The Laughing Enemy
The Psychology of Hate and the Theft of Identity
When the news broke that schools in Battambang were under fire, thousands of users on social media reacted not with shock, not with sadness, but with a "Laughing Emoji."
😆 😆 😆How does a human being laugh at a child fleeing an airstrike? This reaction is not an accident. It is the result of decades of programmed nationalism. To understand the war on the border, we must understand the war in the mind.
I. THE "LOST TERRITORIES" LIE
The hate begins in the classroom. For nearly a century, Thai school textbooks have taught a myth known as "Siamese Irredentism."
They teach their children that Cambodia, Laos, and parts of Malaysia were "stolen" from Thailand by European powers. They portray Thailand not as a conqueror, but as a victim.
"Preah Vihear is ours. The French stole it. The Cambodians are squatting on our land."
This narrative erases the truth: that Siam originally conquered those lands militarily. When the 1907 Treaty returned the land to Cambodia, it was an act of justice, not theft. But because Thai citizens are taught they are victims, they feel justified in "taking back" what they believe is theirs, even if it means violence.
II. THE CULTURAL HEIST
The most painful part of this conflict is not the land they take, but the identity they steal.
We see a strange psychological phenomenon: They covet the Culture, but despise the Creator.
- They claim Kun Khmer (The martial art) is theirs, rebranding it to sell tourism.
- They use Angkorian motifs in their architecture and branding.
- They adopt the Royal Court Dance.
Yet, while adopting these Khmer roots, they look down on Cambodian people as "migrant workers" or "subservient." It is a classic case of cultural appropriation: "I want your art, but I do not want you."
III. THE DEHUMANIZATION OF NEIGHBORS
This superiority complex explains the "Laughing Emoji." When you view a neighbor not as an equal human being, but as a "lost subject" or a "cheap laborer," their suffering does not register as tragedy. It registers as entertainment.
The government in Bangkok uses this racism as a weapon. Whenever domestic politics get messy, they point to the border and say, "Look at the enemy." It unites their people through hate, rather than policy.
IV. CONCLUSION: THE MIRROR OF TRUTH
We cannot bomb the hate out of people. We can only expose it.
To our Thai neighbors who left the laughing reaction: That emoji is a scar on your soul, not ours.
True strength is not claiming what isn't yours. True strength is recognizing the dignity of your neighbor. Until the history books are rewritten to tell the truth, the border will remain a line of fire.