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[ARISTIDE]

I didn't have time to read all the comments but I think most Thai don't UNDERSTAND your English or your Mentality.  
I suppose Mr Andrew Biggs has said quite a lot on behalve of most expats about what he doen't like about Thailand via his TV show.

[KeyserSoze01]

bendix, on 2012-02-09 17:03:51, said:

norrona, on 2012-02-09 14:49:37, said:

bendix, on 2012-02-09 12:34:26, said:

On a related subject, does anyone think foreigners care, resent or are even aware of how foreigners who come to their country as sex tourists, behave like louts in bars, wander around shirtless as if their pale and insipid obesity is something wondrous to behold . . oh  . . and generally smell bad?

I guess not.  Given the average foreigner isn't educated enough to learn Thai I suspect they probably don't even realise it's happening.

I have a theory that the most western governments deliberately uneducate their masses to prevent them from being exposed to contempt when they travel and live overseas.

apart from Thailand where would learning to speak Thai be of any use?

The comment was about foreigner's lack of awareness how the Thai population think of their behaviour, demeanour and appearance here.  The OP used Thai's lack of English as a reason why perhaps Thais dont know what is written on these forum.  My point is perfectly valid, in response..

Are you fluent in proper Bangkok Thai and the other 73 dialects of the language spoken in the country? If not, then the emperor should starting removing some cloths.

[KeyserSoze01]

Gaccha, on 2012-02-09 19:47:00, said:

A child in the home below, that I had watched being nurtured and loved over several years, one day, quite suddenly, looked up 30 feet at me standing on my balcony. He lifted his little arm, pointed, and said "farang". It's genetically in-built.

The child did not just imagine the word farang. The parents instilled the concept and taught the child the word. Says more about the parents than the child as they continue to perpetuate the racial stereotype.

[KeyserSoze01]

ludditeman, on 2012-02-09 21:28:01, said:

Berkshire, on 2012-02-09 16:07:26, said:

So if you live in Thailand, you should learn the language.  It's rather pointless to even ask whether it's of any use anywhere else.

I would dispute that it is useful in Thailand, the more Thai I learn, the more insults and disrespect I hear.
Spoils my enjoyment of the country, and stops me mixing with most Thais, before I was happy to sit and smile daftly at them while they insulted me.

Too true as once you actually know what they are saying about you, often to your face, it can negatively impact you perception of the country and it's people. When someone does this to me and I understand the slur, I usually call them on it causing a loss of face. Usually followed by me cursing them in a language they don't understand while wearing a big shit-eating grin on my face.

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

[Forethat]

bendix, on 2012-02-09 12:34:26, said:

Given the average foreigner isn't educated enough to learn Thai I suspect they probably don't even realise it's happening.

I'm still waiting for you to clarify this statement.

"The average foreigner isn't educated enough to learn Thai".

Possibly the biggest pile of verbal excrement ever produced on TV, if you ask me.

Edited by Forethat, 2012-02-10 21:13:46.

[GuestHouse]

Ah..... The "Average Foreigner" and the "Average Thai"

Where would Thaivisa bun-fights be without them?!

[Gaccha]

KeyserSoze01, on 2012-02-10 20:50:01, said:

Gaccha, on 2012-02-09 19:47:00, said:

A child in the home below, that I had watched being nurtured and loved over several years, one day, quite suddenly, looked up 30 feet at me standing on my balcony. He lifted his little arm, pointed, and said "farang". It's genetically in-built.

The child did not just imagine the word farang. The parents instilled the concept and taught the child the word. Says more about the parents than the child as they continue to perpetuate the racial stereotype.

It was programmed into them by God. If you examine the long tail of the X chromosome on Thais, there is a part made of the chemicals F, A, R, A, N, G. If they are from Issan it is made of F, A, L, A, N, G.

There is no actual evidence for this but it is scientific fact.

[GuestHouse]

M

[alexth]

If at least 5% of them would, Thailand would improve on a daily basis. The saddest part is that I don't think they give a rat's anymore

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

[endure]

I suspect that if any Thai read this thread their reaction  would be that "farang think too much". They'd be right.

[Forethat]

endure, on 2012-02-11 05:20:29, said:

I suspect that if any Thai read this thread their reaction  would be that "farang think too much". They'd be right.

