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Published on April 23, 2008

The only downside was that he didn't get his "egg" cracked against the windshield.

Driving a brand-new car says to me that this is a typical Thai tradition of giving boys anything they want, except common sense and decency. The kid will probably be driving (again illegally) within a month or less, and maybe this time he'll kill someone.

After living here in small villages and bigger cities, I've noticed the trend that girls are taught responsibility and are made to contribute to the family, while boys run wild and don't answer to anyone. My Thai wife says this goes back to the time when boys were expected to take care of the family later in life, when the parents got older. But from what I've seen, just the opposite is occurring. Without women in this country, it would collapse, at least economically. I'd like some feedback from Thais about this.

It's my opinion that in the older days, this reliance on boys eventually running the family was true, but this tradition, at least in what I've seen, is outdated. I've seen families slugging out 18-hour days to send their sons to universities only to have them flunk out due to excessive partying - there's three on my soi alone - while the daughters work tirelessly and contribute a lot more to the family as a whole.

And when allowed a higher education, girls make sure their parents' hard-earned baht is not wasted.

Chris Holden

Krabi

Dishonourable discharge means no reinstatement

We see that Chalerm is in the process of having his son reinstated into the Army. This is interesting, because the son's discharge from the Army was dishonourable; he was a deserter. Why isn't he in a military prison? Being a military deserter is a very serious offence.

Tom Klong II

Bangkok

Superstores should watch their step with the press

If Tesco has been advised to take legal action against the press, it has been advised poorly. Look at the recent political history of our country to see the power that the free press holds here. Tesco will likely see a backlash if it continues to give reporters a hard time.

Support your local businesses.

Local merchant

Bangkok

The Catholic Church is hardly a moral beacon

Re: "Pope's address to the UN underlines basic rights", Letters, April 22.

Paul Kokoski's letter was interesting, but his papal worship is a bit over the top. It must be remembered that much of papal history has been opposed to basic freedoms and values of all kinds. For example, Pope Urban II ordered European armies (the Crusaders) to attack Muslims in the Holy Lands, which caused - and still causes - problems between Islam and Christianity. Many Protestant saints living in predominantly Catholic communities during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries were evicted from their homes, and sometimes murdered, with the approval of the Catholic Church. In just one case, 20,000 Protestants were murdered in one day in Paris, France, in 1572 (Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre). And ask any Jew about where the Catholic Church was during the Holocaust.

Up until 1967, the Catholic Church proscribed Protestant literature in parts of Italy. And this pope, like his predecessor, constantly denounces the work of Protestant missionaries in Catholic nations.

Finally, there is the Catholic Church's insane stance against contraception, with the result that some devout Catholic nations, such as the Philippines and Mexico, are dangerously over-populated.

When this current pope, Benedict XVI, talks about freedom and values, it should be taken with a titanic chunk of salt.

CM Phillips

Nonthaburi

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