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"Thai people don't hold on to things," said Yut, a Bangkok taxi driver originally from Nakhon Ratchasima. "Buddhism teaches us to let go. If we hold on to anger, it will grow, causing us to age faster," he added. Such an 'easy-going' outlook is apparent in many aspects of Thai society. We hear it every day in phrases such as jai yen yen (calm down), chung mun (forget it) and Bploy mun (let it go). The PM's Office spokesman, Jakrapop Penkhair, summed up the Thai attitude when he made a comparison between westerners and Thais. In an interview with the media, he noted that westerners put much more emphasis on keeping records, journals, and diaries - particularly of tragic events, while this is not part of Thai nature. While the 'forgive and forget' approach to life may be healthy and less stressful, is it really helpful? Every so often, a controversial person comes into the spotlight when their questionable personal lifestyles are exposed. A few years back, newspapers engrossed readers with sensational stories of the arrest, release and abduction of former massage parlour owner turned politician Chuwit Kamolvisit, and titillated us with the saucy tale and photos of the seizure of XRated VCDs featuring Nong Nat. Both of these infamous cases were hot news for a while, before fading into memory. In both of these cases, however, the subjects returned to the spotlight more popular than ever, as if nothing had ever happened. Chuwit faced serious human rights and corruption allegations. He openly admitted to paying off the police in dealings with his massage parlours. With the help of the very same newspapers that thrived on these stories he also managed to reinvent himself. Ahead of his election, Chuwit's face was on posters everywhere as he stood as a party list candidate for the Chat Thai party. He eventually won a seat in parliament. Just as amazing was how one minute the entire country was making jokes about Nong Nat's claims of being forced into the porn industry, the next she was being idolized on the covers of many respectable women's magazines. What do Bangkokians think about all this? "It's unbelievable. It shows you that [Thai] people will listen to anything," said Joshua, a university student/private business shareholder from Hawaii . "Thais must be so gullible. They don't question enough. They have a 'you lead, I follow' mindset." Tip, a local government administrator preparing to study politics in Japan has a different view. "Thai people are forgiving and give a second chance to everyone. If you make a mistake, Thais believe that you should have another chance to prove yourself," she said. She believes that Chuwit supporters respect his courage and willingness to speak out about 'unspoken things' in society. However, she feels that they aren't fully aware of the details of his allegations. There's no question that forgiving, forgetting, and accepting are a natural part of the Thai outlook. We should, however, question what and who we accept into our lives. END |
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