Protests

I've gotten several e-mails from friends and family members asking me about the protests here in Bangkok. Though the protesters have become violent (even breaking out the slingshots!!), I can assure everyone that they are not protesting in the part of the city where I live or work, and in no way is my personal safety in jeopardy as a result of these protests.

I WILL say that the protests have had an impact on day-to-day life around here. Bangkok pretty much becomes a ghost town after dark now. The sidewalks and restaurants and shops are all empty, and there's a tension in the air that you can FEEL. As my taxi driver advised me last night, "You go home, watch a video. No shopping, no eating. People not happy. People not happy." Again, I feel in no way unsafe. However, the Thais as a general rule DO NOT like confrontation or conflict. People here don't yell or honk their horns unless in warning. I think the fact that a conflict of this scale is happening in this city--in OUR city--is making a lot of people feel uncomfortable in a way that goes far beyond a "can't we all just get along?" level of frustration. Thailand has a collectivist culture, and everyone is connected through triumph and grief. The ripple effects of the violence are therefore felt by everyone. And, in true Thai fashion, everyone is trying to pretend that this nastiness, this ugliness, this unpleasantness that runs so counter to the glassy surface of calm upon which Bangkok sits is not happening. People are not talking about it. They shrug off my questions with their beautiful smiles. And it's this unacknowledged worry simmering below the surface that makes me--a Westerner who is used to transparency and always needs to know what's going on--very uneasy.

It's WEIRD to be in a place where there is unrest. I'm used to following news stories about foreign places where people are not happy with the corruption in their government and have therefore decided to take action, but it's weird actually LIVING in a place that provides the setting for the unrest. In the US nowadays, protests are (largely) highly organized, non-violent, empowering events that are truly inspirational. Citizens band together for a common cause, and save for the occasional protest that gets out of hand and requires, um, tear gas, they don't tend to become out-and-out riots that end in tragedy and violence. And here there are people setting off small explosions and blocking airports and threatening water supplies and it's just......surreal. And obviously I know and understand that I'm living in a foreign country (um, duh) and that the rest of the world doesn't operate like the US (um, double duh). It still just amazes me how each and every day I realize just....how.....different groups of people operating within different cultural, economic, and governmental systems truly ARE from one another. As much as the liberal hippie chick in me just wants to scream from the rooftops that "we are all one!! Let's just love each other and sing kumbaya and all be citizens of Mother Earth," I realize that that point of view does not respect the subtle and important differences embedded in all of the unique and special cultures around the world. OF COURSE we need to all share this planet in love, respect, and peace. OF COURSE we should all strive for global citizenship, but it needs to happen in a way that doesn't privilege one cultural and societal paradigm over all others. It needs to happen in a way where we are not living in a McWorld.

Sorry, um, what was I talking about? Oh yes. The protests.

I have my own opinions about the protests and the government, but mainly I have a huge question mark about what happens next if the protesters are successful in their mission, the Prime Minister steps down, and Parliament is dissolved. Because of my long list of questions, I don't necessarily feel informed enough to state my opinions. I just hope, much like everyone else around me, that all of this unpleasantness is over soon.