Thais Racist?

[Guest]

Her is a topic that has emerged in some posts but i dont think has been fully aired

 

I was speaking with a thai lady friend of mine on the phone recently.

 

she lives in bangkok and teaches Thai to foreigners.

 

i explained that when i go to various venues in thailand i am charged more because i am farang ,sites ,dentist etc.

 

when i stated that if this were to happen in my country it would be considered racist and the person so doing could face criminal procedings.

 

She said that she understood this and wanted to apologise for her countrymen,and that this behavior made her lose face .

 

 

 

 

 

iadded that this applies to government sites also and she agreed that it was wrong .

 

Any views?

[JJsushi]

Boy, this topic must at least pop up once a month.

 

 

 

Are Americans, French, Japanese, British, Russians, Israelis, Venezuelans rascist? Are you talking about the general populace or businesses or the government? Are you referring to an institutionalized, systematic, goverment supported racism?Are you referring to business practices based on racism? Are we talking about nationalistic economic racism or "I just don't like you because you are different from me racism? Let's be honest does it really matter? Can you effect a change?

[Guest]

Post deleted by DoxyBlue

[sayjann]

i can accept the surcharge for falangs.

 

their country,they can do what they want,but.

 

 

 

i don't like the way they are 'racist' towards each other.

 

namely the attitude towards people from isaan.

 

many times i have seen them really treated badly.

[JJsushi]

I think the scope of the inquiry can be inferred from the original post.

 

[color:purple] Not true. Based on title and post a few different inferences can be made color=purple>

 

 

 

If anyone is tweaked about repeat topics, there's always the option to ignore them rather than making the thread-starter feel ridiculous for posting his question. Save the heavy weapons for new stuff.

 

[color:purple] Being ignored can make someone feel even more ridiculous. My response just opens up the range and depth of the topic.

 

Don't insult me DB with the "save the heavy weapons" stuff. You would know if I was bringing a Howitzer to a fist fight. color=purple>.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Old Hippie]

Haven't we done this topic to death yet?

[cyberbeno4]

do bears sh## in the woods?

[Brink15]

DaveD,

 

 

 

Sorry for the negative replies. This is a fairly commonly asked question. Unfortunately if you ask a question that has been answered a dozen times before, you open yourself up to flames.

 

 

 

The problem lies in the fact that as a newbie you may not realize you're asking this type of question. Don't feel bad.

 

 

 

In answer to your question:

 

 

 

A) Yes Thais are racist, but no more so than most countries, and probably less so than Japan, Korea, or China.

 

 

 

One of the reason you are charged a higher fee is that you, as a farang, typically earn a far greater income than the average Thai. Also it is their country. Now this may not be right in our minds, but this is why it is done.

 

 

 

By the way, if you want to minimize the likelihood your question has been worn out, try the search feature.

 

 

 

Good luck and enjoy the board.

 

 

[shygye]

Nothing like beating a dead horse.

[Guest]

This is a topic that has been discussed before, but I think it is a fair question. I am also not surprised that it has popped again since there seems to be a difference of opinion on the subject.

 

 

 

In brief, the answer is yes. I live here, pay Thai taxes, have permanent residency, and yet, must pay more to enter National Parks. The same is true of the few farangs that have obtained Thai citizenship (pretty much impossible now, unless you are ethnic Chinese.) And incidentally, unlke virtually everywhere else, permanet residency does not give you an automatic right to work here.

 

 

 

Imagine for a second what would happen if a park ranger at Yosemite told an Asian family they had to pay more because they had "yellow" skin. I have not only heard Thai park rangers say, in Thai, that farangs have to pay more because they have white skin, but I have heard government officials make the same argument to justify all sorts of 'race conscious' policies. In the U.S it would be scandal; here it is accepted as normal. And that is what makes it most alarming - that it is considered acceptable.

 

 

 

In terms of the difference of opinion on the subject, in my experience, the longer you live in Thailand, the more you become aware of how race conscious the society is. Visitors, particularly visitors primarily interested in NEP, etc., tend to overlook this aspect of Thailand or see Thailand through rose tinted glasses, but if you live here for a significant period of time, you start to notice the blemishes. And unfortunately, racism is one of the major blemishes.