The Conflict and the Farang

[Guest tdperhs]

Thus, I challenge chicken little Tdperhs to explain what are the sources of his fears...

I don't think they should be characterized by fears but concerns and you might have at least capitalized "Chicken Little."

 

The examples you cite to support your conclusions are irrelevant to the post. I thought I was clear that my concern was how the Thai power structure might respond to criticism by farang, not Thais. They might have to be more careful about the way they handle a Thai critic, especially one who votes or influences voters. He has rights and recourses to denial of those rights; but a farang is fair game for blocking or expulsion. Do you think that, if Francis Ford Coppolo were shooting a film in Thailand and he broadcast the same remarks the Thai director did, he would get to finish the film in Thailand? It would be banned here just as Stallone's was banned in Myanmar.

 

Picking up the gauntlet:

I already cited the problem that Gaybutton had once had. He mentioned how he and his lawyer made the trek through the Kafkaesque maze of the Thai bureaucracy gaining no information about why his web site had been blocked. It could do the same thing here and GT would have no recourse.

 

I won’t do the research, but most members on the forum surely remember how some four years ago, or so, we had to use alternate servers to be able to access some of the web sites when the Thai government went on a temporary blocking spree.

 

Three or four months ago, The Times of London was temporarily blocked when it printed an interview of Thaksin.

 

Try getting the Dan Rivers report on CNN about the shootings in Bangkok. This has been blocked even on Youtube.

 

On Baht Stop, three web sites in English were reported as blocked (See Kirkland – Three key websites blocked) – New Mandala has since returned.

 

Need more?

 

And I am not too sure I disagree with this policy. I believe it is wrong and usually inaccurate to make judgments on the behavior of one people filtered through the values of your own culture. I am from the US and we have been struggling unsucessfully for 220 years to develop a democratic government. We have committed genocide, civil war, union riots, veterans uprisings, anti-war riots, gender and race riots. People have been intimidated, imprisoned and killed for openly opposing the government. We have been governed and are still being governed by out and out crooks who are so arrogant, they lie in our faces and tell us they did it for our own good. Thailand was governed by quasi-democratic principles for only 62 years and has had a true democratic Constitution for only 15 years. Are the Thai people ready for a Republic? Sure. Are they ready for one without growing pains? Nobody is. But I digress.

 

The fact is that nobody wants foreigners coming into their country and telling them how to live. And any government that acts to put a stop to it usually will have the approval of the majority. My mother had a saying that might put this in a better perspective:"To me he may be a son-of-a-bitch, but he is my son-of-a-bitch. Don't let me hear you call him that."

 

Truth be told, if I posted my opinion of the situation here, I would not be kicked out of the country, I would be launched; and the event would be supported by both sides.

[Gaybutton]

I still disagree with you. You're using what happened to my web site as one of your examples. The fact is that my web site was blocked. The fact is also that my web site was not forced offline. I took it offline myself. If I had not done that, it would be online today, just as all the Thai gay web sites that were blocked are online and have been for years. I can't prove it, but I am thoroughly convinced my web site was blocked because it contained "Gay" as part of the title. I don't believe it had a thing to do with the content of the web site or message board and I don't believe whoever was responsible for blocking the site ever read one word of its content. There was nothing on the web site or message board that should have instigated blocking the site.

 

I seriously doubt that the Thai government gives a damn about message board conversations gay farang have with each other, provided those conversations do not advocate committing felonies in Thailand.

 

The way I feel about it is if the Thai authorities really want to take down this message board based upon the types of messages posted here, then let them. I believe if they ever do decide to block this web site, the reason won't be because of the content of the messages posted here. But I do believe GT would have no more success in finding out why the site is blocked than I had.

 

Don't forget, if this web site is ever blocked, GT won't receive any kind of formal notification for the specific reasons why it was blocked or who blocked it. He'll just wake up one morning and find it blocked. If the site gets blocked, maybe the reason will be because of the content of the messages, as you say. Then again, maybe the reason won't have anything to do with the content of the messages. We'll have no way to find out. It will just be gone.

[Guest]

If you remember back a few years ago we were also blocked at the same time GayButton's website was blocked. We just went through the arduous task of getting the paperwork to the authorities and complying with their content requests and we were unblocked. There is a thread on the board somewhere with the story.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

I still disagree with you. You're using what happened to my web site as one of your examples.

The blocking of websites isn't too effective these days, with all kinds of work-arounds available to look like you are somewhere else, blocking it by Thailand doesn't work too well.

[Guest]

The blocking of websites isn't too effective these days, with all kinds of work-arounds available to look like you are somewhere else, blocking it by Thailand doesn't work too well.

 

It absolutely does work and it works well. Many Thais don't know how to get around the blocks. Others use the Internet at Internet shops and many shops will not allow the work arounds. Their goal when blocking is not to stop farangs from viewing the sites. It is to stop Thais. IMHO, it works the precise way they want it to work.

[Gaybutton]

Their goal when blocking is not to stop farangs from viewing the sites. It is to stop Thais.

Maybe, but I don't know if that's true or not. You know why I don't know? Because they haven't said why they block the sites they block in the first place. Why do I have a feeling that from among all the reasons they might have for blocking web sites, the real reason is whichever one makes the least sense?