Office Politics

[Gadfly]

I noticed a few things with recent events here in the office.

 

The office is mostly yellow - at least at the senior level. But since I have been here since before Thaksin days, I noticed something: the most ardent yellow shirts right now were the biggest supporters of Thaksin when he first organized TRT. It's the exact same people.

 

Sort of like the larger political scene here. The biggest and most dangerous yellow shirts were the strongest and most dangerous supporters of Thaksin when TRT first started. When Thaksin was all about stopping the evil foreigners from taking over Thailand following the 1997 financial crisis (which, against all evidence, was blamed on foreigners), they were his biggest supporters. They became even bigger supporters when Mr. T assumed power and funds began to flow into their coffers.

 

But when the spigots were shut, their support for Mr. T turned into violent opposition. Take a look at some of the most virulent yellow shirts now. Almost all of them were shrill TRT supporters at the outset. Same in my office.

 

Class warfare? The middle and upple middle class Bangkokians in my office openly call the red shirts buffalos. And I have noticed that the non-professional staff dp take notice of this. I have overheard several complaining about this on their cell phones. Senior staff are oblivious; they could care less.

 

And I am hearing the same phony balony from the same crowd of ardent former T supporters about Farangs don't understand Thailand. They are simply incapable of doiing so. Things are not what they seem; they are what they say they are - even if it flies in the face of what you have personally seen.

 

Just take what they say at face value; don't question it. You can't understand. But this same all knowning group of self-appointed mandarins don't notice the incredable resentment and moble phone calls by lower level staff to their friends (red shirts?) about their arrogrant attitudes and downright rude behavior to ordinairy staff. For example, calling not only callnng the red shirts "buffalos", but making jokes about and in the face of maids and drivers in the office about buffalos from Issan. Are they trying to incite a civil war or just clueless?

 

With this sort of denial and disconnect, I am really wondering how any of this will end. I was up in Issan last week, and the depth of resentment is tremendous. It has little to do with Thaksin. If the Bangkok middle and upper classes don't understand this, I don't see how this boat is set aright. They're clueless.

 

But, hey, I am just a dumb Farang: so what could I possibly know?

[Old Hippie]

Not sure why it would surprise you. People, mainly people who love money, go where their best interests are at the time. These people know no loyalty, only thing that interests them is money and their loyalty is to who will give them the most at that moment.

 

Mr. T lined their pockets, so he was their man, he's gone now so they are lined up with who they have to line up with to keep what they have, maybe get more. Later when the smoke settles, they will go with who ever it is that lines their pockets again.

 

1997...from what I have seen/heard, nothing is ever really a Thai person's fault, so it seems natural to blame the farangs. When this mess kicks up this time, I am sure somehow that rhetoric will find it's way into the mix.

[Coss]

"nothing is ever really a Thai person's fault, so it seems natural to blame the farangs"

 

 

[Gadfly]

This place continues to amaze me. People everywhere generally act in their financial interests, but there is at least an attempt at consistency elsewhere. The brazen disregard even trying to any sort of principled position here is in a whole other league from what I see in the US.

 

If Sarah Palin became a staunch Obama supporter tomorrow or even next year, we'd see plenty of stories and commentary about it. Here, that sort of things hardly gets mentioned; indeed, its taken for granted. I guess I move here too late and formed to many "western" values for this not to surprise me.

 

The office politics is what I really notice since it so in my face. No attempt to justify the change, but extreme annoyance when someone even alludes to it. Kind of fantasy world where inconvenient facts are unwelcome.

[Nervous God]

So gaddy, the blindness you refer to i see reported by the international press. Show me one newspaper that supports yellow and thinks red is bad. Newspapers everyone is happy to support when they are anti either of their partys in usa etc, but suddenly, as you say, the international press doesn't understand thailand. Seems very two sided

[ThaiHome]

Your trip to Issan was to area specifically? Of the people that you talked to that expressed such resentment; did you ask who their Members of Parliament was? Did you ask what faction they belong to? These are important questions to ask in order to understand where the person you are talking stands in the current situation.

 

I think you will find that this “resentment†and talk of “class warfare†tends to be in areas that are controlled by factions that support the UDD and have “red radio†stations that have been blaring such hate talk for the past year. In other areas of Issan, where the controlling faction does not support the UDD or in some cases is in direct opposition to it and there is no red radio, you will find little such “resentmentâ€Â.

 

I do note that many farangs seem very willing to jump on this “class warfare†theme that has sprung up. The graph I posted in the Rising Baht thread explains that well. I note that you did not participate in that survey, perhaps you would think about doing so now (the site is still active) and posting your results.

Politcal Compass

 

TH

[Mekong]

For example, calling not only callnng the red shirts "buffalos", but making jokes about and in the face of maids and drivers in the office about buffalos from Issan. Are they trying to incite a civil war or just clueless?

 

 

If there is one thing that really gets under my wifes skin at work it is how some Bangkokians with a percieved superiority complex look down on, and take advantage of the maids, drivers etc.

 

When she pulls people to one side to have a word with them about it, the response is along the lines of "Dumb Issan Folk" to which the wife will reply "You are calling me stupid are you, are you forgetting where I am from?", she is from Ubon and proud to call herself Issan.

 

The the usual comments are made such as "You are differant, you are educated" to which the wife will reply "I am not differant I am Issan same as them but was fortunate enough to get an education, lack of opportunity of education does not make someone stupid"

 

I think the answer to the question is neither inciting civil war or clueless, but pure ignorance due to aforementioned percieved superiority complex.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

"some Bangkokians with a percieved superiority complex look down on, and take advantage of the maids, drivers etc."

 

Which is reinforced every day in pretty much every soap on Thai TV

 

Sanuk!