Why go up in arms over a piece of fluff?

Creating a ruckus over throwaway comments made by celebrities like Sornram Theppitak is a waste of time. They too should be given the right to make fools of themselves

Published on July 8, 2008

Supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) who reportedly hounded and verbally abused actor Sornram Theppitak during the weekend for his political views were barking up the wrong tree.

Movie stars, singers and the rest of the celebrity crowd enjoy the same right to freedom of expression as everyone else.

No one deserves to be harassed for simply holding or expressing a different point of view. Those who do what PAD supporters did in Sing Buri only show themselves as being narrow-minded and incapable of respecting other people's rights to their opinions, thus exposing themselves to be undemocratic.

Now what did Sornram do that PAD supporters found offensive? From what we gather, he merely said that PAD and their supporters, including some of Sornram's fellow celebrities, were troublemakers.

This was no different from what many other people - especially those belonging to pro-government or pro-Thaksin groups - have said about the PAD.

Shallow comments

Stars and celebrities should not be treated differently when it comes to their right to speak their minds as long as what they say or do does not infringe on other people's rights. After all, movie stars aren't exactly seen as role models.

Just like ordinary people, stars are capable of saying or doing smart or stupid things because they too depend on the news to form their opinions, or maybe they have a vested interest in sticking to their stance.

Indeed Sornram is a good example of why we should not attach too much importance to celebrities for what they say or do.

If Sornram is to be criticised, he should be criticised for the hit-and-run incident that resulted in the death of a 58-year-old street-sweeper in June last year.

Thanks to his connections, Sornram checked into a private hospital where doctors managed to stop police investigators from taking his blood samples to try to determine if he was driving under the influence. The family of the unfortunate victim was compensated and Sornram resumed his acting career without a hitch.

Now the question is, why are PAD supporters dignifying Sornram's off-the-cuff comments by launching into verbal warfare? Why should the comment of someone like Sornram be considered to carry weight in the first place?