about using the word racism...

[Guest]

>>>The word falang has been outlawed in my house, and my wife receives a dirty look from me when she uses it. <<<

 

 

that is ignorance on your side, if i may say so.

the term farang by itself has no negative connotations whatsoever. it simply is the word to describe a westerner, its root lies in how the the old franks were pronounced by the different cultures. i am a lot more offended at the polite sounding "daang chat" which does mean foreign/foreigner (and that does imply a lot stronger that you are from somewhere else and don't belong here).

 

now, if you complain how some people use the word farang, that is a different matter. many use it perfectly neutral as it is meant to be, others add some nasty sneer to it which makes it sound racist. but those would add a nasty sneer even when calling you by name.

 

don't be hung up by mere words, look beyond. not every thai calling you farang means evil.

[torrenova]

MightyMouse said:Rule of thumb: when in a new area, expect to pay more till you can get used to them and they get used to you. Try getting better prices but acted with a little dignity. Treat them good and they might treat you good.

Why ? thats bollocks. Why should people new to an area pay more and more importantly, why should those selling the goods or service look upon a newcomer as an extra meal ticket to be milked ?

[torrenova]

The word falang may have originated with no malice intended and may be used in many instances without negative connotations but in many areas it means whoopee, another dumb fucker to rip off.

 

I have even in the last month had Thai friends take great exception to the tone and sentence in which the word was used and go to my defense. They were unhappy that the people who directly or indirectly pay their wages were so lowly thought of by other Thais.

[Guest]

Quote;

"Why should people new to an area pay more and more importantly, why should those selling the goods or service look upon a newcomer as an extra meal ticket to be milked ?"

 

Go to any country that has an outdoor market. If the prices are not marked, the person who 'does not have a clue' will generally get charged more - call it human nature.

 

The problem is not about racism nor is an issue of being ripped off - it is how to conduct one self in a market with, for the most part, no prices are listed and how not to look like the proverbial sitting duck.

 

Sometimes when people feel they are getting ripped off, they continue getting ripped off. What a person shoud do is stop feeling like a victim but take charge of the situation. As an example, when a vendor tries selling you a fake rolex watch, do you look at it as an unbelievable buy (do not know it is fake) or do you convey to the owner that it is not worth much and leave or whatever? Note, there are some fake rolexs that even expert would have a hard time telling. For example, some fake rolexs come in genuine rolex boxes and some come with genuine rolex parts. In a buyer 'beware market', get to know the product(s) and what the going price is. Once this is done, life becomes more enjoyable.

[Nervous_Dog]

Elef, I have heard this claimed numerous times, yet when I egt Thai staff to book their own tickets, and then I book mine - same price.

 

As far as I am concerned just another rumour.

 

JB

 

elef said:

Hi Peter,

 

Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways have asian discounts (as ethníc ones are no-no) so there exist different prices. TG doesn't give this discount on the cheapest tickets any more.

 

If you travel with a thai or other asian at least one way you're also entitled to get the same discount.

 

elef

[elef]

Hi Nervous_Dog,

 

in Scandinavia we have it at least. I've got the discount myself once and ex-TW and her relatives many times, last time a month ago!

 

elef

[Zorro]

The issue of pricing is an interesting one.

 

You will find in many countries services are charged on what people think you can afford to pay.

 

Your profession and your home address may lead to higher charges for services. i.e. you are a doctor living in an expensive suburb and you want you car repaired...you will in my experience likely be charged more than would a factory worker in a poorer suburb.....

 

Thailand however has an institutionalised form of dual pricng when it comes to entry fees to parks and other such things with a lower one for the Thai national and higher for the tourist.

 

It is difficult to compare western societies with Thai society as western ones are so much more cosmopolitan than the much more homogenous Thai society, nonewithstanding that there are many ethnic minorities in Thailand.

 

If you look back a little in history to when western countries were more homogenous i think you will find many similar predjudicial and racsist attitudes that exist in Thailand today.

 

Other countries in the region that have very homogenous populations also have similar attitudes to foreigners, Japan Korea.

 

Of course national govts are also very quick to exploit and use exclusionist and jingoistic language to preserve this mindset and harness it for their own selfish ends.

[soongmak]

that is ignorance on your side, if i may say so.

the term farang by itself has no negative connotations whatsoever. it simply is the word to describe a westerner

 

why is that ignorance? You are still being singled out on the basis of your skin colour as being your common denominator. What I can't believe is that a lot of you guys think that's okay.

 

Asian is also a word with no negative connotations. I bet you though if you would call every japanese, Korean, Chinese or Thai gentleman an Asian all the time, do you think he feels good being singled out on his asian treats? I don't think so. It is still a way of saying you are different than us and it reeks of discrimination.

[Guest]

torrenova said:

The word falang may have originated with no malice intended and may be used in many instances without negative connotations but in many areas it means whoopee, another dumb fucker to rip off.

 

I have even in the last month had Thai friends take great exception to the tone and sentence in which the word was used and go to my defense. They were unhappy that the people who directly or indirectly pay their wages were so lowly thought of by other Thais.

 

 

 

i have had several instances where thai mates of mine came to my assistence when some arsehole used the term farang in a demeaning way, threatening to beat the living daylights out of the arsehole. what pissed them off was not the term farang, but the general arsehole attitude.

i do use the term all the time, my wife does, my mates do, but they do it normal, like taking the pissout of me in a friendly way, or while asking me things about western countries because they are genuinly interested, etc.

in other asian languages the word itself describing westerners are indeed a not so friendly term, but not here.

'farang' is a perfectly neutral term, and getting too hung up on that term (especially when not being able to speak thai well enough) could mean that one might offend people who have meant no harm whatsoever.

[Guest]

well, there are different skincolors.

we of course can go the american way and change our language along the course what is PC at any present moment (such as blacks now being called "african americans"...oh jeez, the black panthers now would be sooo un-PC now, and "black board" are not existing anymore...) ).

 

what i am saying here is that the term 'farang' is perfectly neutral, it simply describes a person of western descend, and most likely is a derivate of the term "frank" (franks where the people who ruled vast parts of europe for a long time a long time ago). it doesn't even verbally translated say anything about skincolor directly.

 

and yes, people and cultures are different. what is important how that difference is dealt with - respectfully or disdainful. the term farang itself does neither - how it is used matters.