Everything is grey in Thailand, and even a TV commercial that seeks to address our problems is no exception. The controversial "Thailand, we apologise" ad tries to say many things to the public, but its creators have learned a lesson or two themselves. Like journalists, commentators or analysts before them, they have found out that they couldn't simply pinpoint what's wrong in this country and expect to stay aloof.
I'm all for freedom of expression, but the "Don't ban it" bandwagon may have missed a few things. The ad attempts to speak the truth, but due to limitations it fails to convey a complete truth. And in Thailand, uttering an incomplete truth is sometimes no better than saying nothing at all, if not worse.
What surprises me is the fact that the red shirts haven't alrerady started calling for the heads of those who created the ad. For a political movement that was always capable of detecting the slightest hint of injustice before it even occurred, how did one big glaring question manage to slip from under its nose? Three seconds of footage of rifle-waving soldiers against repeated scenes of fire, smoke and Central World wreckage - that is anything but a good balance.
It did not look entirely like a government-sponsored advertisement, but if I were a red shirt, it would be as close to a state commercial as it was going to get. The military must be happy that no footage of troops firing assault rifles, or dead people, were shown, and the yellow shirts should also be content with minimum exposure in the ad. No need to say who has been most negatively affected by the commercial.
The theme - that everyone is to blame - is good, though. Despite the disparities, this motherland has given more than it has taken as far as everyone should be concerned. Human flaws have threatened to tear apart the nation, and what is more proper than to say we all are sorry and will try to start anew? The ad scores big on this, but for the rest of its statement, I'm not quite sure.
Don't get me wrong. I like the ad. I really do. That, however, is the problem I'm having with it. Experience tells me that if I like a political message, it could mean that half the country may be feeling repelled by it. Last week a Channel 3 sit-com, "Pen Tor", offered what seemed to me a feel-good episode featuring life affected by curfew and shooting in city neighbourhoods. But then again, millions of others may not feel so good about it.
I'm not suggesting we ignore everything that we like, or everything that seems "spot-on" to us. All I'm saying is, we are living a very difficult political life, and whatever we see has many layers of values.
Perhaps the broadcast values of the ad should be judged after certain adjustments. Imagine if 15 seconds of footage of soldiers advancing and firing rifles were included. Imagine if photos of dead people with bullet wounds were put in. Imagine if a "People have died here" red-shirt sign had been inserted. Maybe after that, we should decide if the commercial should be aired or not.
The ad suggests everyone has been wrong, but perhaps the issue confronting us is that the chance to be right has been quite limited. In Thai politics, nobody has been able to really strike a balance or, to be fair, been allowed to strike a balance. Reconciliation panels have been taunted, and we have seen what was supposed to be a centrist movement, the multi-coloured shirts, turn into a partisan force overnight.
This doesn't mean the likes of the advert have no place in the current environment of cutthroat politics. We need everything we've got to dig ourselves out of this hole. Question is, how we can mobilise valuable resources the right way so we won't get lost in a deep tunnel. Thais can do everything the ad-makers asked in the commercial and more. Chief among them is not the inability to say "sorry", but perhaps the misguided belief that it's others who should say it.