From the Piêu scarf to... cultural gaps

(Baonghean) - “The Thai ethnic people demand an apology” is the title on a Thai ethnic person’s social media page in response to a recent public uproar. It originated from the boys in the F Band wearing Piêu scarves and wearing loincloths, performing in the semi-final night of the X-Factor program on October 12.

F Band's outfit is causing a stir in public opinion recently.

What really caused outrage in the Thai community in particular and many Vietnamese in general, because the Piêu scarf is not simply a part of the Thai people's costume, it is also a cultural symbol. That symbol is usually worn by girls on their heads, but from an object placed solemnly on the girl's head, it was transformed into a loincloth for the boy. A mistake that has truly crossed the line of sympathy.

However, looking at that phenomenon and listening to the explanation of the F Band also shows a phenomenon that is not strange in today's life. In an era where "Our people must know our history/ If you don't know, look it up on Google", the fact that people, especially the young, forget history books and forget their ancestors' culture is becoming a real phenomenon. Not to mention the boys in the band mentioned above, I am sure that there are also Thai ethnic boys and girls who do not know the diligence and meaning that exists in each thin thread of that traditional scarf.

The penetration of modern life and the lure of advanced technology have gradually pulled young people away from the community around them, especially sacred values ​​that are not always as vivid and intuitive as the world in smartphones.

Anyway, nothing can justify a wrongdoing. A young person making a mistake is one thing, but how many eyes watching, how many experienced, informed and knowledgeable brains of the organizing unit and the TV station did something to make it widely displayed on national television and spread on social networks, causing such pain to the Thai people.

That question will probably have to wait for many more rounds of blaming before it can be answered, only one answer is already evident, another proof that the cultural gap not only among ordinary people but also among those working in culture is getting wider and wider.

Cam Son