Manit Intharapim probably shouldn't have hit and cracked the glass door to the elevator entrance at Asok BTS station. But if he had not "lost it" in frustration on Monday, would the wheelchair-bound activist have got the attention of the media, City Hall and the BTS operators?
Mr Manit's action may be indefensible on its own. But as a way of getting the public and previously inattentive officials to sit up and take notice, it was certainly effective.
And the background to this fit of rage is both interesting and pathetic. In the first place, the 50-year-old civil rights reformer has been fighting this battle for the past 20 years. On Monday, he headed to Asok BTS station to board a train. It should be realised this is a tough and painful operation for a disabled person at the best of times. And be clear that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC) make sure that for people in wheelchairs, it is never the best of times.
