement of most Thais' tolerance and respect for others."
If it is a Thai virtue to respect others then why is Thailand one of the more racist nations in the world? Discrimination towards black people, in particular, is institutionalised here.
If you are in doubt I would ask how many blacks work in your editorial department, or I dare say, are to be seen anywhere on your premises.
As to, "Over the centuries of religious tolerance from the monarchy to the village, there is no history of religious warfare", what, from the perspective of your blinding pride, do you call the situation in the South, some kind of Yuletide celebration that involves deep inter-religious hatred and terrorism?
Christmas is not about puffing yourselves up and patting yourselves on the back, it is about humility and kindness, the true virtues that many Thais of rural origins possess. Let us all learn about what to do at Christmas from them.
MICHAEL SETTER
Once over lightly
Re: "Xmas spirit a Thai virtue", (Editorial, Dec 24).
In an amazing feat of journalism, the editorial of the Bangkok Post celebrating the Xmas spirit succeeds in airbrushing the Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand out of existence (on May 13 of this year, this newspaper published an article titled "Muslim insurgent leader surrenders" but there is no Muslim insurgency), airbrushing fundamentalism out of Islamic fundamentalism (Islamic fundamentalists, who are the most intolerant and violent, are not called so because they have a literal interpretation of Islam), and airbrushing Islamic terrorism and its non-Muslim victims out of existence (the Thai citizen who was tragically murdered last week in Strasbourg was not killed by a terrorist who had sworn allegiance to Islamic State, at a Christmas market, shouting Allahu Akbar).
Baffled Reader
Empty seat penalty
Re: "Mass transit key to cleaner air", (Editorial, Dec 23).
Just focusing on mass transit improvement is not going to be enough for dealing with the monumental problems of Bangkok air pollution. Other measures should include reducing the number of cars by punishing those who ride them alone with empty seats.
Public and private sector entities should provide incentives to their employees not to ride or bring their cars to the workplace. When it comes to owning a car, Thailand should follow the Singapore model. People, who want to buy a car need to justify why they need it?
Thai banks should also stop being a pawn in the hands of the auto industry. If the current trends continue, Bangkok will eventually turn into a ghost town most visitors will avoid. Who would like to live and work in a city where toxic fumes are bound to kill? Above all, cars should be classified as harmful products, just like cigarettes, and taxed at the highest possible rates.
The health crisis in big cities cannot be separated from numbers of cars and the volume of carbon dioxide in the air. Curbing the use of coal, diesel, petrol, and gas is needed or we will end up in smoke before our time.
KULDEEP NAGI
Emergency lane poser
After receiving two traffic tickets for crossing over solid lines on the expressway northbound between the Rama 4 and Sukhumvit entrances, I have been careful not to do that again.
Behold my surprise when another ticket arrived on Dec 4 taken from the same hidden camera with my car solidly within the extreme left hand lane.
It seems that since that terrible accident when a driver who had stopped his car in the left hand emergency lane was hit and knocked over the the railing to his death, it is no longer permissible to drive in that lane at all. Why wasn't this formally announced? Drivers be warned.
STYMIED MOTORIST
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