A July 3rd Independence Day

Independence Day in the United States falls on the 4th July and is a time to celebrate our independence from the dastardly British. It appears like Independence Day from the same dastardly British for the people in Thailand will fall a day earlier on the calendar.

July 3^rd is Election Day in Thailand and from all the polls I’ve seen it appears that Thailand’s citizens will appropriately boot out there British born and educated tyrant of a Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. He’s been disastrous for Thailand. 

Abhisit the Brit

Also, Thailand will be done with British born and educated Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij. He and his wife, Vorakorn are the epitome of the Thai elite which need to go.  For instance, in a recent Nation article, she said that this year’s political turmoil made her decide to send their children to study in the UK. “I don’t want my kids to grow up seeing barbaric acts,” she said.

British born Korn and his fascist wife Vorakorn

So perhaps a nice civilized British fox hunt would be more appropriate?

Civilized British Fox Hunt

Or maybe they can get an intern job at the British company, Global Technical making those ever so fraudulent the GT200 explosive detection devices which cost the Thai taxpayers millions of baht. 

Fraudulent GT200 Device

And this Parliamentary system of government just isn’t working out very well in Thailand. What’s with an appointed upper house of parliament anyway? How is that democratic? And the leader of the country should be elected directly by the people – like a President – not a Prime Minister.

Then there are the monuments.  Have you ever noticed that the equestrian statue of King George IV in London is very similar in appearance to the equestrian statue of King Rama V in Bangkok?

British and Thai Equestrian Monuments

I find it even stranger that Sondhi Limthongkul and his PAD ilk magically called upon the ancestors of King Rama V by placing used sanitary napkins around that statue while Prince Charles, the descendant of King George IV wanted to be reincarnated as Camilla’s tampon.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike the British. I just don’t think the British way of doing things works very well in Thailand. It’s like mixing oil and water. America is a better fit and we should have done more to help the Red Shirts during last year’s protest and the resulting massacre caused by British made Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Unfortunately, speaking of oil and water, we in the United States were facing a tragedy ourselves at the time and our attention was diverted. The world’s largest oil spill catastrophe was occurring just off our coast.

US Gulf Coast Oil Spill - the other slaughter in 2010

Of course, guess who was responsible for that awful tragedy as well?

British Petroleum!

Abhisit’s Many Hats

A Prime Minister must wear different hats in his/her job.  Abhisit is no exception.  Here are a few of the hats he’s worn since he became PM in December 2008.

Fisherman Abhisit

After a vicious flood in Phattalung province in January 2009, victims there looked toward their government headed by Abhisit for help.  Instead of helping, the government distributed cans of spoiled fish products through the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.  Originally the fish products would not sell so one of these notorious Democratic Party deals were made. The end effect, somebody got wealthier and about 100 flood victims got sick. As a British citizen, Abhisit probably enjoys fish and chips but you can bet he won’t be eating any in Phattalung province.

Skipper Abhisit

On a different jaunty nautical theme, in 2009 ethnic Rohingya boat people from Myanmar were detained along Thailand's southwestern coast, beaten and towed back out to sea and set adrift. Reports from survivors who washed up on India's Andaman islands and northwest Indonesia suggested as many as 550 of the 992 towed out to sea by the Thai military later died. No doubt the Rohingya are poorer and darker skinned than the elite in Thailand’s Democratic Party. Abhisit defended the actions of the Thai military – defending the indefensible.

Pimp Daddy Abhisit

In June 2010, the United States State Department downgraded Thailand’s status on their human trafficking watch list, accusing Abhisit’s government of failing to prevent women from being forced into prostitution. Human trafficking is a terrible crime. But evidently Abhisit doesn’t think so. He promotes it. Why else would he make former Mamasan, Pornthiva Nakasai, his Commerce Minister? I suppose that she is technically linked with commerce as she was running the Poseidon Massage Parlor in Bangkok.

"Scoops" Abhisit

Thailand’s 2010 ranking in press freedom, as ranked by Reporters Without Borders, fell to number 153th in the world. When Abhisit took office in December 2008, Thailand’s ranking was 65^th. In 2009, his first year in office, Abhisit’s fascist policies caused the rankings to plummet to 130^th.  I guess the good news is that he can’t bring the ranking down much lower than 153^rd. There are only 178 countries evaluated. That means that only 25 countries in the world currently have a worse freedom of press ranking than Thailand. Watch out Burma, here comes Thailand.

