Issue and Opponent: Protests started in Thailand in July 2020, seeking the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and demanding reform of the Thai monarchy. November 17’s demonstration in front of the Parliament House, while lawmakers debate a constitution change, marked the most violent altercations between police and protesters since the movement began. The protesters, who are calling for democratic reforms including curbs on the power of the monarchy, were repeatedly fired at with teargas and water cannon.
Dilemma Action: In November 2020, the protesters came with big, yellow, inflatable rubber ducks to the protest rally to infuse humor and mock the government because of the restrictions on entry into the Parliament building. But the ducks soon became shields against the police water cannons and tear gas aimed at the protesters. The optics of protesters holding up the”assaulted” rubber ducks while chanting the slogan “stop harassing people and rubber ducks” underscored the comedy and absurdity of the situation. Social media platforms were flooded with images of these inflatable rubber ducks and several of these images show deflated rubber ducks stained with purple dye that protesters said had been projected from water cannons launched by Thai police.
Outcome: Thailand’s youth quickly turned the yellow rubber duck into a symbol of the protest movement by creating related artwork available for purchase online. There have been sightings of these inflatables in protests in other cities such as Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro. Thai social media users around the world have also taken to various platforms to share content related to the protests using the hashtag #RubberDuck.