Great moments in humility


Here is a photo of the king and queen of Thailand going by public transport to the inauguration of a new subway station, as part of a charm offensive to show that they are ordinary folk. There is something not quite right about the photo but I can’t put my finger on it.

Comments

  1. says

    They didn’t put bags on the seats beside them to ensure nobody sits there.

    (I don’t know what offends me more, the carpet or the people made to sit on the floor so they are lower than those two.)

  2. Rob Grigjanis says

    Marcus @1:

    That guy sure did a good job of coming out of a particular uterus!

    So did you and me. White, straight, cis male, in countries which readily gave us educational and job opportunities. I don’t see anything less ridiculous about that.

  3. jrkrideau says

    IIRC a Thai princess once drownd because it was illegal to touch a member of the royal family.

  4. Pierce R. Butler says

    There is something not quite right about the photo …

    Neither one of the alleged royals is wearing a crown!

  5. John Morales says

    Rob, speaking about cluelessness, do people bow and scrape and tug their forelocks and abase themselves in your presence?

    After all, you are white, straight, cis male, in a country which readily gave you educational and job opportunities.

    So, same thing, right?

  6. Who Cares says

    There is something not quite right about the photo but I can’t put my finger on it.

    It is the carpet, someone managed to sneak a car without the entire floor being carpeted through quality assurance.

    All joking aside the deference given them is a bit, how do you say, overwhelming? Do they select people going photo ops like this to insure that even if they sit down won’t stick out above them?

    I rather have a royal like the Dutch have. Thinks nothing of just hopping onto the metro during a visit to one of the dutch cities, link to short YouTube movie.
    Couldn’t find the image I was looking for though, where that kid in the yellow shirt was standing behind the prince/king inside the protective bubble of security people.

  7. Bruce says

    Somehow, the king reminds me of the character Moses, who wrote in one of his five books of the Torah that he was the humblest man of all the Earth, above all else.

  8. Ketil Tveiten says

    1) There are NO ordinary people present, and no sign that this is in fact a train in normal use that’s going somewhere;
    2) carpeted floor;
    3) extra carpet in front of the royal couple;
    4) extra cushion for the royal buttocks;
    5) everyone else sitting on the floor.

    They clearly haven’t got what it takes to do the just-like-normal-people schtick, but for a very successful example look at the Norwegian royals, they are pretty good at it. Here’s king Olav taking the tram in 1973 during the oil crisis: https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/76fkxb/king_olav_v_of_norway_on_the_tram_1973/

  9. efogoto says

    @jkrideau 5: Wiki says no, the boatmen dove in after her and her daughter, then carried them to another boat -- but I heard the “they couldn’t be touched and so they drowned” story while I was in Thailand.

  10. komarov says

    I’d say what’s missing from the proper mass transit experience is the paper ads, scuff-marks on every single surface and the odd bit of graffiti. Oh, and the masses, of course. I half-expect there’s a follow-up interview somewhere that has the royal couple saying it was “very nice” and that they have no idea what people are on about when they complain about uncomfortable or crowded trains.

  11. says

    There’s nothing less majestic than “lèse majesté” laws.

    I’m actually surprised Cheetolini didn’t try to enact “lèse majesté”, to make jokes and insults illegal. Maybe he was waiting until after the election.

  12. says

    @Intransitive
    Only because he doesn’t care enough about the law to try. He has, however, suggested that reporters who write stories he doesn’t like should be imprisoned or killed. So there’s that.

  13. Rob Grigjanis says

    John @10: Having a slow day, are we? You’re once again reduced to pointing out that two different things which have much in common are still, in fact, different. Brilliant. Did you get your philosophy degree at the University of Wallabaloo?

  14. mnb0 says

    @11 WhoC: “Do they select people going photo ops like this to insure that even if they sit down won’t stick out above them?”
    This is/was the norm in several East-Asian countries. I happen to know because both my ex-wife and my current partner are Surinamese-Javanese.

  15. jrkrideau says

    @ 14 efogoto

    Thanks

    @ 15 komarov

    I’d say what’s missing from the proper mass transit experience is the paper ads, scuff-marks on every single surface and the odd bit of graffiti.

    I think that is more a US subway experience though I have never been in Thailand. Toronto Subway and Montréal Metro are not like that. And here are some pictures of the Stockholm Metro

  16. John Morales says

    In the news: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/18/over-10000-pro-democracy-protesters-march-on-thai-police-hq

    The pro-democracy protest movement is one of the biggest challenges facing the Thai establishment in living memory. Protest leaders have shocked the country by demanding reforms to the monarchy, an institution long considered beyond direct, public criticism. They believe its powers should be curbed, and that it should no longer be protected by harsh defamation laws.

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