The Sound of Silence

This morning, I woke up to an eerie silence. The usually busy road on which my apartment is located was empty. The skytrain which runs above it, had stopped their service since yesterday. No one walked on the roads.

The police had closed of a number of roads for safety's sake and they were right to do so. Last night, the anti-government side (either protestors or is it a third party terrorist?) used guns and fired bombs. They burnt rubber tires sending black smoke billowing into the air. And all this, the red shirts say, is a "peaceful demonstration." I just wonder how they can say its "peaceful" if they are in possession of firearms? The logic bewilders me.

Never-ending rounds of military bombs are being used on the authorities. Illegal trades of military weapons obviously exist and we must stop it. It reminds me of all those deals we see in action movies and on the news. It is a reality. There are those gaining from the disruption.

Confrontations happened in a number of spots throughout Bangkok and one of the deadliest one is just a block away from where I live.

As a result, I have been held hostage in my room since yesterday evening, not daring to go out for fear of getting hit by a passing bullet. I dare not even walk out to the balcony for fear I might be thought of as a sniper. I now better understand how it must be like to live in war zone areas.

I always wondered about civil wars. We learn about it in school, we hear about it on the news, but it never really hits you until you really witness one. Thailand is not yet in a state of civil war, but if we don't end this fighting soon, it could blow into one. The thought frightens me.

Differences of opinions, influenced by money and promise of power is leading my country into disaster. Power that is useless once you are dead. Lies can be said and spoken, group psychology can induce a following if you know how to talk. Just like those mass cult suicides we sometimes here about in the US. Followers are secluded and derived of news and information from other sources. They believe what they are told.

When listening to foreign media, the first reaction is always that the government is "wrong" to use force. Negotiation should be the solution. It is all so idealistic and the different organizations are expressing their concern, but reality isn't that simple.

Negotiation has been tried and tested. The government has negotiated throughout the entire two months of the protest. Offers of Parliament dissolution with a new election in November was even offered, but like a spoiled child, the anti-government leaders say it isn't enough. Once they get the candy they want, they then require more candy for them to be satisfied. Their list of requirements seems to be getting longer.

Spoiled and emotional children are not liked, especially in large groups. We should send them off to boarding school.

I suppose tomorrow I shall once again awake to the sound of silence. Abnormal Silence. Intermittently disturbed by the sound of ambulances rushing by. I pray and hope that it will all end tomorrow.

For the first time, I am preferring noise to this eerie silence.