My location has nothing to do with it, and I am neither misinformed or joking.
I am aware that currently the problem exists around the Bangkok area. Nevertheless Department of Foreign Affairs in my country has warned against all but essential travel.
Also, why so touchy if I was just joking? You have a vested interest here, I dont.
Despite the fact that your earlier post added nothing of substance to the OPs query (about what dive gear to bring) and can be viewed as fear-mongering, I am replying here in nothing but a friendly manner and will answer your questions honestly.
I'm "touchy" because to me bazookas are not a laughing matter. Not here, not ever.
Yes, I have a vested interest in that I live here and do not like to see the entire Kingdom isolated because some countries (including my own country of nationality) have overreacted and issued unwarranted blanket statements when in fact whatever potential danger exists does not actually extend nationwide. To my knowledge, no government has evacuated its non-essential personnel--not even from Bangkok--and unless that happens, you can be assured that the country is quite safe for any reasonably cautious tourist to visit. Government warnings are really meant to keep away the kind of tourist whose photo posing with armed soldiers appears in the papers and those who think taking snapshots of a barricade is an acceptable tourist activity. Governments are protecting citizens from their own stupidity more than from any random violence that might befall them while they are here. It's easy for outsiders to take pot shots, since they are never hurt by them. So your location does make a difference.
The fact remains that you are misinformed, possibly because you fail to realize to what degree most news reports have been sensationalised. Here is some actual, un-pumped-up-in-order-to-sell-adverts information that might help you gain a perspective on the state of things. I have an apartment in the heart of Bangkok as well as a place of business on Phuket; security forces have set up a relaxation area in my Bangkok soi (small street), only blocks from the main protest area. The disturbances are very much contained, and even in Bangkok, 99.9% of people are going about their daily business in the usual manner. Outside of Bangkok, particularly in the southern tourist areas (of which Phuket--a thousand kilometers away--is a part, and the OP wants to come to Phuket), that figure rises to 100%. Yes, 100% of us are going about our daily activities with no effect whatsoever on our lives--other than the fact that we cannot work if our livelihoods are ripped away by needless hype that it's dangerous to come here. If it were that dangerous, we would leave, believe me.
No bazookas are needed here, nor are any "jokes" about them.
