My son lives and works in Bangkok and as you say the situation is quite serious, although only a small part of Bangkok is involved. However there is quite a bit of civil unrest in other parts of Thailand.
Many foreign embassies have closed their doors (including British and American) for safety reasons, and quite a few countries have recommended against visiting the country whilst the current situation continues.
I do not think that things will calm down soon, I think they will have an election but this is proposed for about Oct/Nov, so the unrest could continue for some time yet.
You must also consider that any Travel Insurance you have will not cover you if you intend to travel there.
Personally, I am looking to arrange to visit my son in Jan/Feb but this is becoming difficult to sort out whether it's a good idea or not.