Free Speech in Thailand? Monarchy v. Democracy

Summary of Article: In Thailand, it is illegal to say anything negative about the monarchy. A man was recently jailed not for saying anything bad but for acting like he wanted to say something bad. Click here for article.

Map: Where is Thailand?

Outline for Discussing Article with Kids:

• There are different types of countries:
• America is a democracy, which means that we choose who is the President. (Ask kids if they remember voting in November for president). 
• Thailand is a monarchy, which means that a king rules the country. The people do not get to choose who is king.
• What is good/bad about each type of government? Which kind would you prefer to live in? Why?
• In Thailand, they have a law that anyone who says anything bad about the king, the queen or the crown prince, can go to jail for up to 15 years. What do you think of this rule?
• Examples of people in jail in Thailand for breaking this rule: a European man sentenced to 10 years in jail for for drawing on a poster of the king; an American in jail for translating a book that says bad things about the king. 
• This article is about a man who is going to jail for not saying anything bad about the king but for acting like he was. He was making a speech and he said that some people don't like the king. Then he covered his mouth to imply that he was talking about the king. (Have kids act this out).  
• Do you think he should go to jail for doing this? Why or why not? 
• In America, we have a law in our constitution called "Free Speech." This means that you can't go to jail just for saying something. Everyone has a right to say whatever they want. What is good about this rule? What is bad about this rule? (Good: you can speak freely; Bad: people whose views you don't like can speak freely too). 
• There are a few exceptions to this rule. What do you think they should be? 
• Some exceptions are: (1) no threats of imminent violence ("Go kill the President right now!"); (2) no copying someone else's work and pretending its yours (copyright violation). Why have these exceptions? 
• Scenario: a kid wears a shirt to the mall with the words "I hate my teacher." Should he be allowed to wear this shirt at the mall? (Answer: Yes) Should he be allowed to wear it to school?  (Answer: some courts say yes; some courts say no)