Politics and the dinner table: dumped by a pro-Thaksin PR
They say that one should not talk about sex or politics at the dinner table at the risk of upsetting fellow guests or hosts. Well, perhaps that is true, but in a highly polarised society like the one Thailand is in today, it can also results in great friendship as well as being dumped by a PR on the other side of the fence in the middle of a strange town.
A couple of months ago, before all the current mayhem started, Smartbrain was on a junket in Phuket with a company that shall remain unnamed. Come dinner time, the foreign executives do what every foreign executive does when confronted with a Thai journalist in Thailand, ask him what he thinks of Thaksin.
Most readers of TMS know what Smartbrain thinks of Thaksin already.
The PR who was, as PRs are often ordered to do, shadowing Smartbrain gave his opinion that perhaps both sides should back down before the country is ruined.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. The PAD should stop their street protests unblock the roads and the pro-Thaksin camp should resurrect missing-and-presumed-murdered Human Rights Laywer Somchai Neelapaichit as well as the 1,500 plus people murdered in the war on drugs that the Senate investigation has cleared of any involvement in drugs,” I said.
The PR laughed the usual PR laugh.
The point I was making to the foreign executives is that there are some things that can be compromised on, but not mass murder and police-state style abduction and execution. Somchai was abducted in broad daylight by police and the investigation has been stalled. It seems like two junior police officers just wanted to abduct one of the thorns in Thaksin’s side all of their own accord without any orders from above.
Still, Smartbrain was quite unprepared for what was to come by the obviously pro-money, pro-Thaksin PR.
He simply left and joined a friend across town, leaving Smartbrain having to care for a Vietnamese reporter and a few others who found themselves suddenly abandoned by their carer. Not that it was a big problem, but still.
Actually, Smartbrain would like to commend that PR for standing up for what he believes in, even though our points of view differ. Most PRs would just laugh, smile and play along rather than show anger, emotion or in this case, dumping the journos and going AWOL in anger. At least this guy has the guts to stand up for what he believes in.
Generally speaking, the more open companies seem to be generally anti-Thaksin and, if not pro-PAD, at least think beyond their financial bottom line and do something about it. Smartbrain knows of one big multinational IT company director who has actually taken to the PAD stage in front of the Singaporean Embassy two or three years ago. Yes, he made a lot of enemies that day, but he also made a lot of friends. During the last push on Government House, he said he was super busy as the bosses from Singapore were in town (makes one wonder what exactly it was he said at the rally on mic in front of the Singapore Embassy) so his staff had to take turns going to the Mob that day, keeping the illusion that everything was business as usual.
On the other hand, the company that dumped Smartbrain in Phuket had a previous country manager who was happy to tell all the journalists at a press conference that she was neutral and has actually been to both the pro and anti-Thaksin rallies to see what it is all about.
Quite how she managed to go to the anti-Thaksin rally and not come back with a strong opinion as to who is right is beyond comprehension.
Smartbrain has lost many friends because of his vocal views on Thaksin, but he has also made many new ones. All things considered, it seems to have been for the better.
