I don’t think Dan implied there were no red supporters in Bangkok whatsoever, some where caught of guard and came out waving red socks.

I don’t think any neutral, silent majority, observer would have come up with this plan, unless he was taking a piss, of course.

“Hobby, to make my previous point clear – not everyone waving back at a cheerful procession is a ‘sympathizer,’ not many people can return a frown when offered a smile.”

OK – the smiling onlookers were exhibiting just a Pavlovian/Thai response? And the ones cheering excitedly and waving something red? Perhaps they were just the more susceptible ones?

More than a little desperate of StanG even by his own standards.

… not many people can return a frown when offered a smile.

So very true. The smiles and spirited chants were intoxicating.

Although I would not say (or suggest) that Dan does it for money, however I have also noticed his phrase about “no any Bangkok people cheered reds.”

While at your own blog, as I recall at least two posts have quotes from several sources that actually many people do cheer the reds. And I think I saw elsewhere confirmation.

So, I didn’t bother to point that out here, but it surely caught my attention. However looks like some people did point that out.

I do not know what Dan’s stance/motives are, but “colors” aside, merely for the sake of the accuracy of facts, I think what Hobby & Cat said was fair enough. Otherwise such inaccuracies might be considered by some as a sign of openly biased position (and yes, Hobby is right in using word – spin), while Dan himself, and many readers here, consider this blog “fair & balanced” (although to some this phrase is synonymous to Fox News).

BTW Hobby – your last blog post is very good I think, cheers!

And Dan I thought I add more after reading Hobby’s comment

I also think/feel like there is a certain – I don’t know what is it, a change as Hobby says, or what (honestly, I have not followed as much as Hobby, nor compared how it was before and after) – quite evident, shall we say, in contradiction with the facts, on many points.

A year ago, while I was still a “prolific commenter” (as Hobby once called me LOL) perhaps I would have even bothered to debunk MANY of your statements one by one, point by point. In fact, there are even some apparent fallacies used which I think are too easy to expose and defeat.

Now however, having got bored & tired with too much BS in Thai politics (and the way how Thai media blows out of proportions that whole show of “reds vs. yellows vs. pretty boy vs. square face”) – I thought like, nah, never mind.

But honestly, Dan, and frankly – I understand what Hobby means. It is as if somehow you intentionally choose some style/tone which sometimes seems like more like satirical (or if it is possible to say “flip flop satirical”) – almost in the style of Not The Nation or Harrisson George on Prachathai. And since Hobby said it – I see that I am not the only one who has noticed it (and he said he heard from others the same impression). That is why I guess at times it seems almost like surreal.

I mean – I can understand The Nation’s spinning, or even the Bangkok Post’s (not to mention Manager). But blogs usually rarely employ same tactics as MSM (unless they are some PAD blogs I guess).

So, here it is. I thought like I’d add this observation, or rather more like a comment on Hobby’s comment.

Sondhi liked to use his supporters as a shield, and that is probably what Seh Daeng’s gonna too if he goes ballistic, which is likely considering his comments on Veera, Jatuporn and Nattawut.

Though commendable they may be for opting for the non-violence means, this blood donation thing has certainly put Sondhi’s tampon ritual to shame. And, this is not sheer disgust of scenes of blood flowing on street on TV, it’s that I doubt the red protesters clearly understand the risk of donating their blood this very inconvenient situation they were in.

Despite Dr. Weng the quack doctor’s assurances, there certainly were risks involving the blood donation. Were the medical staffs really qualified? Were mistakes bound to happen because of the disproportionate number of medical teams to the protesters donating their blood? Well, all of the red leaders got their blood suck out first, so surely no mix-up there. What if something wrong happened to the 1,006th, 3,079th and 4,730th? They don’t care a bit.

The best chance for the red movement is not a repeat of Iranian revolution but a repeat of the 2001 general election, with presumably a new white knight in a shining armor coming into rescue. If Abhisit stays too long, there is a price for him to pay as well. Chuan knows how costly that price is.

Election will come, and it can’t be later than late 2011. For the red movement alone, surely they can afford to wait. That they’re in a rush and haste makes their movement a Shakespearean one. There is currently no basis for momentum other than that of Thaksin. What the red leadership has done today is the complete disregard for their own supporters. And, I’m sincerely sorry that I can’t find any logic in it.

The best way to test if reds have any real support is to hold an election (but Abhisit & Co. don’t like contesting elections, do they?)

Today, around noon, I saw a small red convoy driving down the soi. They waved at me, I waved back. It was a pleasant exchange. In fact I feel guilty for not being a bit more enthusiastic, they need moral support now more than ever. Next time I’ll remember that.

Does it make me a red supporter?

(BD: That’s compassion, StanG. Buy them a new shirt! Seriously, does the color matter? This is about their leaders and those leaders’ motives.)