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Stitchawl · 12-03-2013, 09:05 AM

When I lived in Vermont and my parents in Florida heard about a blizzard covering the north-east and several people dying due to storm related problems I would get emergency phone calls. The fact that all the people who were dying were octogenarians trying to shovel their drives didn't enter into their thinking. When we were living in Thailand the last time, and a bomb would go off in southern Thailand (20 hours driving away) they would plead with us to leave. I'd ask them if a bomb went off in L.A. would they think Florida was too dangerously close? Of course, by the same token, when I'd hear about a hurricane off the coast of Florida, I'd be on the phone calling them... even though the hurricane was up in the Florida panhandle and they were down near Miami. On the map it looks soooo close!

Every earthquake in Japan resulted in an e-mail barrage, and you KNOW how my in-box filled when the tsunami hit north of Tokyo (which was also a 12 hour drive from my house.) The world is pretty big but we don't think of it that way, especially these days of instant communication all over the globe.

Perhaps more importantly, it's in Big Media's best interest to keep things as vague as possible to increase market share of ratings. Right now, all the demonstrations are confined to a couple of different blocks inside a huge, sprawling city. You could drive around for days and not be anywhere close. On the other hand, you could also drive right into one of the demonstrations, so it pays to know where NOT to go. The whole city is NOT up in arms. The problems are measured in a few city blocks, not even whole neighborhoods. There are no demonstrations going on anywhere else... right now. We do know that several are planned for other major cities. Chiang Mai is a Red Shirt stronghold, so there certainly will be a demonstration here. But as there is really very little Yellow Shirt politics here, there is almost no one to oppose the demonstration, and it will be confined to a large sports complex outside the city itself. At the worst, I expect traffic jams. But we get them every day now anyway...

I'll keep you posted with information we receive from the embassy each morning and evening. So far, all they are saying is 'keep away from the government building if you see large crowds gathering.' Nothing more.

Stitchawl

12-03-2013, 09:05 AM	#26915
Stitchawl Opsimath Posts: 12,344 Karma: 187123287 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand Device: Sony PRS-650, iPhone 5, Kobo Glo, Sony PRS-350, iPad, Samsung Galaxy	When I lived in Vermont and my parents in Florida heard about a blizzard covering the north-east and several people dying due to storm related problems I would get emergency phone calls. The fact that all the people who were dying were octogenarians trying to shovel their drives didn't enter into their thinking. When we were living in Thailand the last time, and a bomb would go off in southern Thailand (20 hours driving away) they would plead with us to leave. I'd ask them if a bomb went off in L.A. would they think Florida was too dangerously close? Of course, by the same token, when I'd hear about a hurricane off the coast of Florida, I'd be on the phone calling them... even though the hurricane was up in the Florida panhandle and they were down near Miami. On the map it looks soooo close! Every earthquake in Japan resulted in an e-mail barrage, and you KNOW how my in-box filled when the tsunami hit north of Tokyo (which was also a 12 hour drive from my house.) The world is pretty big but we don't think of it that way, especially these days of instant communication all over the globe. Perhaps more importantly, it's in Big Media's best interest to keep things as vague as possible to increase market share of ratings. Right now, all the demonstrations are confined to a couple of different blocks inside a huge, sprawling city. You could drive around for days and not be anywhere close. On the other hand, you could also drive right into one of the demonstrations, so it pays to know where NOT to go. The whole city is NOT up in arms. The problems are measured in a few city blocks, not even whole neighborhoods. There are no demonstrations going on anywhere else... right now. We do know that several are planned for other major cities. Chiang Mai is a Red Shirt stronghold, so there certainly will be a demonstration here. But as there is really very little Yellow Shirt politics here, there is almost no one to oppose the demonstration, and it will be confined to a large sports complex outside the city itself. At the worst, I expect traffic jams. But we get them every day now anyway... I'll keep you posted with information we receive from the embassy each morning and evening. So far, all they are saying is 'keep away from the government building if you see large crowds gathering.' Nothing more. Stitchawl Last edited by Stitchawl; 12-03-2013 at 09:08 AM.