Storm Trooper Abhisit

In April and May of last year Abhisit used the military to ruthlessly disperse a crowd of mainly peaceful anti-government protesters in Bangkok. Altogether, 91 people died (mostly unarmed protesters and a number of soldiers), while around 2,000 were injured. That was just a warm up. Now he’s goose stepping the army into Cambodia. On August 8 of last year on a People’s Alliance for Democracy, Aphisit announced, “I want to have Preah Vihear.” He also said, “I will not hesitate to use force when it’s time.” The border dispute with Cambodia is seen as another effort by the Abhisit’s minority royalist government to stay in power. And with the Thai election coming up, dozens have been killed and over a hundred wounded.  Nearly 100,000 civilians have fled the fighting.  Ceasefire deals get arranged regularly, only to be quickly broken by troops (usually Thai) opening fire.

Dunce Cap Abhisit

The recent results of the ordinary national educational tests for senior high school students, or O-net (Ordinary National Education Test), is an eye-opener regarding the Thai educational system and its quality of education. About 350,000 senior high students across Thailand took the tests which included 8 basic subjects, including mathematics, science, Thai and English languages, arts and social science. Out of a score of 100 for each subject, the students scored an average of less than 50 in all the 8 subjects. For instance, the average score was 14.99 for math; 19.22 for English; 42.61 for Thai language and 30.90 for science. Abhisit hasn’t done anything to address the quality problem but he has initiated universal education to students through to the end of high school at a cost of nothing – which is exactly what it is worth.

But one hat in particular that Abhisit has worn sums up his policies as Thailand’s Prime Minister:  

The condom hat

He seems suited and very comfortable in that hat.

The PAD Billboard and Free Speech

The free speech police in have been at it again. This time they’ve targeted the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).  According to police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri, the PAD were told to remove their “Vote No” campaign billboard which features animal heads in suits because it was “improper.”

The billboard states, "Don't let these animals into Parliament!"

Either somebody with power was offended or they must have felt that the billboard may hurt the ruling democrat party in power in the upcoming election. For whatever reason, it’s too bad that the Thai Constitution doesn’t actually protect freedom of speech when it is anti-government.

As much as we don't like to admit it, you gotta say, the freedom to bash any government is a unique and beautiful phenomenon... When done with a certain degree of panache!  Those flip flops of Abhisit and Suthep on them were a great example. Unfortunately, those flip flops were no match for governmental Thai jackboots either.  

Admittedly, I’m an ardent free-speecher. And I will always argue the slippery-slope:  if you muzzle free speech, before you know it, we're living in 1984 and Big Brother is picking out our ties.  Maybe Big Thai Brother didn’t like the ties the animals were wearing on the billboard.

I have no problem with people who respond to what they don't agree with.  What I do have a problem with are the people who fail to see the glaring hypocrisy of screaming the words "shut up" into a bullhorn.

Why should even the most repugnant ideas receive the same freedom of expression as more accepted ones? Because freedom of speech should be less a "free marketplace" of ideas than it is a playground.  And the best way to dispense with unpopular ideas is to let them roam free, so they can have their asses kicked up and down the jungle gym by the cool ideas.

We need to let those who repulse us (like the PAD) have their say alongside those whose speeches make us rise to our feet in applause. How else will the shiny pearl of wisdom stick out against the black velvet of stupidity? It's better to just let the PAD keep their billboard up than it is to waste your time and money trying to stop them.  Instead of challenging their right to free speech, use your energy to point out to your children the irony of the violent misanthropes in the pee-stained shirts calling anybody else on this planet an “animal.”

By the way, I don’t know if it’s relevant or not but the pictures on the billboard remind me of those portrayed in the following music video.  

Three Speeches

Comparing the following two videos I sense a similar texture and tone of both the speeches and the cheering mobs. I get the dread sense of the dark clouds of fascism gathering.

Adolf Hitler, German Nazi leader

The Thai billboard says “Hitler is not dead.”

And indeed he is not. Take a look at this clip, or any other clip for that matter, of Sondhi Limthongkul, leader of the P.A.D. yellow shirts.

 OK, I don’t speak Thai very well so I took some liberties in translating Sondhi’s speech for the subtitles.

After two speeches by two delusional fascist fanatics, I can’t bring myself to end this post now.  Instead I will end it with another video. This one is from the 1940 Movie “The Great Dictator.” This speech is one in which we should pay heed to.

The greatness of Charlie Chaplin:

Schulz: Speak - it is our only hope.

The Jewish Barber (Charlie Chaplin's character): "Hope... I'm sorry but I don't want to be an Emperor - that's not my business - I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.

We all want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

The way of life can be free and beautiful.

But we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say "Do not despair".

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish...

Soldiers - don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you - who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder.

