Re: "Cops go after World Cup gamblers", (BP, June 12).
What an upside down world we live in. The zealousness of the police is to be admired in upholding the law. Illegal gambling is just that and the law enforcement officers must do their duty in this regard. We can't have people having a bit of extra fun for a few weeks every few years, can we? What a pity their enthusiasm and energy can't be channeled into other, way more important things the same way. Thailand is world champion in the road kill stakes and number six in regards to the world's worst pollution. Imagine if the same commitment was made in cracking down on these law breakers how much better things would be. All seems lopsided to me at best and totally upside down at worst.
Nik
Gambling hypocrisy
As someone who does not care for pro-sports and does not place sport bets, I want to know why the government is so concerned over something that is not a crime. A crime from a social level is an action that causes harm to another by depriving them of life, liberty, or property. Someone spending their own money on an activity that they enjoy (regardless of payout) is harming me how? Does this crackdown on gambling extend to the stock market? When you buy a stock betting for a financial gain without your doing anything to add value, how is that not gambling? Both systems operate similarly with the bookie or the Stock Exchange making money off handling the transactions.
Unless the government goes after the SET for the same reasons, protection of the citizen, addiction prevention, and guarding against financial ruin, then they are acting as hypocrites and protectors of the elite. So how about the junta cracking down on activities like pollution, flooding, and terrorism which are harming people and stop wasting resources and time on people just trying to enjoy life?
Darius Hober
Pensioner cops a riot
I fell about laughing when I saw the group of "pensioner" police officers that are in charge of modern day gambling. I am sorry guys but as a retired UK police officer, you would not put the fear of God into me, that is for sure.
Anthony Mathews
Rogue alarm bells
I have never understood the Thai police habit of making loud, ostentatious announcements to the press of an event prior to its occurring. If they are going to arrest a criminal, a suspect, etc why do they have to trumpet their intentions a day or week before? This is why rogue monks and others have ample time to plan and disappear. Yingluck Shinawatra, the rogue monks, and many others are prime examples of pre-arrest stupidity announcements. However, to follow the old slogan, TIT, This is Thailand, still prevails. Someone needs to redefine police mentality, and also who profits financially from pre-announced intentions of arrest.
David James Wong
Defence limelight
Re: "Does B3tn budget add up to political gain?" (Opinion, June 13).
I'd like to see some top military leaders summoned like these movie stars to explain in detail to us this 20% increase in defence spending.
A Reader
No shame, Prayut?
I felt ill seeing the big smile on Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha's face welcoming the puppet president of a country that is largely run by a military that has recently engaged in ethnic cleansing, is doing the absolute minimum in trying to keep our country from being flooded with metamphetamines, engages in constant warfare with indigenous groups who have lived in their part of the country for generations, and jails reporters on trumped-up charges.
Has Gen Prayut no shame?
Observer
Animals in peril
It's only in Thailand where more and more disgrace toward animal welfare can occur. The Ministry of Agriculture this week announced the Animal Welfare Provisions under the animal cruelty law which means it will protect only five animals out of tens of thousands of animals, namely cuckoo doves, wild boars, hybrid tigers, squirrels and palm civets.
As the original drafter of the Thailand cruelty to animals law in the year 2000 and the only selected member on the Animal Welfare Board who has vowed to fight for animal welfare, I urge Bangkok Post readers to let the minister know there are syndicates working against the purposes of the law solely to prevent anything good from coming out of it.
The public and the world need to know this, please.
Roger Lohanan
Thai Animal Guardians
Sanity sadly lacking
Re: "In defence of Trump", (PostBag, June 11).
I was genuinely curious: Why are some people still supporting this demonstrably mendacious windbag? I was hoping for a glimpse of sanity, or at least evidence of sentience.
What I found could be basically summarised as follows: "I voted for Mr Trump because too many regulations were passed by the preceding Obama administration?" Yes, but why are you still supporting him when all evidence suggests he has neither the competence nor the temperament to run the United States?
Mr Trump's foreign policy doctrine has wrecked the alliance between America and the other nations of the free world; meanwhile, Mr Trump is making happy-clappy with a coven of murderous dictators headed by Vladimir Putin. If you are arguing in support of Mr Trump, then I assume you must see all this as as great stagecraft rather than what happens when a demented narcissist becomes the leader of the free world.
Nigel Woodward
Too much Trump
Why have you allowed PostBag to become saturated with jibes about Donald Trump. Surely there is more to discuss about national issues and injustices other than tirades pro- and anti-Trump. Enough already!!
Returning farang
Halal hullabaloo
Re: "Non-Muslims count", (PostBag, June 14).
Peter Atkinson writes of his annoyance with Thai Airways for serving only halal chicken meals on a flight to and from Dhaka and seems offended and discriminated against that as a non-Muslim he was not offered non-halal food.
