Ok. I hadn't planned on talking about this for a while but I just read a blog post at Matter of Facts – parts of which were picked up in a blog at Foreign Policy – that seems to imply that I am a Yellowshirt supporter. In the post Peter Judd is talking about the conversation that was going on via twitter during the protests and he says:
“The accused “yellowshirts” did not hide, but staunchly defended their political affiliation - and so the live news coverage became a tit-for-tat Twitter slanging match in virtual reality while real people died on the streets of Bangkok. Also revealed - some of the live reports translating Thai TV bulletins emanated from Bali and another Tweeter, @BangkokBill, claimed on his blog to be ex-U.S. Army in the 4th PSYOP group! He says he is now a manager at an English school in Thailand and has spent 3 years in the country. He was in the thick of the action, uploading hundreds of pictures to flickr.”
Now maybe I am reading too much into this paragraph (please respond if I am Peter) but it seems that it is being implied that I am a Yellowshirt. If this is so I am a bit confused how being an ex-member of the 4th Psyop group and a manager at an English school makes one a Yellowshirt but I would love to hear the answer.
Now just to set the record straight. I don't believe I am a Redshirt or a Yellowshirt. I honestly find the whole Thai political mess to be incredibly hard to decipher to the level where I can pick a clear “good guy” and “bad guy” in the current situation. Based on my experiences and knowledge I would say that both sides have good and bad parts to them – as to which side is better than the other I have no idea.
There is, however, one Thai politician who I wholeheartedly support and that is this man.
Chuwit Kamolvisit (he is the man in the above picture, not the dog – I don't know the dog's name) as far as I am concerned is the only Thai politician who can with out a doubt be said to be a “good guy”- and that's because his political philosophy can be summed up in one word: totalfu*kingawesomeness. With all of the hard feelings and hot hearts that the current situation has led to I feel that Thailand needs a leader who can help Thais to relax and calm down and what better way than to open more “massage” parlors?
So for all future reference if Chuwit is a Yellowshirt then I am a Yellowshirt, if Chuwit is a Redshirt then I am a Redshirt, and if Chuwit switches sides I switch sides with him.
Hi Bill. My post, as I'm sure you would appreciate, was not specifically about the Thai situation (I'm as confused as anyone), but about how an audience must be very careful when following tweets from a hot political zone. The credentials of a Tweeter are unlikely to be revealed in a Tweet(not many characters to play with eh!) and likewise their political frame of reference is not necessarily obvious. I take your point that the phrase "Also revealed - ...." may not differentiate you from the immediate preceding sentences about the yellowshirts. However, your background is relevant and intriguing within the context of first-hand reporting from Bangkok. It certainly would be part of your disclosure if reporting for a traditional media organisation. Which goes to the purpose of my post: the importance of disclosure so that an audience can distinguish between facts, opinion and relevant experiences when consuming reportage from online sources.
ReplyDeleteI will add a suitable excerpt from your response to my blog and link. Cheers.
Peter Judd