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate - only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers - don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty.

In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written "the kingdom of God is within man" - not one man, nor a group of men - but in all men - in you, the people.

You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfill their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfill that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.

Soldiers - in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Look up! Look up! The clouds are lifting - the sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world. A kind new world where men will rise above their hate and brutality.

The soul of man has been given wings - and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow - into the light of hope - into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up. Look up."

My favorite line of this movie wasn’t said by Charlie Chaplin’s character, but by Schulz:

“Speak – it is our only hope.”

Magic Bullets, Magic Ballots, and Magic Mushrooms

I’ve posted before about Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban being a thief, liar, and murderer. Well, I can add complete loon to that list.

A few weeks ago US based Human Rights Watch released their report on the massacre in Bangkok last year. Even though he probably didn’t even bother to read it, Suthep came out with “guns a blazing" (figuratively this time).

He slammed the human rights organization in an interview at the Government House on May 4th.


“That organization should better look into their own country first before, [...] [like] John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Nothing is still clear about that.”- Matichon via Saksith Saiyasombut, Siam Voices


Interesting! Maybe Suthep has his own conspiracy theory as to how JFK was killed. It’s probably similar to his cockamamie story of how so many innocent Thai citizens were killed last year – they ran into the bullets.


There are similarities to the JFK assassination the cold blooded murder of peaceful protesters; for one thing, both tragedies involved snipers. I’m not so sure how JFK could have “run” into two bullets while he was sitting in the back seat of a car but let’s look at the Suthep’s JFK Conspiracy Theory:


From forensic reports, the President was running backwards while sitting in a moving car. He ran into the first bullet which entered his upper back. It penetrated his neck, slightly damaged a spinal vertebra and the top of his right lung, exited his throat nearly centerline just beneath his Adam's apple, then nicked the left side of his suit tie knot. After exiting the President, the bullet was run into by Governor Connally, who was also running backwards as the bullet penetrated his back. This created an oval entry wound, impacted and destroyed four inches of his right, fifth rib bone, and then exited his chest just below his right nipple. That wasn’t the end of it though. After exiting his chest, the bullet was run into by Connally’s right wrist. Then, after exiting his wrist, the bullet was run into by Connally again, this time with his left inner thigh, where the bullet was finally stopped.

THAT’S ONE MAGIC BULLET!!!
In the same interview at the Government House, Suthep also slammed Human Rights Watch for not speaking out against another one of Thailand’s human rights violations.


"[Suthep laments] where that organization [Human Rights Watch] was during the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, when they killed 3,000 people ["War on Drugs"] but hasn’t heard a thing from them."


Human Rights Watch actually did report on Thaksin’s War on Drugs, however Suthep must not have read that report either. This may offer some added insight on Thaksin's drug war - it wasn’t as successful in keeping methamphetamines off the streets as people would've liked.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban
Against the War on Drugs


And speaking of something on drugs: Here's another wacky conspiracy theory about a plot on the Thai monarchy put out in chart form last year by the Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) when Suthep was in charge.

I can't rule out Suthep being in some sort of drug induced stupor when he came up with this chart but whatever his motivation it’s probably the same as what he used to come up with his proposed election ballot.

Fortunately, I understand this was rejected by Abhisit, who came up with his own proposal for an election ballot.

But Abhisit is not in charge either. General Prayuth Chan-ocha is and he is not going to risk his puppet Democrat party losing in the next election. He’s too busy with obtaining kickbacks on his military purchases and goose-stepping into Cambodia for any coup this year.

That’s why he’s proposed the GT200 election ballot.


It’s similar to the GT200 bomb detection device in that it doesn’t work either but it suits the Thai military that way.


It’s no wonder why Suthep is so set against having election monitors in Thailand. The Democrats and their military puppeteers have set new heights when it comes to levels of corruption. And they’ll stop at nothing to stay in power. Thailand needs international election monitors (and stiffer drug laws).

Royal Protocol – A Tale of Two Woodies

The Nielson Company said that an average of 22.7 million viewers at home in the United States watched the royal wedding live on April 29th (between 6 and 7:15 a.m. Eastern daylight time). It amounted to a record ratings day for some television channels.

This has led some to mistakenly believe that Americans accept some role of a monarchy.

I disagree. Americans treat royalty like celebrities and we love celebrities – this explains the success of the television shows “Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice” and “Dancing with the Stars”. Americans also love weddings – and this explains the success of the television shows “Bridal Wars” and “Bridezilla”. So, a celebrity wedding becomes a ratings bonanza in the US. But Americans would never accept a monarchy.

