### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/1 "2007-04-04T20:39:32Z")
Don’t make fun of His Supreme Majesty in Thailand. It’s a serious offense, as the creator of [this YouTube video](http://youtube.com/watch?v=4SRyffEbJ50) learned when the goverment [blocked all access to YouTube](http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070007750) when they found out.
> [@](#):
>
> According to [Minister of Information and Technology] Sitthichai, thousands of people had called the government to complain about the YouTube video…
> \
> Thai authorities take insults to the king extremely seriously. A Swiss man was sentenced to 10 years in jail last week in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai on lese majeste[sup]\*[/sup] charges, after he defaced posters of the king during a drinking binge.
Now if we could just do that in the USA, and stop all this anti-Bush foolishness. 🙂
[sup]\*[/sup]_Lese majeste_ = insulting the monarch
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/3 "2007-04-04T22:01:23Z")
I’m not sure what the point here is. When I traveled in Thailand (and some other countries in SE Asia) it was made clear that you do not insult the royal family. It’s a very important part of the culture; certainly different from the US. But I think you’d find people there surprised at how we react to people burning the US flag. It’s a varied world out there.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Hildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Hildo)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/4 "2007-04-04T22:09:08Z")
[QUOTE=Telemark]
It’s a very important part of the culture; certainly different from the US. But I think you’d find people there surprised at how we react to people burning the US flag. It’s a varied world out there.
[/QUOTE]
Sure is. It’s interesting to know what citizens of a country internationally famous for their child brothels get offended by.
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### Author:  [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/5 "2007-04-04T22:22:15Z")
Thailand’s _lese majeste_ laws are a bit antiquated, and even King Bhumibol himself seems to disagree with the law in spirit by stating that he is not above criticism [[cite](http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2007/03/29/swiss_jailed_10_years_for_insulting_thai_royalty/)]. II don’t think he extends that to tagging posters of him, though – but still, the penalties are egregiously harsh.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/6 "2007-04-04T22:27:03Z")
[QUOTE=Telemark]
But I think you’d find people there surprised at how we react to people burning the US flag. It’s a varied world out there.
[/QUOTE]
Just how _do_ we react to people burning the US flag? Me, Meh. I burning your dog.
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### Author:  [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/7 "2007-04-04T22:28:16Z")
That is nothing compared to the Swiss man who is now serving ten years for vandalising portraits of the King.
[http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070329122727.dcptduzl&show\_article=1](http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070329122727.dcptduzl&show_article=1)
So since I’m not in Thailand right now…Fuck the King of Thailand with a rusty chainsaw!
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### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/8 "2007-04-04T22:32:41Z")
Even better, there was this guy from a high-altitude European country who spray painted some posters of the Monarch and was sent to jail for a decade!
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### Author:  [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/9 "2007-04-04T22:41:34Z")
[QUOTE=Telemark]
I’m not sure what the point here is. When I traveled in Thailand (and some other countries in SE Asia) it was made clear that you do not insult the royal family. It’s a very important part of the culture; certainly different from the US. But I think you’d find people there surprised at how we react to people burning the US flag. It’s a varied world out there.
[/QUOTE]
The point is that in the U.S., freedom of expression is one of our most cherished values. People might grumble and voice their annoyance when someone burns the U.S. flag, but it is emphatically **not** a crime, and is in fact protected by the Constitution. A quick search of [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=burning+U.S.+flag&search=Search) reveals that you can put up a video of a flag burning without fear that the U.S. government will shut down the site. The idea that people should be allowed and even encouraged to criticize their government is central to American democracy – we fought a war to ensure that we would have this freedom. The whole thing started when we [criticized the king](http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm).
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/10 "2007-04-04T22:42:15Z")
[QUOTE=Lamar Mundane]
Even better, there was this guy from a high-altitude European country who spray painted some posters of the Monarch and was sent to jail for a decade!
[/QUOTE]
**Lamar** and **pool,** meet **Mindfield:**
> [@Mindfield](#):
>
> Thailand’s lese majeste laws are a bit antiquated, and even King Bhumibol himself seems to disagree with the law in spirit by stating that he is not above criticism [cite](http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2007/03/29/swiss_jailed_10_years_for_insulting_thai_royalty/). II don’t think he extends that to tagging posters of him, though – but still, the penalties are egregiously harsh.
---
### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/11 "2007-04-04T22:46:48Z")
[QUOTE=Musicat]
**Lamar,** meet **Mindfield:**
[/QUOTE]
,Meet **OP**
> [@](#):
>
> According to [Minister of Information and Technology] Sitthichai, thousands of people had called the government to complain about the YouTube video…
> \
> Thai authorities take insults to the king extremely seriously. A Swiss man was sentenced to 10 years in jail last week in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai on lese majeste\* charges, after he defaced posters of the king during a drinking binge.
---
### Author:  [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/12 "2007-04-04T23:12:42Z")
Wait, so someone was sentenced to 100 years for eating Swiss cheese with Thai noodles? If it was me, I’d want a drink too.
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### Author:  [@enigm4tic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigm4tic)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/13 "2007-04-04T23:44:01Z")
> [@1.3g](#):
>
> Seriously though, you want Bush to have supreme power like that? I’m not a fan of the man, but I wouldn’t want to live under _anyone_ who could jail me for \10 years\[sic] simply because I got soused and tore down a poster of the guy…
woooooooooosh
> [@pool](#):
>
> That is nothing compared to the Swiss man who is now serving ten years for vandalising portraits of the King.
