Opinion: Why We Should Care About “No Sunbathing” Sign At Bangkok’ Sanam Luang

[Coss]

By Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer - January 21, 2024 1:00 pm  LINK

 

A sign posted at Sanam Luang in Bangkok prohibiting sunbathing on the lawn taken on Jan. 18, 2024.

The local authority in Bangkok finally puts up a “no sunbathing” and no wearing of bikinis sign at Sanam Luang on Thursday, a few days after some Thai netizens were outraged at the photos of two scantily clad Caucasian female tourists sunbathing at the lawn in bliss, but oblivious to the backdrop of the Emerald Buddha Temple and the Grand Palace behind.

The photos of the two foreign tourists were also used in the sign to make the point. It is rather cruel or inconsiderate to use the photo.

It is unclear whether the authorities were caving in to public pressure or exploited the incident to become more of a nanny state, but it came after City Hall police had to tell two female tourists on another day to stop sunbathing at the grass lawn of Sanam Luang.

One must admit that there is no consensus on the issue among Thais. Supporters of the ban, which comes with a modest 500 baht fine, say foreign tourists should be considerate to the host’s culture and Sanam Luang is just next to arguably the most important temple in Thailand and the Grand Palace – both are highly visible from the grass lawn of Sanam Luang.

Basically, when in Bangkok, do as Bangkokians do. No Thais sunbath at Sanam Luang. Well, to be fair, most Thais do not sunbath anyway – not even on the beach because we get so much sun, tropical heat on a daily basis and we are genetically mostly more tanned. Even Thai women with fair skin, mostly due to their Chinese DNAs, would mostly still prefer to maintain their fair-skin complexion because that is the prevailing preference as manifested by all kinds of skin whitening lotions that can be found in this country.

Many younger Thais and those who are more liberal say the authorities and angry netizens are just too fickle, so easily offended, however. They say what is the big deal since Sanam Luang is not inside the Grand Palace or the Emerald Buddha Temple, but dozens of meters away. Some added people are just trying to have a good vacation and we should try to be tolerant, not more restrictive, particularly if we want more foreign tourists.

To be fair, I think when Thais are ‘foreign tourists’ abroad themselves, some also do not know how to properly behave due to their ignorance (or lack of consideration), such as how to properly enjoy cherry blossom (Ohanami) in Japan without raising an eyebrow of locals – no touching of flower petals on the trees please, no shaking of tree branches and definitely no tree climbing, if you must know.

My concern is the creeping and normalization of a nanny state, however. I am less worried about whether it is right or wrong to sunbath at Sanam Luang because in the end people will have differing views and all should be considered. My concern is the risk of the proliferation of signs telling us what to do and what not to do to the point where many may unthinkingly obey and become docile to the directive of the state.

We can and should always debate whether certain laws and regulations are acceptable, reasonable or even just. Take the controversial and anachronistic lese majeste law, for example. Is sentencing a man earlier this week to prison for 50 years for 25 Facebook posts defaming the monarchy justifiable? Is it proportionate and just?

The truth is, the law is not automatically or always just because it is the law. A regulation is also not automatically reasonable, or right, because it is a regulation. That is why we debate about the continued existence of the death penalty and whether it is just. That is why we should be wary about the authorities putting up a no sunbathing sun sign at a place where we have no consensus whether it is right or not.

By Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer - January 21, 2024 1:00 pm  LINK

[buffalo_bill]

The person on the left on the signpost seems to be peacefully snoring and did probaly collapse due to work overload as a member of the Thai police or security guard at the nearest BTS station. Which does not count as sunbathing and consequently a 500 Bht fine appears to be unjustified.