When our republic was first established over 200 years ago it was built on several core beliefs: a strong moral revulsion for the idea of royalty, a look-the-other way acceptance of slavery, and a system where only white male landowners could vote. OK, it took us awhile to get the last two corrected but, the king-queen thing, we definitely knew that was wrong from the start.

Americans get so excited when they meet royalty. But the royal protocol should be offensive to any free humanist. Here’s an excerpt of Thai royal protocol from the Thai Social Etiquette, Ministry of Culture:

“If granted an informal audience, Thai traditional way of crawling on the knees and paying respect to His Majesty with a krap is more suitable. Shoes must not be worn. When approaching His Majesty, krap with the hands raised once and crawl near him at a proper distance, not directly facing him, and make another krap. Then prostrate oneself with hands still pressed together. If His Majesty addresses someone, the person must look up and answer him. When leaving His Majesty’s audience, krap with the hands raised once and crawl backward at a proper distance. Make another krap before standing up.”

My theory is that most royalty are decent folks deep-down-inside decent but I hope at some point they say, “We just feel creepy about other human beings calling us, 'Your Highness'.”

“Your Highness?” Really? It’s just an accident of birth.

We Americans are who we are today because we fought a war to be rid of a monarchy, because we decided we didn’t want to kowtow to some unelected king or queen.

Now it’s not that we don’t disrespect royalty. We’re just not going to put up with lowering ourselves below them or raising them above ourselves. Equality is the name of our game.

For example, 67 year old Alice Frazier showered everyone who showed up at her Marshall Heights home with big, arms-stretched-wide hugs that transferred to others her verve for life. So when Queen Elizabeth II and Barbara Bush popped in for a visit in 1991, Mrs. Frazier did not think it was a big deal when she wrapped her arms around the dignitaries. She did not know -- and friends are not sure she would have cared -- that the queen did not do hugs and that such intimate touching was a serious breach of royal etiquette. 

Ms. Frazier may have started a new American trend of hugging royalty because lately even the President’s wife, Michelle Obama, has been touchy-feely (in a nice and respectful way) with Queen Elizabeth.

Another reason why Americans don’t want to follow protocol may be due to the fact that there are just too many rules to remember. There are pages and pages of royal etiquette rules at the Thai Ministry of Culture’s Thai Social Etiquette link. And even then I don’t think that is an all-inclusive list.

Besides the British Royal Wedding last month, there was another royal television extravaganza, this time in Thailand where Thai celebrity Woody Milintachinda interviewed Princess Chulabhorn. During this interview, there were several lessons I learned about Thai royal protocol. For instance, when invited to dine in front of a Thai princess, one must eat on the floor with the dog and only after the dog has eaten first. This is clearly demonstrated in the following short video clip:

Now, I’m not judging Woody for doing what he’s doing. He can behave that way if he wants to. It’s a free world, except maybe in Thailand where if you don’t behave that way then you go to prison for 15 years. But I think Woody actually loves his Thai royalty and, who knows, maybe Thailand’s royalty loves him too. The Princess did let him share a meal with her pet dog.

But now contrast Woody’s behavior with how a famous American, also named Woody, acts around royalty in this short video clip:

Totally different, isn’t it? Notice the hug at the end. I see genuine affection with no disrespect for royalty there at all.

I also have to admit, even though I love Woody Woodpecker, Woody Milintachinda makes me laugh too. 

The Real Lèse-Majesté Offense

One of the most important human rights is the freedom of speech. Not just because this is vital to human creativity. But because it is the only way we have of protecting our other rights – by identifying and exposing violations of human rights.

It is therefore no accident that freedom of speech is one of the first things restricted by oppressive regimes such as Thailand. The current government there, which undemocratically took the reins of power in December 2008, has used a variety of tricks to curb dissension and gag their political rivals.

But, by far, the most egregious and popular trick in their arsenal is to accuse their critics of disloyalty to their “revered” king. Thailand’s draconian lèse majesté laws are more than just censorship. They have been continuously exploited to do away with legitimate political opposition to those that hold the power in Thailand, the Thai military and the Democratic Party. Due to elections coming up and their precarious hold on power, there has recently been a binge of jailing people for lèse majesté.

In less than a month, about 20 opposition figures have been accused of lèse majesté. One of the most notable of these people is Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, who was arrested on April 30th. Somyot is the founder of the Center for Labor and International Solidarity Thailand (CLIST). He is a loyal Thai citizen who has a passionate belief in Human Rights. He is very well known and respected internationally. He is also a journalist and academic promoting freedom of speech. Obviously, this makes him an enemy to the current Thai regime and thus susceptible to arrest on bogus lèse majesté charges.

