I was once a very liberal Thai person, but as I grow older, I suddenly feel that there’s no need to be liberal, for Thais are liberal enough. This is why I find myself suddenly siding with people I once considered dinosaurs. Perhaps, wisdom does come with age and the so-called dinosaurs at the Culture Ministry might be wiser than we think, after all.

Even after reading a brilliantly argued article on Thai-ness by William J. Klausner (cited below), I still found myself considering whether a drive to conserve Thai nicknames might be necessary. To look at whether we should be as drastic as to ask Thais to use Thai nicknames, we might have to look slightly deeper into the subject of many Thais’ object of affection.

Thais idolise Westerners. To many Thais, they are gods from foreign lands who are richer, better looking and arguably more intelligent. Most of us keenly listen to their advise and offer them far more respect than some actually deserve. Their language, culture, economy, political system, and society, according to some Thais, are so much more desirable than ours.

It’s the same with the Thai language. You will see numerous Thai students come over to the UK and suddenly forget that they’re Thai. It’s almost amazing to see them struggle to find Thai words after less than a year here, and even before their English has improved to an acceptable level. In other words, they become linguistically challenged, unable to speak in their mother tongue as well as failing to speak English properly. Embarrassing really, but to them, as long as they’ve forgotten Thai, they are more Western.

In other words, even if we asked Thais not to use Western nicknames, many would still use it. On the other hand, if we encouraged the use of Western nicknames, Thais would flock like sheep to adopt those Western nicknames. We are currently absorbing Western culture at an alarming rate, and the idolisation of the West which has reached far into even the Thai provinces are partly to blame.

There’s absolutely no harm in enforcing a little, or a lot of, patriotic conservatism in Thailand, because half the country would rush to become citizens of the West, given the opportunity. In my experience, there’s little Thai patriotism or pride left, and I cherish every rare meeting with a Thai who truly loves Thailand.

One of the ways to push the message to a very large group of Thai people is to display extreme conservatism because this is the only way to make some listen. The Culture Ministry, whether intentionally or not, has achieved this through the criticism of the use of foreign nicknames. Those who are proud to be Thai will realise it’s more than about nicknames. Those who aren’t will at least be shamed into feeling that they should perhaps be more patriotic.

Don’t worry, we’ll still have foreign nicknames, too much cleavage, disrespect to elders, and trendy Western-minded Thais who tell us that conservatism and blind patriotism is archaic. But for the sake of Thailand, let a small voice always speak against that, however quietly or loudly.

Also see William J. Klausner’s excellent article on an opposite view:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/10/opinion/opinion_30048359.php