I am even dustier, DUSTIER than thou!

I've written before about how the Cult of Monarchy has been increasing in intensity here in Thailand. In the country's current political maelstrom, true devotion to the king has become a type of political currency. Recently, a newspaper controversy reminded of the silliness of the entire mindset.

The picture below features a team of Thai students who won an international robotics competition. Not content to simply wear their yellow shirts, two of the students decided to display their undying loyalty to the king by displaying his portrait in their team photo. When the picture was featured prominently in the royalist newspapers Thai Rat, however, the students were shocked to see that the portraits had been removed using photoshop.



Enemies of Thai Rat quickly leaped into the fray with accusations that the most conservative newspaper in Thailand does not support His Majesty. Thai Rat, aghast at being on the defensive in any debate concerning the royal family, reaffrimed their loyalty by pointing out that the photos were not displayed according to royal protocol. If the King's photo is held, it must be held up so that HM's head appears higher than anyone else's head. Since the students did not follow this procedure, Thai Rat could not insult the king by publishing the photo without alterations.

The whole affair is rather absurd. It remains me of the Simpsons episode where Homer joins a religious cult. (Moe, Homer, and Sideshow Mel, compete to see who can attract the most dust as the Leader's car drives past on the commune's dirt road).

But this hysteria has very real, very dangerous consequences for anyone who attempts to engage it intellectually. This week a professor at Silpakorn university has come under lese majeste charges for asking his students to write an essay about whether the monarchy was important for Thailand and why. The university has handed over all the student exams to the police, who will decide whether this infraction warrants imprisonment.

Seven years in prison is a steep price for an exam question. But I suppose one can't be too careful in these dangerous times. Jews, communists, and counter-revolutionaries could be lurking anywhere...