Baghdad is quiet

We have just had our second night of curfew. There are two more to go. Bangkok is still on holiday. All seems quiet but nothing has returned to normal - what is normal after this?

The military are clearing up and making Bangkok secure - whatever that entails? Many shops and malls remain closed. The 7-Elevens are packed with people buying up supplies bigtime. Skytrain and the underground remain closed. Roads remain closed and buses are taking very funny routes. The mess on the streets is still waiting to be cleaned up.

I hear people are in shock and I suspect there is truth in that. There is also a sense of what will happen next as the protest may have been stopped but the issues have not been tackled. The issues it would seem are now deeper and the divide wider.

For now, it is good just to stand back. In the not too distant future, the issues need to be honestly named and people need to face up to them. It can no longer be just naming the two sides as pro-Thaksin and anti-Thaksin. That takes one into talk that is too simplistic and not helpful. The issues are much more complex, much more in tune with people's reality. They speak of a divide in a society where there is a huge gap between
the powerful and the powerless;
the haves and have nots.

We may be in shock in Bangkok but that may lead to a needed change in the local mindset so that the citizens of Thailand can start facing up to the issues and not leave it in the hands of corrupt and self-seeking leaders of all sides. So quiet time and a bit of shock may not be a bad thing.