a reply to:
chiroy
Let's see, here are some answers to your questions...
1.) In a word; Asian culture works differently than western culture, but the official answer is, out of respect for those who had not been rescued
yet. It was actually a good move on the part of the Thai's, I thought; they weren't focusing on any one individual but rather the successful
completion of getting them ALL out. The increment of "who" got out first didn't matter as much as the overall effort. Unlike western culture, Asian
culture is far less ME oriented.
2.) Like #1 above, the Thai's did an exceptional job managing the media and public perception. By focusing on the first group to be rescued would
have diminished some of the focus on the overall mission. The Chilean miner rescue is a great example of how NOT to manage the media. By the time
the last miner was out there were already 100's of stories with interviews of family members, the media was completely out of control and ultimately
the miners themselves suffered as a result. Like those being rescued, the families also needed psychological assistance dealing with what had taken
place, so the Thai's just took a very careful approach re-integrating the families with the kids (unlike in Chile with the miners).
3.) There
were pictures of those being rescued! Just not up close and personal (in your face) pictures...and that's how it should be. Again,
Asian culture is not about the individual, but rather the greater whole. Not everyone in the world has a Twatter and Failbook account. You see, much
of the western world needs instant gratification and expects 24x7 non-stop coverage of everything. Just look how the media had every single one of
those boys pictures plastered all over everything. Imagine the
field circus day they would have had with pictures of some exhausted,
possibly sedated, kid on a stretcher mumbling incoherently with 45 network news cameras stuck in his face. Thai's got it right on this count too.
They controlled every single aspect of the media.
4.) (see #3 above). The Thai's got this 100% right. They 100% controlled the media from the beginning. When the actual rescue began they pushed the
media back and kept them back. The media are vultures, and the famous Don Henley hit song "
Dirty Laundry" captures it perfectly. The media
doesn't CARE about anything or anyone, they just want sensationalism, blood and gore. That's not what Thailand wanted plastered across everyone's
living room. They were determined to succeed and wanted that to be the image the world saw...and that's just what they got. Thailand for the WIN on
this one.
5.)Probably a little different explanation here. Keeping the boys from watching TV is likely a good psychological move for their future health. Thai
officials (likely on recommendations from others as well) want to let the current news cycle to die down a bit. They didn't want the boys watching TV
because what they would see would likely be news stories about their rescue; not a healthy thing for the rescued boys to be dwelling on shortly after
being rescued.
One other important medical reason is, don't forget; the boys have been in pitch black darkness for weeks. Suddenly coming out into the daylight and
immediately watching TV is probably the worst thing you could do. This, for two reasons. First, in the dark your eyes and not ready for that kind of
intensity, and secondly, their brains had been deprived of sensory input for weeks also. TV is sensory overload (intentionally by design), the exact
opposite of what you would want medically and psychologically.
5a.) No "cloak & dagger" at all. Just a very well executed rescue operation and absolute control over the (out of control) media. Nothing to see
here, just 12 innocent boys and their coach successfully rescued by a bunch of heroic rescuers. And this is just exactly how this whole operation
should be perceived, because that's what happened.
5b.) Chilean miners - The media circus surrounding the Chilean miner rescue is probably a text book lesson in how NOT to manage the media. The media
went crazy over that incident, and the miners and their families suffered in the long term as a result. Mistakes too many to mention were made by
authorities relating to the media. There were TONS of lessons-learned with that incident, and most of these lessons were 'mistakes to NEVER make
again'. Even before the last miners were rescued there were already fights brewing over book and movie deals. It was crazy, and it was disgusting!
Here this massive international rescue effort had just taken place and people were already bickering about petty things. It was a shame, but more
importantly it was a giant flashing neon sign about how NOT to do it. NEVER AGAIN.
edit on 7/11/2018 by Flyingclaydisk because: (no reason given)