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Global Culture, Local Cultures, and the Internet 311
government’s way of serve the people nowaday? How much
longer those jerk will be still incharge the of goverment? 3
“Cow” is English, and “Kwai” is a Thai word meaning “water buf-
falo.” In Thai language, to call someone a cow or a buffalo means
that he or she is stupid. This kind of venting of emotion is common
in SCT. Here one can find that flaming the government and politi-
cians is among the most favorite pastimes. The more virulent the at-
tack, the higher “status” the attacker seems to possess in the group.
Tirachart’s post here is also interesting in that it presupposes some
cultural background in order to understand it fully. Without the
knowledge that Thais perceive bovines to be very stupid, non-Thais
have to rely on contexts to guess the meaning, but sometimes this is
quite difficult.
In fact, comparing the politicians with animals is rather com-
mon. Commenting on an earlier post by Sanpawat Kantabutra, one
calling himself “Aitui” writes:
On 17 Oct 1997 01:18:35 GMT, sanpawat@c4.cs.tufts.edu
(Sanpawat Kantabutra) wrote:
>I believe so. It will take about 25-30 years for younger
generation
>like us will be in major positions in the government and
other state
>organizations. I think the new generation is better than the
old one
>in terms of ... Well, almost everything. Khun Anand also
said that it
>is the time for younger generations to run Thailand. 25-30
years are
>worth-while.
>We dun need 25-30 years...just kill those fucking heas then
we will have a much better tomorrow ! 4
This is more of an expression of anger than a deliberation. However,
the rationale behind it is clear. Sanpawat comments that the next
generations of Thais would be more qualified and more responsible
than the present one, presumably due to better education and more