[Tlc] T-article

[justinm at ucr.edu]

Forwarded from Al Valentine.
Thanks,
justin

s this article about idiocracy -vs- democracy OR is it talking specifically about an entity or establishment here in Thailand?  You be the judge. 

It's a good article either way.  I particularly like the line about blurring out scenes when watching Thai TV; for those that don't live here in Thailand, they blur out people smoking, drinking wine, carry a knife or gun.  You can see the cigarette burning in their hand, but when it hits the lips, bamb, blurred out, but the smoke comes from their mouths.  Wow, how did they do that.  Or, when watching a TV soap, you see the knife in the hand of the bad guy.  He rushes to the person, makes a stabbing move, bamb, blurred, but you see blood oozing from the victim.  As a sub-note to that, why would you even allow a scene like this to be written into a nighttime soap that is being watched by, dare I say, 80% of the population, kids included, at 9PM at night?  But selling alcohol! to adults in the middle of the day is against the law.  Hmmm....it really is bizzaro world. 

Al

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/8818/welcome-to-idiocracy
Welcome to idiocracy

    By: Voranai Vanijaka
    Published: 28/12/2008 at 12:00 AM

Has your email been blocked lately? A few people I know have had their emails blocked, me not included, because I only send safe and appropriate, G-rated emails.
Last week, Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (Fact) reported that 1,303 websites had been banned by court order under the Computer Crimes Act. Without court orders, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Culture ministries, with the Royal Thai Police, have banned more than 100 ISPs. These are just the recent cases.
With or without court orders, critics need to understand that, even though Thailand literally means "land of the free", we should not take the meaning literally, as that would be dangerous. Under the government system of idiocracy, freedom is dangerous, and the term should only be used in tourist brochures.
Some of us might say censoring and banning is the government's attempt to regulate morals, an impossible and ludicrous task that undermines this evil ideal called freedom. But I would say such a motive is a facade, and that there's a noble, hidden agenda.
Idiocracy cannot rule if the populace has access to information. Freedom of information allows the populace to gain knowledge - to observe, to learn, to think, to analyse and, heaven forbid, to make up our own minds.
The danger is with knowledge one might question, have an opinion, disagree and, heaven forbid, make changes - all of which would undermine authority and fracture a united society. Not to mention, thinking can cause migraines - it's a health hazard.
Idiocracy loves us and cares for us, which is why it: 1) attempts to maintain an orderly society, harmless and docile, by censoring and banning information that may compel people to think differently; 2) looks after our mental well-being by preventing migraines from knowledge overload. We should be thankful for idiocracy.
As well, a docile and ill-informed society has much usefulness. For example, it would be difficult to whip up the populace into a frenzied mob, manipulated into marching to serve the agendas of the rich and powerful, if the populace is a thinking and well-informed one. Heaven forbid, someone might say, "Hey, wait a sec ... isn't that the airport?" or "Whoa ... wait a minute, isn't he a criminal?"
On the other hand, a docile and ill-informed populace, while normally harmless, can easily be whipped up by the fiery rhetoric of charismatic individuals and round-the-clock TV propaganda.
Once "the job" is done, the populace can then return to gluing our eyes to TV soap operas and worshipping Mae Moo, on the back page of this newspaper, as the best piece of journalism the Bangkok Post has to offer.
Life is beautiful in idiocracy, as idiocracy censors and bans for the noble cause of keeping us docile and unknowing. The populace does not question the status quo, we know our place in society. We are obedient to our elders and kowtow to our social betters.
As well, when we watch TV and see a blurry image of a gun pointing at someone, it is so because guns are bad and if the image is shown, then the populace, childish and ignorant that we are, wouldn't be able to restrain ourselves from going out and shooting people like they do on TV. Alas, thanks to idiocracy, Thailand is a peaceful and non-violent society, all because of such censorship.
But you might say, "Wait a second, Voranai, local news on a daily basis reports murders, assassinations and executions committed by hit men, motorbike gangs, technical college students or sons of millionaires and politicians. How could you say Thailand is peaceful and non-violent?" To which, the answer is, scientists are working hard on finding ways to use blurry images in real life. Blurry images solve everything.
Think of it this way: cigarette smoking is hidden by blurry images on TV because cigarette smoking is bad for us. Now, if scientists can invent a blurry image for real life smoking - then chaiyo, lung cancer would be cured. Think about it ... it's ingenious.
Why is it illegal for holiday gift baskets to carry alcohol? Because alcohol is bad for us, and if it's not in the basket, then, chaiyo, people won't drink. But what about alcohol elsewhere, you ask? Again, scientists are working hard to create a real life blurry image. Once we have it, we can blur out actual people drinking actual whiskey - then. chaiyo, no more drunk driving or liver cancer.
Not to mention the ingenious law that bans the sale of alcohol on the eve of an election. Such law wisely sends the message to the world that the Thai voters in general, and Voranai in particular, are so child-like and irresponsible that we would otherwise show up at the voting booth with a hangover and write in our names on the ballot instead, misspelling our own names in the process, no doubt.
Consider the award-winning art film Syndrome and a Century, by Apichartpong Weerasetthakul, which garnered much controversy and censorship. If, for example, we show a monk playing guitar on the screen, then real life actual monks might go out and buy guitars, instead of DVDs and Nintendo Wii at Pantip Plaza. Idiocracy is only protecting Thailand's IT industry. We should be thankful.
So welcome to idiocracy, we should all be thankful. Here, thoughts and information are dangerous, individuality jeered at. Instead, we smile a blank smile; it looks good on tourist brochures. By the way, at Suvarnabhumi airport there are posters of smiling male and female tourist police - the male police wear too much make up! We need a blurry image!
(Note: The above satire is simply a demonstration to our new Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on how to have "fun" without taking over an airport.)
In 2009, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, no doubt, will show the world that he's a true champion of freedom. No doubt he will do away with banning and censorship, starting with delivering the new Thai Film Act with a ratings system (the current one has been around since 1930, older than Sombat Methinee and constitutional monarchy) which has been in the womb of the Culture Ministry, refusing to go into labour since early 2007. No doubt, he will then move on to repeal other idiocratic measures. Indeed, No Doubt isn't just a 1990s ska-pop band led by Gwen Stefani. No doubt is PM Abhisit's resolve for democracy.
My dear countrymen (and women), it's 2009, let's renounce our citizenship to idiocracy ... and get off the "ban wagon".
voranaiv at bangkokpost.co.th


______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu