Long live the King
All over this country are pictures of the beloved King and Queen of Thailand. In the room I’m writing from alone, there are three of the couple. My Thai culture instructor, Sue, explained to us today that one must never say anything bad about the king, because we all love the king. The king is beloved, no one can ever criticize the King. I asked, if no one is allowed to say anything bad, how do you know that everyone really does love the king? What do we think about our King?
The King is on all the bills and coins, next to the shrines, in the subway, on the buildings, everywhere. The queen is sometimes with him, sometimes on her own.
People wear orange wrist bands like the yellow LIVE STRONG ones that say LONG LIVE THE KING in both English and Thai. (Still haven’t figured out where I can get one.)
At first I absolutely hated this, but I’m warming up to it. The king is politically insignificant, really just a symbol of national pride. I wish we had a symbolic king, instead of a truly despotic president who has usurped our democratic throne. I’d like to get one of those orange wrist bands, and maybe make an American version in red white and blue saying “Impeach the King!”