Somyot Pruksakasemsuk 

Anyone can file a police complaint of lèse majesté and the penalty is up to 15 years in jail per offence. The public is unable to judge the merits of these “so-called” offenses because the press cannot explain them properly without also being accused of violating this draconian law.

The word “Thai” literally means “free” but the Thai people are not free to debate matters regarding their head of state, including even appropriate limits on criticizing him. This is an example of Thai irony or “Thai-rony” as I call it, because in his birthday eve speech on December 4, 2005, Thailand’s King actually criticized the lèse majesté law and acknowledged that he could be criticized and was not afraid of this.

“Actually I must also be criticized. I am not afraid if the criticism concerns what I do wrong, because then I know. Because if you say the King cannot be criticized, it means that the King is not human.”

But the military, the Democrats and others posing as his protectors have conveniently forgotten his words. They willfully mock his expressed wishes in their inglorious pursuit of those who would try to make Thailand a better place! They use an 83 year old man in ill health as their weapon of choice on their enemies! They do not accord him the respect he deserves as a human being! How despicable these posers are! They are the ones guilty of lèse majesté, whether it is a crime or not, as they have gone against the King’s wishes.

So count me in as being an enemy of the current Thai regime too. Who knows? They may try to charge me with lèse majesté. But in the reasons-to-be-thankful-for-being-an-American category, the Thai military and the Thai Democratic Party hold no sway here. Here, we may honorably respect King Bhumibol’s wishes and criticize him as much as we like. From his 2005 speech though, the King understands the importance of free speech and criticism. He “gets it.” Perhaps it is the “American” in him (he was born in the US).

America’s Founding Fathers were supreme champions of freedom of speech. They made it the very first amendment to the Constitution because they realized that without freedom of speech one cannot even begin to have a democracy. Evidently, the current Thai leadership understands this as well and that is why they are stifling free speech in every possible way they can.

I think Thailand’s King would be more offended by the abuses made by his so called protectors in his name than by what any of those charged have actually said or written. I know that those of us in the rest of the world who respect freedom and justice are offended.

If the current Thai leaders had any trace of humanity, they would immediately release Somyot Pruksakasemsuk and all other political prisoners, apologize to them and the King for their atrocities done in his name, and immediate step down from power.

A Fairy Tale Watch Party For a Fairy Tale Wedding

The royal wedding in London on April 29th was a modern fairy tale, celebrating the joining of the late Princess Diana’s son, Prince William, and his long-time girlfriend Catherine Middleton. They were married with packed crowds lining the streets of London and hundreds of millions of viewers around the world watching.

Some of those millions of viewers were at a Fairy Tale watch party held by Thailand’s Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva (who is actually British).

To fulfill his lifelong fantasy, Abhisit dressed up as one of the participants in the royal wedding.

Thailand's PM, Abhisit Vejjajiva

The guest list for the watch party was filled with VIPs and celebrities. Head of the Privy Council, Prem Tinsulanonda, wore an outfit that seemed to express his lifelong fantasy too.

Head of the Privy Council, Prem Tinsulanonda

The guests at Abhisit’s watch party, like those at the actual wedding, included women in wonderfully strange and colorful hats. Like that of Thailand’s Election Commissioner, Sodsri Satayathum.

Election Commissioner, Sodsri Satayathum

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij and his wife, “Democracy is the Problem” Vorakorn, were both there too.

Korn and Vorakorn Chatikavanij, "The Niblets"

Military Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha made only a brief appearance. Most people don’t know this but the Thai Generals don’t really care much about royal events. They just use royalty to justify their power, greed, and bloodlust. After admiring Vorakorn Chatikavanij’s hat, the General left to attend another party. It seems that the British Royal wedding was held on the same day as the wedding anniversary of two of Prayuth’s favorite people. Yes, Adolph Hitler and Eva Braun were also married on April 29th, albeit way back in 1945.

So sorry, but I don’t have pictures of the General at the Hitler Wedding Anniversary Party held at the headquarters of the PAD's swastika-loving New Politics Party. 

But I do have a picture of General Prayuth speaking at the military’s official and very colorful birthday party held on April 20th.  It was the usual spiel from Prayuth. You know, crushing freedoms and democracy under the jackboot of fascism, goose stepping into Cambodia, etc…

General Prayuth Chan-ocha

Of course this is all a fairy tale. Everything with these fascist pigs and their stooges are fairy tales. We can only keep trying to get to that "happily ever after" part where their fairy tale world comes crashing down on them.