Thailand – Don’t Criticise Us!
I found your web site by accidentally and unfortunately read it. And I would like to thank you for let the reader make a comment to you directly. It is the generous of yours. Before I write anything further, I would like to apologize if I didn’t use the proper English or my grammar dramatically wrong. I would be glad if you could post my letter to you on your site because I feel that this is something I should have said so. Otherwise, I don’t think, I can’t sleep tonight.
I didn’t exactly finish your plain text on your web site, but for what I have seen I think I could make a conclusion to your subjective. If you have ever been to any capital all over the world, I don’t think this is what you should have said about Bangkok. But you can’t ignore that your country has the prostitutes too. Unfortunately, those prostitutes come from the outside of Thailand, I guess you know where are those country around Thailand. Most of them from the mountain tribes, they have not had Thai citizen yet. We can’t really accept that they are because they don’t belong to us for long times ago.
I see your point about the dirty Bangkok, but in the countryside you would see any of this. I suggest you spend sometime travel to the city that is not a façade like Bangkok. I don’t think you can judge Thai from the point that you judge people in Bangkok. Yes, I suppose you could say living style in Bangkok is the nightmare even though all these technologies have been gushed from the west culture. We don’t like to make other lose their face because Buddhist taught us to give everybody a chance and redemption. Buddhist philosophy helps you to realize your own failures and aware of continually repeat and continually address, your mistakes. It shows the idea of causation and how your action could affect others.
About the south of Thailand well I guess you could say that they feel a little bit left out of Thai society, but to know more to talk about this you will have to study Thai History about why do the people in the South of Thailand really feel that they connected to Malaysia people. They might feel lucky to be Thai Muslims. You have to ask them what they think not only what you have seen by your own eyes. Eyes can really fool you.
Why Thai people don’t like to talk too much or don’t like to use the blame words while English has a lot of blaming words to imply. We would like to do the listening more than the talking because Buddha taught us to be more active listening and less active speaking because the more you talk the more we know you.
About the prostitutes and the drugs why don’t you let people who read your site know that this year 2003 we have killed the drug dealers more than the Iraq war. I mean this is something that I don’t proud of, but it is the fact and I accept that it is really exist. You might only be around Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya so far. It is not fair that you wrote only those worst places in my country. Those places is built for the tourist like you because you the foreigner are tend to enjoy this much, so they served on your purpose. The rest of Thai people are totally different from people in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya because those places have more foreigner than the real Thai. We are the one that wanted to show the people the rest of the world that we have the way to indulge our savor “joie de vivre” too, but not the way you have seen so far. I don’t want to be ruder or says something I might regret to says it to you. I ‘d rather wrap this up and hopefully you might find something to acclaim Thailand after you visit more places in Thailand.
You will be amazing how Thai people feel how lucky they are to live and born in Thailand. I believed you feel the same way with your own country. Remember discretion is the way to fit in to our country and don’t forget that we always have compassion that why we don’t blame each other. About the mobile things again just the way my people are quite open-mind, so it doesn’t matter you keep your cell phone in the backpack or around your belt. It doesn’t really tell you anything. In fact we don’t really judge people who have a cell phone are the best successful person or the big losers.
Timing is the measure that judge people and the way you speak to other people how admirable you really are and how do you respect to other either their younger or older. Pee or Nong don’t really make you uncomfortable, but what were you thinking inside your head about them people who you talking to does matter affect your mind and that make you feel a little embarrass to say the words. Try to see the bright sight, you might have change your mind about how do Thai people really look like inside. We are the most tolerate people in the world.
Education I don’t think everybody is a good memorizer, I didn’t graduate because I can memorize anything in the book. I did well in critical thinking too. And it is even better than some foreigner student whom they said that they practice their own children pretty much of critical thinking. There are a huge gap between people get Ph.D, Master, and Bachelor, but some didn’t even have a chance to finish the high school. I don’t think this is the big issue here.
The big issue is Thailand is not an Industrial country. We are agricultural and it is the family traditional way. Not the kind of factory agricultural like the West country. It is hard to have a proper job even you are graduate from the best university or higher educational. We can never equal the west country and we don’t want to be like one. Children don’t have the real hobby unless the video games. It is violence and aggressive behavior kind of hobby. You can’t says that this is the most successful world. Although I see your point, but judging people by don’t even have a real knowledge about what you are writing is not really such a good idea ever.
Stickman says:
I think one of the big differences between my country (and this could probably be applied to most other Western countries but as I only come from one country, I will not speak on there behalf) but in my native New Zealand, we are generally happy to take it on the chin when we fuck up.
Thais refuse to, and that is why time after time, the same mistakes, problems and issues occur here. The hierachial structure of Thailand interferes and largely makes it difficult to make the changes necessary for these problems to be admitted to, and thus rectified or fixed which would then allow Thailand to progress.
Just last night my wife and I (she is Thai by the way) talked at length about the way Thais refuse to admit that they are wrong, and how they will not tolerate any criticism of themselves, no matter who menial. Funny thing is, it was her who brought this subject!… Yes, Thailand has many, many good things going for it, many areas where it exceeds or beats the West and while we should acknowledge those – and Thailand should justifiably be proud of some things, there are other things Thailand should be ashamed of. That a farang brings them up does not mean that the farangs is saying that Thailand is no good. It might be that said farang actually cares and would like to help, but the average Thai almost never sees it that way, but rather as an attack on their country. Open your eyes!
Oh, and your comments about prostitutes being from outside of Thailand are laughable.
