Doctors, lawyers, accounts and journalists?

I was listening to BBC Radio 4 today and caught part of a political debate about education, jobs and the widening social divide in British society. Why was it, one panellist asked, that the income gap between doctors, lawyers, accounts and journalists and the rest of the people was wider than it had ever been in the last 40 years. Doctors, lawyers, accountants one can understand in this context, but journalists?

That definitely bought a smile to my face.

Journalism is hardly an elegant profession in our part of the world. When I first became a journalist, a rather senior telco industry figure I happened to know personally reacted if I had lost my mind. He said that it was the lowest of the low and that perhaps I should do something real that could support myself such as becoming an investment banker. Of course, this was before the recent international financial crisis that has left investment bankers replacing us journalists on the bottom rung of the social ladder.

Journalist pay is, decent. Far less than what I would expect working for a major IT multinational but perhaps on the higher end of typical for indigenous businesses. However, money is not all and it is the way that journalists are treated in Thai society that surprised me on many an occasion.

Journalists are not so much known for their elegance, but rather for their blunt persistence, doggedness and, sadly, ego and ability to crush people just because they looked the wrong way. Well, at least that is what I was told for journalists of the previous generation. Strong libel laws were needed because in yesteryear, an editor with a grudge would destroy someone just because he could do it. But while I am not advocating a black tie approach to interviewing people, some class would be welcomed in an industry where our poor corporations spend humongous amounts of money on PR only to be met with scuffy journos in scruffy jeans and loose fitting t-shirts with no sense of style anywhere to be seen.

One example was when I was invited to a polo match at a very privileged resort around Pattaya, the kind where large hats were necessary and only the poshest of cars could get a half decent parking space. As I registered and left my namecard, the socialite behind me said in a very loud voice, "Aren't the journalists supposed to register and eat somewhere else, as in not with us?" He pretended to be talking to his bimbo of a girlfriend but of course, the comment was meant to put me in my place.

I ignored him and in a way I understood him. Journalism is such a thankless job in Thailand, both in terms of money or social status. There is an old saying that we are the forth caste of a three caste system, but no, in real life that is not the case. Superstars and celebrities have much more influence on what society thinks than newspapermen. Why that is is a matter for exploration at a future date.

Perhaps the best analogy for journalists is that of police. Hated, despised and something people just have to put up with, just like pigeons and cockroaches. There is fear if not much respect. Getting away with traffic tickets by saying I am a journalist can be done easily and implicitly with a newspaper parking logo in the windscreen. Sad, but true. People do not want to mess with us not because of respect, but just because they fear they will mess with the wrong circle and end up regretting it.

But, listening to the BBC, I reflected on the moments of hope and pride I had as a reporter. The corruption cases on the smart ID card project, more corruption cases on the satellite contract and the genuine new pieces of new news such as the WiMAX channel bonding protocol bug that was discovered and fixed right here in Thailand (by an Indian student, but let's not be racist). Perhaps hope was the wrong word, but rather it should be aspiration to one day be mentioned in such a sentence here at home.

Writing is a profession and it takes skill, it is an artform. Why do people admire singers who these days are all but prefabricated yet overlook the skill of transforming thoughts into letters and words in a piece of paper that can take the reader's attention and imagination and take him on a trip? Why should we not be acknowledged not for our power, as power is but temporal and corrupts, but as alchemists of words.

Why can we not be put in the same high esteem as other professions such as bankers (well, perhaps not bankers right now), lawyers, accountants and engineers?

Whether it happens or not, it is a goal that we as journalists would do well to aim for and try.

It's Swine flu and it's going to be bad.

First it was Swine Flu, but the pig farmers complained so it was renamed Mexican flu. Then the diplomats thought it would be bad for foreign relations so it was renamed the new 2009 flu. But along the way there is so much spin going on that it could be spun into a surgical mask to protect people against flu.

Only that would not work either. Surgical face masks are not designed to protect against infection from swine flu influenza (yes, that is what most of the world except Thailand calls it) or other airbourne diseases as when someone inhales, a lot of air is taken in from the sides. It may well protect against some influenza carrying droplets from being coughed or sneezed straight in your face, but that is just about it. Viruses can stay airbourne in water droplets for hours after someone has sneezed in a room, or a train for that matter.

The UK recommends FFP3 masks which have a tight seal around the contact with the face. They even go so far as to recommend a clean shave with no facial hair to ensure no leakage. That would be bad news for strict Muslims, or maybe Influenza is a secret weapon from the west designed to wipe out Islamic health workers.

Meanwhile, back in the land of Paraside (Thailand), Public Heath Minister Wittaya Kaew-Paradise (yes, that really is his name) has reacted to the panic buying and profit mongering (isn't capitalism great?) that, combined with ignorance, had driven the price of the surgical masks up to around 8 Baht, by by promising a budget "blue-flag" surgical mask for sale for 5 Baht.

Yes, instead of letting the evil capitalists feed on the ignorant masses to the tune of 800 percent profit, our benevolent leaders are now guaranteeing us peace of mind, and little else, for a mere 500 percent mark-up.

Ignorance is a bliss, so they say, but in this case it might prove deadly. Letting the ignorant masses have peace of mind might not be that horrendous an idea, but letting healthcare professionals, the doctors and nurses, go around without proper respirator masks could render Thailand without any healthy front line healthcare professionals when things really turn bad.

Thailand might not be rich enough to buy FFP3 masks for every single voter (yes, that is probably how politicians think), but to withhold that information from the public and keep everyone in the dark just to give an illusion of protection is at best reckless, at worst a recipie for a rather large number of dead people and perhaps even social unrest.

That said, the NHS does recommend the use of surgical masks, but not on the healthy. Rather it is to be given to those who think they may be ill to keep the virus in and keeping their coughs from spewing out the little piglets into the air.

Moving on, the other problem that Thailand has is this obsession with being "normal". Reports have been coming in of people being refused boarding buses and taxis if a mask is worn. Yes, of course, anyone protecting themselves is scare mongering so we should all pretend nothing is happening and all get infected.

What is wrong with being normal in an abnormal society? There is a Thai saying that if you enter the land of people with squint eyes, one must also squint. But is that right? Is that sustainable an attitude for our society to adopt in the long run? People who say the uncomfortable truth are condemned. Those who stand up for the truth are villified. Those who give us sugar coated lies get red shirts and promises that every province He speaks in will be the most developed province in Thailand if He comes back.