As would the average Bangkok soi dog whiling away his day licking his own balls.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

What an uplifting topic; another Thai bashing free-for-all.

[weka]

Off topic because it doesn't directly relate to print media



My friend told me he showed thai visa to his English literate wife. She read with a puzzled frown on many occasions.

Her overiding conclusion was to comment:

"don't these people ever get out and see Thailand - why so many baseless assumptions?"

don't flame her, it was just an observation from reading Gen topic forum.

For what it's worth I agreed

Edited by weka, 2012-02-11 11:19:00.

[F1fanatic]

KeyserSoze01, on 2012-02-10 20:50:01, said:

Gaccha, on 2012-02-09 19:47:00, said:

A child in the home below, that I had watched being nurtured and loved over several years, one day, quite suddenly, looked up 30 feet at me standing on my balcony. He lifted his little arm, pointed, and said "farang". It's genetically in-built.

The child did not just imagine the word farang. The parents instilled the concept and taught the child the word. Says more about the parents than the child as they continue to perpetuate the racial stereotype.

Yes. My gardener speaks v good English and does an extremely good job.

Whilst HE is always v friendly and helpful, he often brings his young son to help him. The young son pretends he doesn't hear my 'sawadi ka's' and basically shows me no respect at all....

I don't necessarily blame the parent - but suspect that it is an attitude he has learned from his school-friends.

[JurgenG]

weka, on 2012-02-11 11:13:49, said:

Off topic because it doesn't directly relate to print media



My friend told me he showed thai visa to his English literate wife. She read with a puzzled frown on many occasions.

Her overiding conclusion was to comment:

"don't these people ever get out and see Thailand - why so many baseless assumptions?"

don't flame her, it was just an observation from reading Gen topic forum.

For what it's worth I agreed

Two days ago I was shopping in The Mall. While I was waiting for my gf, I was looking at the people around me and thinking what a different world it was from what people describe here in TV.


I agree with the gf of your friend, for a Thai to read this forum is a puzzling experience, they wonder (I tried that with my gf too) in which country the people who post here live.

Personally, I too have some time problem to relate with the experience of some of the posters here. I have to make an effort to understand where they come from and where (which area of Thailand) they live to make sense of what they say.

And to answer the question of the OP, what do American think of what the Japanese think of them ? What do the Chinese think of what the Indian think of them ? And what do the French think of what the rest of the world think of them ? I guess you have your answer here ...

Edited by JurgenG, 2012-02-11 16:35:20.

[theblether]

Quote

"don't these people ever get out and see Thailand - why so many baseless assumptions?"

don't flame her, it was just an observation from reading Gen topic forum.

I think the problem is that people here tend to discuss the extreme's of Thai society, not the mundane.

It wouldn't make much of a forum if we spent all our time discussing " I went to the shopping centre today and everyone looked normal "

[trainman34014]

theblether, on 2012-02-11 16:33:02, said:

Quote

"don't these people ever get out and see Thailand - why so many baseless assumptions?"

don't flame her, it was just an observation from reading Gen topic forum.

I think the problem is that people here tend to discuss the extreme's of Thai society, not the mundane.

It wouldn't make much of a forum if we spent all our time discussing " I went to the shopping centre today and everyone looked normal "

I went shopping today and all the Thai people looked normal, but all the Farang I saw looked like a bunch of miserable gits !

[ludditeman]

trainman34014, on 2012-02-11 18:39:34, said:

I went shopping today and all the Thai people looked normal, but all the Farang I saw looked like a bunch of miserable gits !

The day slim Thai girls in short shorts look normal to me is the day I am ready to die.
Who wastes their time looking at foreigners?

[Jingthing]

I don't know how many of them care or don't care and I don't care about the question really. If I had to guess I would say a tiny percentage. Also, seriously, they'd be crazy to care considering the government has most all of us on short leashes. If a dog barks in the third world, you kick it. Why care?

[rijb]

ludditeman, on 2012-02-11 19:49:07, said:

trainman34014, on 2012-02-11 18:39:34, said:

I went shopping today and all the Thai people looked normal, but all the Farang I saw looked like a bunch of miserable gits !

The day slim Thai girls in short shorts look normal to me is the day I am ready to die.
Who wastes their time looking at foreigners?

