In Thailand, protesters have been demonstrating against the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is viewed by many as representing the interests of the country’s aristocracy and military elite. Mass “Red Shirt” demonstrations have been ongoing for the past week, with a peak 100,000 of mostly poor and rural protesters clamoring for the government to call elections.
And since old-fashioned protest sings and slogan chanting didn’t appear to be working, on Tuesday, they brought out the blood.
After drawing blood from thousands of protesters and storing it in plastic jugs, the crowd emptied gallons upon gallons of blood onto the gates of Vejjajiva’s office and headquarters. The New York Times reports (here):
The protesters held up the containers of blood like offerings to an angry god before pouring them out. Clumps of coagulated blood clung to the pavement. A Brahmin walked barefoot through the foamy red pools and performed a ceremony. A soldier in full riot gear fainted.
Just reading this almost makes me faint. Then again, I faint when I go to the eye doctor.
Even though the mental imagery of all this coagulated human gore evokes a squeamishness unrivaled by anything I’ve ever encountered in a doctor’s office, I really must admire the symbolism. “The blood of the common people is mixing together to fight for democracy,” says one of the Red Shirt leaders here. Plus, apparently the blood also conveniently doubles as a black magic curse on the government!
Note to American Tea Partiers: Time to step up your protest tactics a notch. Your rallies with your Revolutionary-era garb and your sloganized signs (“It’s the Marxists, Stupid!” “Rush Is Right!” “Public Schools: Leftist Re-Education Camps”) are pretty batshit, but they just aren’t as cutting-edge crazy-angry as painting government property with your own blood.
