Black side of mourning

With the mourning for His Majesty the King under way, Thais are revealing the good, the bad and the ugly to the world. On one hand it is a delight to see many motorcycle taxis offering free rides for locals to pay homage to the late King. Similarly, local van drivers from many provinces have pooled funds to give low-income earners a free return trip to Bangkok for the occasion.

On the other hand, however, are instances of exploitative behaviour for personal and commercial gain. With the surge in demand for black clothes, vendors have been price gouging by charging as much as 300% more for black T-shirts, profiting handsomely from mourners.

On social media, we witness the ugly side. Online vigilante and online trolls scourging the internet for those not wearing black, denigrating and shaming them, much like witch hunting. In trying to prove their utmost loyalty to the late King, many have displayed excessive patriotism, bordering on extremism. Any sign of disrespect to the monarchy, regardless of the intention, will see lese majeste mobs assaulting and dragging the victim to prostrate to the portrait of the late King. His Majesty the King would not have condoned such behaviour.

I offer my deepest condolences to all fellow Thais, and hope that through this trying time, instead of the “us versus them” mentality prevailing, Thais will unite. That reasons will trump over emotions. EDWARD KITLERTSIRIVATANA