For a long while I had a Thai FB friend who I admired & who seemed quite progressive. Then she defended the military junta for bringing law & order to Thailand. That scary revelation was soon followed by her support for the junta refusing to send out search & rescue operations for the 25,000 Rohingya adrift in the Andaman Sea & its refusal to accept Rohingya refugees. Some political differences go bone deep.

Now she protests my post about the death of King Bhumibol, claiming he was beloved by ‘his people” & that my post was insulting & ill-mannered because he’s not as bad as Betty Windsor. When it comes to feudal moochocracy, the only comparisons are invidious so don’t give me that business.

The obituary I posted was not by me but by a Thai political activist who had to flee the country to avoid prosecution for demeaning & insulting the old boy. Which affections for the guy are real & which feigned are hard to distinguish when snarling in his direction can get you arrested.

One thing you learn on FB: some friendships were never meant to be. Now I understand why that guy dumped me in college for making fun of Hubert Humphrey. Who is Hubert you ask? A corrupt politician not unlike old Bhumibol politically.