You are a very wise man.  

[KeyserSoze01]

JurgenG, on 2012-02-11 16:27:56, said:

Personally, I too have some time problem to relate with the experience of some of the posters here.

To hazard a guess, I would say that many farang on TV have had bad experiences in the tourist traps of Thailand or been burned in a relationship with a Thai woman and it has soured their perception of all things Thai.

[MAJIC]

ludditeman, on 2012-02-09 21:28:01, said:

Berkshire, on 2012-02-09 16:07:26, said:

norrona, on 2012-02-09 14:49:37, said:

bendix, on 2012-02-09 12:34:26, said:

On a related subject, does anyone think foreigners care, resent or are even aware of how foreigners who come to their country as sex tourists, behave like louts in bars, wander around shirtless as if their pale and insipid obesity is something wondrous to behold . . oh  . . and generally smell bad?

I guess not.  Given the average foreigner isn't educated enough to learn Thai I suspect they probably don't even realise it's happening.

I have a theory that the most western governments deliberately uneducate their masses to prevent them from being exposed to contempt when they travel and live overseas.

apart from Thailand where would learning to speak Thai be of any use?

It always boggles my mind when people ask this question.  As I've said before, the Thai language is pretty useless outside of Thailand.  The only time it's beneficial or important is if YOU ACTUALLY LIVE IN THAILAND.

So if you live in Thailand, you should learn the language.  It's rather pointless to even ask whether it's of any use anywhere else.

I would dispute that it is useful in Thailand, the more Thai I learn, the more insults and disrespect I hear.
Spoils my enjoyment of the country, and stops me mixing with most Thais, before I was happy to sit and smile daftly at them while they insulted me.

You are by a long way, not the first "farang"who has told me this,in fact they all advised me not to learn Thai, quoting words to the effect "you will not like what you hear" which is probably why they like us to teach them free English, over the years I have spent many hundreds of hours helping improve their English,and in turn the words they taught me,could be counted on two hands.
So I will opt to remain happy and content in my ignorance!

Edited by MAJIC, 2012-02-12 01:49:05.

[theblether]

Quote

I went shopping today and all the Thai people looked normal, but all the Farang I saw looked like a bunch of miserable gits !

See, that is a controversial statement and by dint it is interesting!! I wonder if the farang you saw were miserable because they could speak Thai and they knew how insulting all the Thais were being.

Oh no!! another controversial statement!!  I love Thaivisa, every post opens a pandora's box of controversy

[wintermute]

When Thais live abroad for the first time they are usually shocked and become depressed when they learn about what the general universal stereotypes are concerning Thai people. The level of cultural transmission is really low and Thais themselves have built up a totally unrealistic portrait of themselves. The things that do get carried over are usually very superficial pop culture things. The level of English contributes to that veil of ignorance but it's a lot of other stuff as well.

Thais are good at maintaining superficial appearances. I guess it's closer to what we would call a delusion. Which means as long as no one mentions what's specifically wrong to them everything is out of sight and out of mind.

A lot of Thais are even quite naive about how deep the rabbit hole goes when it comes to prostitution and crime stats in their own country. You get headline grabbing news about prostitution or drugs occasionally but it's always phrased in a way that it's bad people (usually foreigners) who got caught by the police so everything's fine now. Meanwhile there's thousands of identical incidents going on everywhere right under their noses.

Edited by wintermute, 2012-02-12 04:18:33.

[wintermute]

Pdaz, on 2012-02-10 17:30:17, said:

Even now there are hundreds of 'quality' tourists standing in Walking Street watching some poor young girl doing acrobatics for money. Or buying trinkets from other youngsters 'encouraged' by their adult handlers.   Despite the scams, double pricing, child labour and road deaths there still seems to be a mass of new people only too happy to come to LOS.  Funniest to me is seeing the Russians ( and other eastern Euros) buying all the shite touristy nick nacks that more seasoned travellers never buy. Guess the vendors must be blessing their luck for all the 'new' tourists. Thai business and property owners must be rubbing their hands.

These Eastern Euros who can afford to travel are often involved in shady enterprise themselves as well as being from similarly corrupt countries so they have plenty of money to throw around and generally don't sweat the small stuff.