Taboos in Thailand (Part 2)
Can it be said that cultures that are greatly influenced by taboos and superstition are not ready for democratic processes?
In the last blog post, I wrote about taboos in Thailand. Due to the current changes in the romanticized holiday paradise, I would like to follow up on this topic again.
As I mentioned in the previous article, taboos and superstitions often go hand in hand. And yet there are clear differences. Here are some examples of superstitious beliefs from all over the world:
Paul mentioned a well-known Dutch “wisdom”: When you hear church bells ringing, never look at a mirror in a bad mood, or you’ll be stuck with that facial expression forever.
My own generation in Germany grew up with this equally absurd belief: always empty the plate to prevent the weather to be bad. And: It brings misfortune to congratulate people before their birthdays.
And from Thailand: If a pregnant woman crawls under the belly of an elephant, she will have an easy delivery. Also, never sign anything with a red pen as it could mean signing your own death sentence.
Superstitious beliefs are daily topics of conversations around the world. We constantly draw attention to our most peculiar beliefs, ridicule them, but still follow them.
Unlike superstition, however, taboos are meant to exclude certain topics from daily conversations. This negates the existence of a fact and can create a subconscious fear towards those topics.
Harry Potter fans are well aware of this phenomenon, because “Lord Voldemort”, the wizard who embodies evil, is described by those who are afraid of him (never, of course, by the hero Harry) – as: “he who must not be named”.
In my research about the protest in Thailand, I came across famous book and movie characters like Harry Potter and his opponent, Lord Voldemort, who are used as symbols in the fight for democracy. But now, the one (who must not be named) is not Voldemort but Maha Vajiralongkorn and he is by no means a magician, but the successor of the King Bhumibol who died in 2016 at the age of 70.
But while Bhumibol was respected and appreciated by the vast majority of Thai society, his successor is rather unpopular with his own people. With his immature escapades on one hand and the harsh suppression of all criticism on the other, even royalists start to question the purpose of a kingdom.
Ironically, the royal family in Thailand is considered the supreme guardian of its many taboos, but its new head is one of the most famous taboo-breakers. And this apparently not out of a rebellious nature or due to philosophical insight, but because he believes he stands above all laws and morals.
The king, who mainly resides in the southern German district Tutzing, has bought a luxurious mansion on Lake Starnberg, right next to a well-known German pop singer, Peter Maffay. And the local Bavarian community, known for its conservative mindset, is not amused but rather irritated that his majesty is sometimes seen riding a bicycle or climbing the Zugspitze, German’s highest peak, dressed as scantily as the members of his harem that accompany him.
In diplomatic circles, stories are told about the king’s poodle named Fufu. The now deceased royal pet was once appointed as an air force Marshall. Air Chief Marshal Fufu, who often wore custom made tuxedos, was famous for jumping on to feast laden tables during state banquets and eating his fill from the plates of distraught ambassadors.
One could be amused about so much eccentricity. But the situation is serious. Anyone who lives in Thailand and who is critical of the regime, making fun of such escapades is running a risk: Any criticism of the royal family, even if it is harmless ridicule, can be punished with a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Against this particular background, this year’s protests by young Thais, can be seen as a historic revolution, although their demands for a more democratic governmental structure are rather modest.
There are four interest groups that have joined together in a large protest. It is mainly students who are no longer afraid to name taboos and thus critically question authority.
At first, it was a group of young women inspired by the women’s movements in Chile that became active in recent years. They are also fighting against physical and sexual harassment and general gender-based violence. The Chilean protest song “El violador eres tu!” (The rapist is you!), was translated into Thai and thus the police, the military and all state power were musically attacked.
Then there is the lesbian, gay and transgender movement, which fights for social acceptance and same-sex marriage.
The sex workers demand nothing more than legality and school children took to the streets for more self-determination in their education. And then, of course, there are the students who are campaigning for freedom of expression, free and fair elections, and a democratic Thailand as a whole.
With #WhyDoWeNeedaKing, the new generation is calling for a fundamental reform of the Thai monarchy. They request more financial control of the world’s richest king and they fight in particular for a reform of the constitution, especially to abolish the section that punishes criticism of the royal family.
As we have experienced during our many years in the Tibetan autonomous region, people in non-democratic structures communicate very skillfully between the lines. Instead of naming the unspeakable, one speaks in coded sentences, uses everyday objects that turn into symbols and people design special hand signs or fantasy names, which are scattered into conversation, into lyrics of a song or into a seemingly everyday message. This secret language constantly changes. Once the listening authority becomes aware that they are excluded from important contexts, these newly invented secret codes and symbols are criminalized. During our many years working in Tibet, our colleagues were often asked by the authorities, that we should not code certain names and topics, otherwise, it would be difficult for them to follow our private conversations.
Also, among the protesting Thais, a dynamic and more or less secret language has been invented.
The artists among them continuously create new symbols. Legal documents become folded paper planes and sculptures of dinosaurs are installed in front of government buildings as a sign of outdated structures. In addition, protesters borrowed the three-finger greeting from the movie series “The Hunger Games”. This gesture was originally in the film-context just a sign for gratitude or to say goodbye to loved ones.
Today, protesters perform this gesture as a salute for passing cars of the royal family. And although the movie series and thus the greeting has only existed since 2012, this special gesture is already being punished as a critical provocation. And last but not least, there is the inflatable yellow rubber duck, which was originally used by children as a physical protection against the water cannons. Now, it has been appointed as a new bright symbol for the democracy movement. It certainly won’t be long until the yellow rubber toy also lands on the index of forbidden symbols. Together, young and more and more older people are taking action against the taboos, some of which are now enshrined in laws.
The generation that grew up with Facebook and Twitter is no longer relying on the Internet and social media. Today, the critical minds observe how Facebook can become the henchman of undemocratic powers by de-activating one critical Facebook account after another. And this despite the fact that these Facebook pages demand nothing more than respect for human rights and a desire for true democracy.
“The Internet was once our gateway to freedom.” says a well-known Thai activist, “But now it has become a tool of control.”