Just a few years ago, I was standing on Silom, where the skywalk from the BTS station meets the MRT. I watched thousands of protesters, yelling and chanting and slapping plastic noisemakers. You know why it seems like it wasn't so long ago?
This morning on my way to work, I was in the same place, witnessing an extremely similar thing. Protesters yelled, and chanted and slapped. Apparently things really haven't changed much during the past few years.
I've written a few of these Editor's notes, trying to reassure our readers that everything would be fine and there wasn't anything to worry about. I'm not going to write another one of those Editor's Notes this time. The fact of the matter is that none of us know how all of this will work out this time.
We all know from experience that everybody who's yelling and chanting and slapping out on the streets right now could be home by this evening. We also know that it's just as likely that they'll be there a month or two from now.
They may take over the airport. They may take over a major intersection and refuse to leave. They may burn tires in the streets. They may light fires in malls. They may shoot at each other. They may launch grenades.
We know that all of these things and more are possible because we've all seen them happen in the recent past. There's no ruling out the likelihood that they'll happen again.
The truth is that right now, we don't know what's next. All we can do is try to stay away from the problem areas and stay out of trouble.
Remember that change does sometimes happen, and that sometimes change only happens when people take to the streets and demand it. Protest can be a legitimate way to change politics.
But it can also be dangerous and scary, so keep your heads down.