At least it is not as blatantly ignorant as this response in the Bangkok Post today to an article referring to a bomb blast that sent people scattering to the ground. The commenter is “Michael”:

Discussion 2 : 14/05/2010 at 07:59 PM

“Wonder who gets to clean all the excrement up off the ground?”

I think this sort of filthy commenting is typical of those that despise the poor and think themselves somehow better and more elevated as human beings. Immersed in a smug self-delusion.

If anyone wishes to complain about such filth, which betrays the commenters lack of humanity, here is the link:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/177887/blast-at-rally-site-injures-15

“They have also begun to understand that the small handouts known as charity in fact are the crumbs from national wealth that should be more equally shared with them in the first place.”

OK got it man! But time to move on. Those “disenfranchised downtrodden poor” don’t all have to die and get maimed at Ratchaprasong tonight or tomorrow. Time to gather some down-to-earth village common senses here … time to surrender Ratchaprasong so the “disenfranchised downtrodden poor” can fight another day.

“… (reds’) Intentional bluffing with the aim to “fail” …”

I would rather think it was Abhisit who knew well he was bluffing when offering the roadmap. It was a great ploy from a ruthless bunch of bandits running the current government.

The fact is, a few days after the proposal it was suggested by the government nine red leaders would be charged with terrorism and risked the death penalty.

The government knew very well that this announcement would pop the bubble, and then they could blame it on the refusal by the reds to accept the peace offering.

Shrewd political maneuvering indeed.

The word “terrorism” has replaced earlier catch words like “communists” or “traitors.”

Also, the fact the reds are not united behind a solid leadership, as I suggested before, is proof this is a real grass roots movement of discontent. It is not orchestrated by a few leaders for their own benefit.

That is not to say none tried, but the people have taken over and it is for their own benefit and dignity they now struggle, and for that of their children.

In any case, these ideas about splits in the leadership, radicals, plots to overthrow the monarchy, men in black, that invisible hand and of course, terrorists … are all just intrigue.

That intrigue is fictionalization by the government in order to create confusion both among the red shirt supporters and the populace supporting the government.

The situation is extremely straight-forward in reality.

Millions of people have been sidelined and looked down upon for three quarters of a century.

They finally found a voice at the ballot box.

That voice was stolen first by the military in the 2006 putsch and afterward, a biased judiciary and by the PAD (now backed, according to a recent poll, by a whopping 1.7% of the population)

These disenfranchised poor have had enough of being trodden upon and ignored by the wealthy and powerful and also, by the middle class.

They have also begun to understand that the small handouts known as charity in fact are the crumbs from national wealth that should be more equally shared with them in the first place.

Also as I previously wrote, these poor may not have a clear agenda for the future, but they know one thing beyond any doubt: they do NOT want things to go on as before …

(BD: What if those “downtrodden” are told by their leaders they’re someone they’re really not (yet); someone they first have to become by own merit and work? Not all’s blood-given here.)

Another minor battle seems to have happened and this may be part of a concerted plan. If there is a pattern then this might reflect the government’s awareness of an obvious flaw in the red shirt guards’ positions. If the red guards continue to man the barricades then the military can pick off anyone who looks aggressive and in the process of whittling down the opposition create weaknesses or holes in their large perimeter. Particularly if they lose their command structure (and you can just bet that the key personalities have been identified through observation and infiltration), the natural impulse for the remaining guards will be to cluster in particular places. The perimeter would then break down and the government forces could first shrink the rally site, perhaps separating redshirts manning the barricades that more distant from the intersection from the more passive “civilian” protesters. Doing this would require a tremendous amount of discipline on the government forces and the flanks of their advance would be very vulnerable to determined opposition as they pushed into the red area. But if they are already in Lumpini Park and Chula U. then this move seems to be pretty obvious.

If this is the night that they go in then they have already created the shock by taking out the leader of the guards. Now they need to create the awe to stun as much of the potential resistance into passivity. To avoid massive casualties they probably will not surround the demonstration completely. I imagine that they must leave the red crowd a line of retreat (probably to the north as this is the least sensitive direction and closest to the large crowd in front of the stage). The options of the government forces, if they go ahead and do this, are obvious. Less obvious is the reaction of the red shirts in the crowds and their sympathizers. If they believe resistance is futile then this may discourage the reds from resisting too strongly. The problem for the government remains the same tonight. How do they make it clear to that resistance is futile without causing an enormous amount of damage and casualties.

It’s worth pointing out that the most astonishing thing about the events of April 10 was that the crowd held their ground and did not panic. If the same thing happens this time then it’s difficult to see how this can end well.

This part of the operation seems well planned, competently executed and, by the standards of the people who gave the orders, I assume this is to be considered a success.

Even if the military and the police can’t be trusted to cooperate with the government it seems that someone certainly means business. If I was a red I would get out now before this gets any uglier.

(BD: May sound like an apologist, but hardly think this was a govt/army operation. Just doesn’t make much sense. Read the latest post The Seh Daeng Incident.)

Haha couldn’t resist that …

(BD: OK thread closed for more of the same back and forth. Isn’t there so much more to share.)

There is no need to drag me back into your circular argument, when I already know your response.

Yes, I did visit the link – it appears to be dead or just a jpeg of a flower.