Guest Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 posted August 25, 2001 08:58 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have just returned from Thailand and from reading the Thai papers everyday was shocked to to see just how many murders, rapes and other terrible crimes happen daily. I lived in LOS in 95 and crime was pretty bad then as well it just seemed worse this time. The one incident that really got to me was of a girl who was using a walkover near her university when confronted by some, I'll call him an animal who wanted to rape her. Of course she fought so the guy killed her, raped her and then stuck a knife up her vagaina and cut that part of her body to shreds. This was not really late at night and not really in a secluded spot. Also, police had a nifty little show down with an armed robber just a few blocks from where I was staying and finally shot him dead. I could go on and on. Just to explain to some of you who may not know crime is quite high and a lot of it doesn't get reported because of the asian tradition of letting the police sort things out between the family and the victim. People often pay money to get out of being prosecuted but it is not usually to the police unless it is a victimless crime such as possesion of drugs. The story I heard this trip and unfortunately I know it is true is of three boys aout 16 to 19 who ganged raped a 13 year old. This incident happened up country and the boys were released because their families paid a total of 40,000 baht to the victims family. Now they may take some other form of revenge later on but if it would have been my daughter prision would be a much safer place for those boys. I am still planning on moving to Thailand again and have never had any problems myself but just remember there is something else behind the LOS image Thailand tries to portray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 Hi, Have to agree with this. Crime, even very violent crime, is not at all uncommon in Thailand. Luckily (?) for us farangs, it is mostly aimed at other Thais though. Whereas my Thai is not good enough to read the newspaper, the pictures usually tell quite a bit. My wife usually fills in the blanks. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
los Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 Ther is a lot of nasty shit going on in "los" that the average tourist is not exposed to. One thing that still boggles me is that why in a country where sex is so easily obtainable, does rape even occur. And as far as the violence goes, I always thought the Thai's were so peaceful and smiling all the time due to the fact that they were always stuffin the muffin. What gives?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 I agree that crime exist in Thailand on a daily basis. But crime exists everywhere and I cannot judge if this is high in Thailand or higher compare to other countries in the region, or high against crime rates in the west. Yes, it is true that crimes are getting paid off, as it is still the case with a lot of things in Thailand that money talks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 “Ever pondered why many Thais like to look a those horrific crime magazines (with pictures of bloodied, battered corpses etc.)?” Scum This reminds me on something on my very first trip to Bangkok. I was walking out of the Mandarin Hotel towards the Silom road and halfway I noticed a small Chinese shop, and they were actually one of those companies involving in clearing death bodies. They had the entire front of their shop, covered with the most horrible pictures that you can imagine. Luckily I did not yet eat; otherwise I might have thrown out my guts, right in front of it. I do not know if this shop is still there as I come hardly in this part of the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 Originally posted by Dundee: " ... they were actually one of those companies involving in clearing death bodies. They had the entire front of their shop, covered with the most horrible pictures that you can imagine." It must be the headquarters of the Ruamkatanyu Foundation at the crossing of Si Phaya Rd./Rama 4 Rd. Their main aim (as they define it)is to afford burials/cremations to unclaimed victims of murders and accidents, and to collect these bodies in the first place. I once accompanied a bunch of the guys in their van; I saw a few murder and accident victims. The foundation's competitor are Por Teck Tueng, based in Chinatown, and often in the past the two organisations raced to be the first at the scenes of the crime/accident. Guess why! How does that French proverb go? - Honi soit qui mal y pense? [ August 25, 2001: Message edited by: Scum_Baggio ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Scum_Baggio: Originally posted by land o' scams: The Thais are not smiling because they're such happy and fulfilled people, but because social convention demands it. Smiles are often employed as a pacifier, to ward off a potential aggressor. In their innermost selfs, Thais are often far from contented (not that I blame them for that), and the discrepancy between the inner self and the fact that they always have to put on a friendly face, leads to enormous tension - and this tension often seeks release in violence. So, in a way the smiles which are supposed to forestall aggression, are self-defeating, up to a point. [ August 25, 2001: Message edited by: Scum_Baggio ] really good, Scum. your post should be put in all tourist guidebooks. Do you have any idea why it is? save the chinese, or not, it is a very big part of asian behaviour. maybe, Buddhism and its philosophy of acceptance of good and bad things, has some part in it, but not evety asian is a buddhist. I once asked my asian art professor and she was also not sure how far back is this attitude coming from. She had some ideas that because many asian societies always had strong ruthless governing apparatus with a stringent set of rules of behaviour and hierarchy for each (in LOS, up to the middle 19th ct, you could not stare at the king/queen's face or touch him lest you'd lose your life, well something like that)people learnt to keep their emotions and opinions for themselves, if only to be on the safe side of things. My friend teachers in LOS always tell me they have a hard time to get their students to participate in the class, instead of copying obediently what Kun Kruu says.Not that it proves them to be more studious: again, hierarchy of position, if not of status. probably a good point she made. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 Pattaya127, it's a Buddhist thing, or to be more precise, Thai Buddhist. To a Thai Buddhist, the ideal person always maintains his/her inner equilibrium; nothings disturbs the inner peace, the "Buddhahood". This is at least the theory. To project this kind of deep-rooted harmony with oneself to the outside world you have several means at disposal: Smiles, a kind and gentle speech, gracious manners, graceful movements, ethereal beauty (see the beauty cult/obsession in Thailand!), etc. Have you ever wondered why Thais gesture only very litte (unlike, say, Indians, Italians etc.)? A wildly gesturing person projects inner instability; he/she is not at harmony with the inner self. That's why people who gesticulate wildly, and on top talk very loudly, kind of frighten the Thais. Now, to project all these manifestations of inner harmony in real life takes a tremendous effort - the end result being constant tension. Of course, the Buddhist ideal of complete inner peace may be attainable through long years of meditation, but that's impractical for the average Joe (or Somchai/Somying). Interestingly, I find the same attitude among the Singhalese in Sri Lanka, who, like the Thais, are Hinayana (Theravada) Buddhists. They're also very big on smiles, but don't be taken in by them. I'm not an expert on Buddhism, but logic tells me that we would have to look in Hinayana for the source of these behavioral patterns. Om Shanti, SB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo_bill Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 scum_baggio, i thought you were a fat German sex-tourist or at least the German mafia in Pattaya, and now all these wise reflections. to be serious, interesting to read your explanation of Thai violence. i have always been surprised to note the number of casualties when elections are on. so what you say there makes a lot of sense. but you found that in a book somewhere dind't ya ? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 25, 2001 Report Share Posted August 25, 2001 Originally posted by buffalo_bill: " i thought you were a fat German sex-tourist or at least the German mafia in Pattaya, and now all these wise reflections. ... but you found that in a book somewhere dind't ya ?" There wouldn't be any people around here actually WRITING books, would there??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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