Wednesday 30 November 2011

Feline feuding and feral fulminating

So much has been written about our Great Flood, and I'm sure you've seen, read about or watched it all  from the so-called culprits, the high drama and questionable media handling to talk of an ever-widening social divide and have been left feeling flabbergasted with, perhaps, a mouldy house into the bargain.

I really have nothing else to add to coverage of the water saga. It just feels like we're living in some bad American disaster movie, except that there are no real heroes to save the day. 

But during this time of dire need, so many interesting characters have popped up here and there and I've often been left scratching my head over some fine example of nonsensical human behaviour. 

Oh yes, I could try to be all Zen and pretend to understand why volunteers steal items donated for flood relief or why boat owners charge exorbitant prices. 

But, no, I refuse to sound above all that when I know, deep down in my heart, that behaviour like that is just not okay.

There are, after all, such things as straight-up right and wrong. To me, that much is clear.

Still, I have been rather entertained by certain individuals who've come under the spotlight during the course of the flooding. 

Dr Plodprasop Suraswadi quickly comes to mind for his antics and verbal vomit ("the opponent party was seen releasing crocodiles to scare people"). 

As does Bangkok's governor for the slowness of his reactions _ for the slowness of everything he did, in fact.

But nothing perplexed me more than the catfight between Karun "Keng" Hosakul, Phue Thai MP for Don Muang, and Mallika Boonmeetrakul, deputy spokesperson for the Democrat Party. 

As one of the most discussed and  I would go as far as to say  hated players on the current political scene, Karun is no stranger to newspaper front pages, and the social-media world is full of expressions of dismay about his antics plus rude insults and fervent wishes for his imminent demise.

It so happened that Karun and Mallika had a run-in during some flood-related event covered by the media. Choice words were exchanged, and the episode culminated with Mallika allegedly kicking Karun after he allegedly butted her out of his way. 

Recently, Karun appeared on the popular Woody Kerd Ma Kui talk show where he flatly denied various accounts of the encounter with Mallika and made excuses for rogue conduct he's been accused of, including kicking a fellow MP and tearing down a "big bag" barrier. 

Asked about the run-in with Mallika, he responded by suggesting that she might simply be trying to make herself famous by attaching her name to his.

That sparked a string of angry, misspelled tweets from Mallika and perhaps led to a few broken TV sets, too, as enraged viewers punched their screens out.

A colleague of mine thinks that if it were a rom-com flick, Karun and Mallika would eventually end up together. 

I couldn't help but get excited over the prospect of this pair as star-crossed lovers. Romeo-Karun and Juliet-Mallika, thou shalt not perish in the name of love. Or...

But what strikes me most about this back-and-forth is that Mallika has garnered a lot of support for her aggressive stance. So why do we condone such ugly retorts? 

While I do not care much for Mr Keng, I still think that both he and Mallika should be chastised and made to stand in separate corners. 

Mallika is a political figure very much in the public eye, but now she's foolishly trying to secure the closure of various social-network and video-sharing sites. 

She needs to mull over the childishness of her reactions and perhaps learn how to string proper sentences together on Twitter, as well. 

It was gutsy of her to deal out one blow after another to that man, considering Karun's reputation for strong-arm tactics, but  please  show a little more class! There's no need to stoop to someone else's level  or kick his behind in public.

As for Mr Karun, there have been too many stories about his violent conduct to recount them all here. He did get elected as an MP, though. It's hard for me to comprehend how someone with such a disturbing record could so easily waltz into Parliament. 

Is he such a good representative for Don Muang that his constituents are willing to overlook the accusations of spousal abuse and involvement in shady activity? 

An extra-marital affair never mind domestic violence  has been enough to bring down many politicians in other parts of the world. 

Is this the message we want to send out to our young people: that it's all right to be abusive and violent once you've accumulated enough money and power?

If we want cleaner, better functioning politicians who can improve our lives, then maybe we should start looking more closely at their character, moral code and ability to control their temper  in addition to elements like policies and past work record. 

If we stop electing ignorant thugs and supporting rambling idiots, then we might have a shot at the good life we've dreamed about for so long.

Here's hoping that Mr Karun doesn't come after me in a speeding jet ski with his horde of handlers, and that Ms Mallika will spare me from her mean, linguistically challenged tweets and internet witchhunt. 

I've got a mouldy house and a man-made bruised heart, and that's already more than I can handle.

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