Thai protesters collect blood to throw in protest

Blood raising drives are a regular charity staple. You give a little bit of yourself in exchange for a cookie, some orange juice, and an increased ease in getting drunk the rest of the day. One group of Thai protesters is putting a different spin on the old blood drive, opting to collect blood to use in a planned dousing of a government building in protest.

The dramatic gesture is the latest move by the anti-government United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call new elections.

Thousands of “red shirts” — so named for their clothing — held out their forearms to allow their compatriots to draw blood.

If Abhisit still refuses to dissolve parliament, the demonstrators said they will collect another 1,000 liters of blood Wednesday and splash it on the headquarters of the ruling party.

The next day, they will collect 1,000 more liters and target the prime minister’s residence, the demonstrators said.

The protesters are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup [ED. NOTE: Ironyyyyyyyy] in 2006.

For a frame of reference, there are about 2900 cubic liters in the average Jacuzzi. So while in the grand scheme of life that isn’t a whole lot of blood, after three days of protests, it’s enough to have an extremely uncomfortable hot tub party. Throw in the rampant transsexualism in Thailand and you’ve got yourself a perfect recipe for decadence with just the right element of surprise.

I worry about the protesters though. Even if they’re right, there’s no way their message is going to get through to the government by dousing their buildings in blood. No conflict has ever been solved by dousing someone in blood. Ask Carrie.

UPDATE: You can see photos of the first blood protest here. Crazy.

Thai protesters collect blood for message [CNN]

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