In a typical divorce one or both decide to call it quits. But in this case it is the diehard Thaksin supporters that want nothing to do with the Red Shirts as guilt by association is starting to set in.
Drive around Bangkok in the area where the Red Shirts rampaged, and you will see burnt out building shells either waiting for demolition or rebuilding. With each glimpse of the destruction caused by the Red Shirts, a bit of face is lost by the nonviolent Thais who chose to wear a Red Shirt.
As it would be the media does not really divide the Red Shirts into groups unless it is the topic of the story. Because of that all Red Shirts are suffering the same shame as they are lumped together. It is because of this shame and stigmatization they want to be rid of the Red Shirts but keep Thaksin.
This leaves Thaksin with a bit of a dilemma, dump the Red Shirts so he can maintain his supporter base, or get a new can of red paint and continue. The answer becomes more obvious in that the Red Shirts make front page news more or less around the planet and not for good reasons, they simply have become a legal and political liability. The association is too vivid. And with more than 1 YouTube with Thaksin wearing a red shirt cheering them and encouraging violence in and just before the April 2009 Red Shirt riots, saying he is not involved is like saying the sun is not hot or water is not wet.
This also will weigh on his ability to stay in front of the law and not get arrested. So as it would seem for Thaksin, the Red Shirts will follow the same path as a used condom. That means the Red Shirt leaders will be left to fend for themselves as Thaksin finds or creates another group that is not connected to the Red Shirts in anyway.
This is classic Thaksin to use people then discard them once they are spent and useless to him. He has done it countless times before, and will continue to do so until he is finally stopped one way or the other.
That also means don’t be fooled by thinking Thaksin is concerned about the face of his Red Shirt supporters and their stigmatism when they see the damage around Bangkok and other parts of Thailand, he would only divorce the Red Shirts if it was for his personal good. So any coincidental changes that may help the Red Shirt supporters are just that…. coincidental.