Perhaps Peter does not know of the basic procedures for preparing halal meat whereby, at the time of slaughter, animals must be alive and healthy and all blood is drained from the carcass. What is wrong with that? In fact, even my Jewish friends here in Bangkok prefer to buy halal meat and poultry for its delicious taste.
I wonder what Peter ate in mainly Muslim Bangladesh while he was there? Probably halal food! So stop whining, Peter.
Martin R
Bridge game too far
Re: "A bridge too far," (PostBag, June 14).
I believe it was Andy Warhol who said something like, "We all have our 15 minutes of fame", or close to it. (I'm still waiting for mine). You were all part of a glorious, silly event that never should have taken place should the "Raiders of the Lost Bridge Party" have done their homework. While I'm sure those apprehended were a bit frightened, it was the police who had more than their 15 minutes of fame. They became the laughing stock of the world and provided entertainment for weeks to come.
General Golani
Too many choppers
Re: "Army aims to buy six new copters", (BP, June 13).
I can understand that pilots may be able to operate various types of helicopters. But I strongly believe that concentrating on one or fewer supply sources will definitely save on maintenance and spare parts costs.
RH Suga
Switch to Samsung
Re: "iPhone 'trickery'," (BP, June 15).
June David Brown needs only to try a Samsung. The units are as good as iPhones, surpassing them in many respects.
449900
Let 'colourism' fade
My new classmate asked me on my first day at a Thai school after having moved back from the United States: "But you aren't white. So how are you able to speak English so well?"
I initially thought she was asking why I wasn't white, as in, culturally Americanised. But having grown up in the United States, I was as American as apple pie.
Later, it dawned on me that she was referring to my skin colour. Why my honey-coloured skin -- the same colour that so many Americans used to envy me for -- wasn't white. My English was so much better than she had expected it to be.
Over the years this continued. People in Thailand just couldn't seem to associate the way I look with someone who grew up or studied abroad and could speak more than one language. My darker skin colour labelled me as "poor and uneducated" in Thailand. Like many others, I was subjected to the "colourism" that is widespread in Asia.
Colourism -- the prejudice or discrimination against individuals with darker skin, among people of the same ethnic or racial group -- has long persisted in Thailand. For centuries, darker skin was associated with farmers and laborers who spent time working under the sun.
Having fair skin was an indicator of having higher socioeconomic status, i.e. the privilege of staying indoors. Modern-day Thais hide under umbrellas, wear long sleeves, and make all attempts to avoid exposure to the sun. You would think we were a nation of vampires from the way we cower from daylight.
Colourism is not new. But it has gotten worse.
The obsession to be white is fed by the media. Thai television, billboards and magazines are full of pasty white faces -- very rarely are brown Thais cast as anything other than villains or slapstick comedians. Most celebrities are in fact half-Thai, half-Western, including in beauty pageants. Three out of the past five Thai Miss Universes have been half-Caucasian.
Not long ago, a famous beauty product company held a campaign asking university girls to send in pictures of themselves holding a bottle of its whitening body lotion. Winners would be judged on the product's "efficacy" and would be awarded scholarships of 100,000 baht. This further reinforces the skewed ideology that skin colour is a label for wealth, education, competencies -- or lack thereof.
Our insecurity has given rise to a skin-whitening beauty industry that's projected to be worth $31.2 billion worldwide by 2024, according to a 2017 report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market in the world for these so-called whitening products. As I walk down the aisles of drug stores, whitening facial creams line the shelves left and right, some coming with "colour strips" guaranteed to move you up three shades lighter in two weeks. Whitening deodorant. Whitening nipple cream. Whichever part of your body you want to whiten, we've got you covered.
And we haven't forgotten the men: Some clinics in Bangkok now offer "penis whitening" laser treatments.
Yet there are health risks involved that aren't so laughable: The mercury and hydroquinone that act as bleachers in whitening products can cause ochronosis, a skin discoloration resulting in bluish-blackish patches -- quite the opposite of what you bought the cream for in the first place. Oh, the irony.
The stigma around skin colour poses a real concern. Many darker-skinned women are perceived to be from rural provinces, as workers in the nightlife business, or, the most condescending of all, as mia farang, when they marry Westerners.
At the end of the day, colourism remains a cultural problem. Because of this, I dread the future. If my generation feels the need to whiten our genitals to fit into society, what will my children's generation be faced with?
But I have hopes that one day colourism will fade away. Thais must acknowledge each other as equals sharing a common identity and culture, regardless of complexion. Through self-acceptance, I have learned to embrace my skin colour. I hope others can do the same. And that my future children can enjoy the beautiful beaches our country offers, without being scared of getting a little tanned. And that they will never ask me for money to buy whitening products.
Tunyathon Koonprasert
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