06 August 2007

Yet another reason to love Thailand

beyond just the phenomenally nice people and the fabulous scenery, there's this: Thai police officers who break rules will be forced to wear hot pink armbands featuring "Hello Kitty," the Japanese icon of cute, as a mark of shame, a senior officer said Monday.

How great is that? I'm pretty sure that the pervasiveness of Hello Kitty is a sign we're in the End Times, but at least the Thai authorities have found a use for that stupid image.

"Simple warnings no longer work. This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor," said Pongpat, acting chief of the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok.

Hey! Guilt and shame! I like how this Mr. Pongpat thinks.

"(Hello) Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It's not something macho police officers want covering their biceps," Pongpat said.

That's awesome. Now, if we could just the Thais past that whole child-sex-trade thing...