Thai Terrorists
Posted by Stuart at 11:03 AM on June 13, 2003My parents are currently on a vacation. so hopefully they haven't been paying attention to the news. And if they have, hopefully they haven't seen the story about the terrorist arrests in Thailand. I am guessing they haven't, since I haven't received any emails from them telling me to be careful.
There are a lot of Muslim people in Thailand, especially in the southern provinces near the Malaysian border. My parents (my mother especially) has been very worried that I will be a victim of someone wanting to take Bali-style revenge on Americans. I have never really been afraid of that, but I still think about it now and then. Denial perhaps?
But now that some suspected terrorists have been caught, does that make me feel better because they were caught, or worse because they existed in the first place?
Exactly. What can you do? Stay inside your house all day? All kinds of bad things can happen to you on any particular day, so I agree, not worrying too much is a good idea.
The pundits, whatever they are keep saying, if you change your habits or your way of doing things because of the terrorists, they've won. Acceptance of the fact that they're out there is probably a good start to just being that much more aware. The fact that they're being caught has to reflect creditably on the Police and counter terrorism authorities, wherever they're caught. These days when we say "take care" we mean it.
Death, the most dreaded of all evils, is therefore of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist. - Epicurus.
It's Africa hot there. Is it lying on the wunderground link...88F at 8:30pm?
Peace.
Hey Buzz. Nice quote! Thanks for sharing.
And no, the temperature reading is not a lie -- it really IS Africa Hot here. Plus they don't even mention the humidity, which makes it much worse than "just 88". This is my first summer in Thailand and it has been downright brutal at times. I am really looking forward to the upcoming rainy season. I might get wet, but at least I will be a little cooler.
Morrie,
I agree. It is good to be aware of the dangers and evils in life (including, as Buzz said, death) but to not be ruled by the fear that they might feed.
In a related story this weekend, a Thai man was caught trying to sell radioactive material to be used to manufacture a "dirty bomb." I am actually impressed that the "bad guys" in these cases were caught. It gives me a little more faith in the Thai system and in international cooperation.
Should I be afraid of that too? The newspaper reported that the three department stores on Sukhumvit road are the target too. It made me think about Emporium, Siam Discovery and MBK. So my office is on the target area. But I've never thought about the worse thing happening in Thailand, really. And I think we are all the target. So don't worry too much.