>
> [http://www.breitbart.com/article.ph...&show\_article=1](http://www.breitbart.com/article.ph...&show_article=1)
> So since I’m not in Thailand right now…Fuck the King of Thailand with a rusty chainsaw!
wooosh
> [@Musicat](#):
>
> Lamar and pool, meet Mindfield:
woooooooosh
btw, did you guys hear that story about the swiss guy who had his balls chopped up and was forced to eat them for insulting the king of Thailand?
---
### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2007, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/14 "2007-04-04T23:56:33Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers]
Wait, so someone was sentenced to 100 years for eating Swiss cheese with Thai noodles? If it was me, I’d want a drink too.
[/QUOTE]
Sounds like you may have already had a couple.
The reverence that Thais feel for their king is something that I don’t think we westerners can ever really relate to. I dated a Thai woman when I was younger, and although I tend to be very irreverent, and though she and her friends had very good senses of humor in general, it was quickly apparent to me that any joke I made about the king or royal family (regardless of how innocuous) would _never_ be well-received—here in the U.S., or even more so in Thailand.
The superimposed “feet” in that video are particularly customized to be offensive to Thais, as they consider the foot to be, literally and figuratively, the lowest part of the body (visitors to temples, when sitting on the floor, are careful to position their feet so as not to point toward the altar or each other) while the head is the highest or most sacred. Putting feet atop head is about as insulting as you can get.
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### Author:  [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2007, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/15 "2007-04-05T00:09:00Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny Hildo]
Sure is. It’s interesting to know what citizens of a country internationally famous for their child brothels get offended by.
[/QUOTE]
Is there a cite for that bit about Thai child brothels being internationally famous? I have heard it alleged that there are some brothels with child prostitutes in _Cambodia_, and I am pretty sure that there are some under-age prostitutes in Thailand. But I would be interested in seeing independent confirmation that Thailand is internationally famous for it’s child brothels.
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Jaochai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaochai)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2007, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/16 "2007-04-05T00:09:32Z")
My experience with Thailand isn’t as great as, say, **SiamSam’s** , but I know that there are different levels to these things. Genuine, insightful criticism or recommendations wouldn’t meet with such harsh penalties, although they wouldn’t exactly be welcome. Just making fun of him, though, that’s on another plane altogether. As for those who are angry at the King, he didn’t make the law that people aren’t supposed to insult him. It’s just tradition.
I did almost do a spit-take when I saw the feet on top of his head, though.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/17 "2007-04-05T03:12:41Z")
[QUOTE=SpoilerVirgin]
The point is that in the U.S., freedom of expression is one of our most cherished values. People might grumble and voice their annoyance when someone burns the U.S. flag, but it is emphatically **not** a crime, and is in fact protected by the Constitution.
[/QUOTE]
And how much was CBS fined for showing a brief shot of Janet Jackson’s breast on TV during the SuperBowl? The US isn’t so inherently superior from other nations (although we do pretty well), we’re just different in what we consider sacred and/or important.
The Supremes have said that the Constitution supports the right to burn flags (and I think that’s the right decision) but I’m not completely comfortable that the decision couldn’t be reversed or a constitutional amendment couldn’t somehow pass in the future. I don’t think it’s likely, but it _could_ happen.
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### Author:  [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2007, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/18 "2007-04-05T06:21:19Z")
[QUOTE=SpoilerVirgin]
The idea that people should be allowed and even encouraged to criticize their government is central to American democracy
[/QUOTE]
In fact it is **our duty** to challenge our government and hold them accountable
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### Author:  [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2007, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/19 "2007-04-05T12:08:17Z")
Surely the point is not what the laws are here.
Isn’t the point that this is the law of this country. It is not obscure, it is clear to peoples visiting there.
Is not a sovriegn nation entitled to expect people to respect it’s laws while in it’s country?
Don’t we expect people to abide our laws when in our country, no matter what their own cultural tradition or attitude is?
Morally superior righteous indignation notwithstanding, this isn’t about judging how they do things or the laws that suit their culture. The laws of this nation seem to be acceptable to the citizens of this nation.
Surely that’s the point. Yes, it seems to us to be a unduly harsh sentence, but it’s not our decision, or, our country, or, our culture.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2007, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/20 "2007-04-05T12:21:37Z")
This explains a bit more clearly to me why they don’t let people show **Anna and the King of Sian** or **The King and I** over there. I always thought they were a bit touchy to not merely disapprove, but to actually ban it.
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### Author:  [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banned-in-thailand/398763/21 "2007-04-05T12:28:45Z")
[QUOTE=elbows]
Surely the point is not what the laws are here.
Isn’t the point that this is the law of this country. It is not obscure, it is clear to peoples visiting there.
Is not a sovriegn nation entitled to expect people to respect it’s laws while in it’s country?
Don’t we expect people to abide our laws when in our country, no matter what their own cultural tradition or attitude is?
Morally superior righteous indignation notwithstanding, this isn’t about judging how they do things or the laws that suit their culture. The laws of this nation seem to be acceptable to the citizens of this nation.
Surely that’s the point. Yes, it seems to us to be a unduly harsh sentence, but it’s not our decision, or, our country, or, our culture.
[/QUOTE]
So their ability to ban opinions they don’t like means that we here in the US are not able to express our displeasure? I don’t like their draconian control of the press. I think our system is better. I respect their system and beliefs (they are a sovereign nation, after all) but please don’t tell me that I am required to think that their laws are right or proper in order to “be respectful.”
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