Should expats on long term stay here get involved in Thai politics, actively contribute to good causes or have a point of view.

Or should we continue to be merely tolerated?

Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Democrat leader studied and lived in the UK. He was welcome to contribute in England within the law.

If you believe as I do that politics are a way of life it is hard not to.

Cha Na Wrote:Should expats on long term stay here get involved in Thai politics, actively contribute to good causes or have a point of view.

Or should we continue to be merely tolerated?

Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Democrat leader studied and lived in the UK. He was welcome to contribute in England within the law.

If you believe as I do that politics are a way of life it is hard not to.

While Abhisit can contribute in the UK he was born in Thailand and as such, unless he was naturalized can't vote. Few if an expats will even get Permanent residence let alone have the chance at Thai citizenship. There is a big difference in the system in the UK and in Thailand. The UK is at the moment a democracy under the rule of law and Thailand is a junta/dictatorship, no matter how you want to explain it, 1/2 under martial law and ruled by law, often enacted by the junta for a specific purpose.

While foreigners can certainly explain the situation as they see it to their friends an family I would advise against being directly involved as a lot were in the PAD protests. You have to ask yourself how many of those Farang protesters would be blacklisted from Thailand at the moment if the coup did not happen and the government was not overthrown. Same could happen again.

I've been involved in politics because of my family all my life and I find I have to bite my cheek very often. Mostly when talking with Farang who should be able to think for themselves and figure out that every coup was held to clean up corruption but in the end it was the military that always upped their budget and cemented their power until they had another coup. IMHO

Passing on information is already involment in politics due to the selection of what is passed on. People who want to gain a certain political effect don't need to comment on everything by themselves, already the selection of the information passed on is a way of participating, of getting involved.

As to my local forum in Korat about the same level of information as here gets posted. And I am very sure that farangs are not the only readers though we have few registered thai members, but the referrals from the local thai forum are not inconsiderable. You don't need to go to a demo to reach people. Thais are interested by themselves to read what farangs think. And they do know english too.

I think that it would be unwise to get involved in Thai politics.It is even apparently unwise for Thais to do so.
Farangs are barely tolerated as is,and I think many of our views are probably know, to the powers to be.But I wouldn't climb up on a soap box here in the LOS.