When I went to go see Terminator Salvation in a movie theatre in Chiang Mai, a video clip came on saying "Please pay respect to the king." Everyone stood up quietly and respectfully, and of course, I stood up as well and folded my hands in front of me. The following video was a montage of the king's life, accompanied by inspirational-sounding music. Here's what he looks like:
Thai people truly revere their king. Insulting the king or speaking ill of him is one of the worst things you could do in Thailand, and there are some pretty hefty lese majeste laws to back it up.
Reflection: I wonder if my generation is more than a little over-infatuated with Barack Obama....it makes it easy to support him when he's right, but hard to oppose him when he's wrong.btj
No comments:
Post a Comment