A few years ago about 1200 Thai drug users were murdered in cold blood when the Thai police tried to give the King the Drug Free Thailand he wanted for his birthday.

I wonder if any of them have been punished at all.

I don't mean the dead drug users, by the way, for those of you who might be angry that those damned druggies found a way to avoid prison.

By the way, given the amount of money a corrupt cop can make on the side thanks to the War on Drugs, being forced to accessorize with Hello Kitty seems like a very small penalty to pay.

I'm not so worried about the implications for feminism.

After all, police corruption can destroy a country from the inside out. Just look at Mexico. Their police have been thoroughly corrupted, and their military is next.

Once the military has been corrupted, that's it. All the Hello Kitty in the world isn't going to save a country after that.

"What does it mean for Thailand's female police officers that a cartoonish symbol of femininity is used to shame disobedient colleagues? Will this type of shaming -- which announces that femininity is antithetical to authority and power -- discourage women from joining the ranks of the police?"

Call me a complacent feminist, but I don't find this threatening. Were I female officer I'd be equally humiliated by being punished with a Sponge Bob armband. Hello Kitty is a "cartoonish symbol of feminity" I equate with five year old girls and shallow, infantilized adults, not strong women -- or men, for that matter. Hello Kitty may be antithetical to authority and power, but it's a huge leap from Hello Kitty to women. (I'd hazard to guess that many/most female Thai cops aren't big Hello Kitty collectors, too.) Is there just the slightest chance that you're reading way too far into this?

Hello,

I normally love all the things I read from you, but I think you were reaching a little far on this one. I think if it works, it works. I think you may be the only offended, or needed something to write. Good idea to let us know, bad idea to analyze it.

I associate Hello Kitty with childrens playthings. I don't know grown women with Hello Kitty crap in their homes and all the women I know stopped shopping at Sanrio when they hit high school.

I would think that it's more infantilazing than feminizing, there are things in Sanrio that little boys liked too, it was some frog.

So if it works, cool.

But imagine trying to do that to cops in the ghetto or in East LA, I don't think you should give criminals something to laugh at.

What a wonderful post! Thai police officers HATE TEH WYMYN!!!

I see you girls shared a lot and lurnt a lot about Broadsheet and its readers this weekend.