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#Me #PDRC #Protest

In this ‘Pictures-or-it-didn’t happen’ era, a ‘Selfie’ seems to be the greatest evidence that provides people in the online world proof that you have joined in a ‘popular’ movement.

As a Thai myself, I have observed that Thai people love taking photos of themselves, anywhere, anytime. As with the case of the recent political upheaval in Thailand, quite some protestors involved in the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), evolved from ‘Whistle Blower’ movement in mid November 2013, cause – to refute the governments – were seen engaging in acts of taking selfies.

Although many sources imply that the popularity of selfies is just an annoying cyber culture, I feel that this is the easiest way for people across sections of society to pin themselves onto the timeline of history, with their own points of view. The ‘selfie’ phenomenon here is proving that Thailand has a very ‘unique’ protest style that differs from other nations in the world.

Moreover, using selected props, scenes, and poses, they can portray themselves to be anyone they want to be: heroes, fighters, devotees, ‘khon dee’ (as re-iterated by the PDRC leader to mean ‘good people’ in Thai).

After-all, action in the Internet world may be more important than in the real world.