Go ahead, make Her Majesty's day | 25.04.05
The Bangkok Post article that misquotes the queen also misreports her earlier speech. (Yawn) What’s new? Still, I think this is fit to blog partly because it should be of interest to many a gun enthusiast out there:
Earlier this year, the Queen also condemned the perpetrators of violence in the South and raised eyebrows when she wondered aloud if she would have to learn how to shoot a gun.
First, the time was actually late last year, precisely November 16, 2004. More importantly, Her Majesty already knew how to shoot (and very accurately, too, if the rumor is to be believed) and she left nothing to wonder about in her speech as far as firearms are concerned: (from Manager’s transcript)
ข้าพเจ้าก็ได้แต่ปลอบใจ ชวนไปหัดยิงปืนลูกซอง เพื่อป้องกันตัว อาสาเขาก็อยากป้องกันตัวเองได้ ตกลงเขาก็ไปกันทั้งผู้หญิงผู้ชายไปหัดยิงปืนที่ค่ายของนาวิกโยธินที่ อ.เมืองนราธิวาส ผู้หญิงยิงแม่นมาก ซึ่งไม่นึกว่าผู้หญิงที่ดูมีอายุ ยิงได้พั่วๆ ซึ่งเขาก็ภูมิใจว่าสามารถป้องกันตัวเองได้
I can only console [those who live in fear of terrorism] and suggest that they learn to shoot shotguns for self-defense. The Asa [national security volunteers] want to be able to protect themselves, too, so off they go — both men and women — to learn to shoot at the Marines camp in Narathiwat. The women are very good shots. [I] didn’t expect elderly-looking women to be able to go bang, bang, bang like that. They were proud of being able to protect themselves.
ข้าพเจ้าก็คิดว่า ข้าพเจ้ากลับมานี่แล้วก็ ถึงอายุ 72 ก็ตาม ก็เห็นจะฝึกยิงปืนขึ้นมาอีกล่ะ แก่เฒ่าแก่ ก็เอาพวกแก่ๆ นี่ไปหัดยิงปืน ได้แค่ไหนก็แค่นั้น ก็ยังดีกว่าจะต้องให้คนคอยดูแล
I think that, coming back [to Bangkok] this time around [and] despite being 72 years old , it seems I should practice shooting again. Never mind the old age. And [I’ll] take all these old folks to learn to shoot. [One] learns as much as one can. [It’s] better than needing other people to care for you.
[Notice that the word Her Majesty used for herself was “practice”, not “learn”. -Ed.]
And in case anyone missed all that, she made this point again in her very conclusion:
ขอขอบพระคุณทุกท่านที่อุตส่าห์มาฟังในวันนี้ และขอขอบพระคุณท่านนายกรัฐมนตรี และคณะรัฐบาลนะคะ ที่ช่วยกันพยายามแก้ปัญหาอย่างยิ่ง และข้าพเจ้าก็สัญญาว่า ข้าพเจ้า 72 แล้ว จะไปหัดยิงปืนใหม่แล้ว โดยไม่ต้องใส่แว่น ก็ยิงมันไปก็แล้วกัน ขอบพระคุณค่ะ ขอบพระคุณมาก
I thank everybody who came to listen today. And I thank Mr. Prime Minister and the cabinet for helping and trying hard to solve the problem and I promise that [although] I am 72 years old [I] will go practice shooting again. Without wearing glasses, I’ll just shoot it like that. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Would something like this raise eyebrows? Not for anyone who knows anything about the Thai royal family and its history.
Nor would this bad case of misreporting by the self-proclaimed “newspaper you can trust” cause any stir. Those who really know Thailand’s so-called journalism would realize that this sort of error is par for the course and that much, much worse (centuple bogeys?) are common. Those who don’t, on the other hand, will believe anything they see in print without the slightest bit of curiosity as long as it doesn’t go against their prejudices. Unfortunately, virtually all Thais and Thailand-based expats (media correspondents emphatically included) seem to belong to the latter group.
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