Anti-White Racism in Thailand

[ladislav]

I guess I am not the only one complaining

http://travelinasia.hubpages.com/hub/thailand-racism

http://www.bestgore.com/murder/australi ... ia-farang/

[Dragon]

I guess I am not the only one complaining

http://travelinasia.hubpages.com/hub/thailand-racism

http://www.bestgore.com/murder/australi ... ia-farang/

Would it help if the "farangs" learned the local language? I feel a lot of times the xenophobia comes from a lack of communication and understanding. And from what I hear, most expats don't bother to learn the local language.

[zboy1]

Ladislav, as you mentioned, I think Thailand is better for overseas and expatriate Asians than it is for White folks. When I went to Thailand, I know I was treated better than most White travelers because I was not seen as the 'sex tourist' or 'aggressive foreigner' compared to them. I mean, can you really blame Thais for not being a little disgusted by the behavior of some farangs while they are in Thailand? And to be honest, I've heard many Whites complain about racism in Asia--except for the Philippines. Wouldn't Eastern Europe or Latin America (where White males are seen as superior) be a better destination for White males than those Asian countries?

[Jester]

Good info, thanks.

[ladislav]

I guess I am not the only one complaining

http://travelinasia.hubpages.com/hub/thailand-racism

http://www.bestgore.com/murder/australi ... ia-farang/

Would it help if the "farangs" learned the local language? I feel a lot of times the xenophobia comes from a lack of communication and understanding. And from what I hear, most expats don't bother to learn the local language.

Did the Holocaust happen because the Jews did not speak German? Did the KKK do all their burnings and murder because there was a problem with English?

Does it help if you learn English to be accepted by the Anglos in the US? Yes and no.

It helps with people you know. It does not help with strangers. And sometimes it is better not to speak it at all since you would not know the daily range of insults strangers mostly hurl your way.
Back in my days it was mainly scornful remarks and taunting. Now it has become murder. Things are getting worse in some ways.

I speak Thai very well. I thought it would help. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.
In tourist areas you will be OK with English only.

And a question to you- did it help various minorities in the US to learn English to avoid racism? Did it help black people in the South to be accepted by Anglo whites?

[Dragon]

I guess I am not the only one complaining

http://travelinasia.hubpages.com/hub/thailand-racism

http://www.bestgore.com/murder/australi ... ia-farang/

Would it help if the "farangs" learned the local language? I feel a lot of times the xenophobia comes from a lack of communication and understanding. And from what I hear, most expats don't bother to learn the local language.

Does it help if you learn English to be accepted by the Anglos in the US? Yes and no.

It helps with people you know. It does not help with strangers. And sometimes it is better not to speak it at all since you would not know the daily range of insults strangers mostly hurl your way.
Back in my days it was mainly scornful remarks and taunting. Now it has become murder. Things are getting worse in some ways.

I speak Thai very well. I thought it would help. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.
In tourist areas you will be OK with English only.

That's really unfortunate. To be fair, I've seen a lot of pictures and videos of "farangs" and a lot of them give off the creepy, fat middle-aged desperate guy vibe.
Maybe we should form an expat United Nations of sorts to discuss and legislate these matters . The whites guys can have Eastern Europe and the Asian expats can have Thailand. The Philippines will be a neutral zone free to all!

[ladislav]

Ladislav, as you mentioned, I think Thailand is better for overseas and expatriate Asians than it is for White folks. When I went to Thailand, And to be honest, I've heard many Whites complain about racism in Asia--except for the Philippines. Wouldn't Eastern Europe or Latin America (where White males are seen as superior) be a better destination for White males than those Asian countries?

Exactly. But some people like Asian culture- like me for one. And the girls. I am an egg- white on the outside, yellow on the inside. I like the whole S/E Asian mindset and I feel very happy being there. I also love Japan. One needs to find a place in Asia where such incidents do not occur too often and where 50% + of people do not hate you.

In the Catholic Philippines you can also run into some incidents but very very rarely- like once a year someone will say something bad about foreigners/Americans ( synonyms in the Philippine culture). But you get 92% of warmth and respect daily. Singapore and Malaysia are pretty good, also. Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia are also nice from what I hear. Kazakhstan is great and so is Kyrgizstan. So, if you are into Asian culture and feel Asian ( like I do) you need to know where to go and where not to go.

Just like many Asians like living in Europe/West. Does not mean they should avoid it altogether because of skinheads.. It means that they should find a place in Europe where xenophobia is minimal. Minimal means- no daily taunting, scorn and insults or frequent physical attacks. Such as say, Finland. I had a Korean friend and he went there and he loved it there. Winston also reported good things about Lithuania. Another Korean guy I knew lives in Estonia and he only gets sh*t from the local Russians but again, it is not a daily event. 99% of people treat him very well and he does not even speak the language. One Thai guy went to Belarus and people are very kind and respectful to him there.

I know I was treated better than most White travelers because I was not seen as the 'sex tourist' or 'aggressive foreigner' compared to themrangs. I mean, can you really blame Thais for not being a little disgusted by the behavior of some fa while they are in Thailand?

If you generalize about groups and verbally/physically attack them because of the behavior of a few bad apples, then it is racism and discrimination. You would not say that about white racists- like "Oh, can you blame them when they look down on an Asian - they saw a movie about how cruel the Japanese were in WWII so now they hate the VNese, the Chinese, the Koreans because they look the same, etc". Or, "Oh, they met some black bum who called them a h*nkey m*******er or saw black committing crimes so now they can hate all black people because of that? Can you blame them? Hmm.I don't think you would say it would you?

[ringspun]

Yes and No, I suspect some racism against farrang is a form of jealousy, as they see us as rich millionaires which of course isn't the case. Some Thai men may earn as little as £20 a month, and theres us taking all their girls and wasting £20's like its no bodies business, so therefore I think that in this case it is jealousy.

Some hate black men where I live as they get girls very easily, and that again is jealousy as opposed to racism.

[ladislav]

Yes and No, I suspect some racism against farrang is a form of jealousy, as they see us as rich millionaires which of course isn't the case. Some Thai men may earn as little as £20 a month, and theres us taking all their girls and wasting £20's like its no bodies business, so therefore I think that in this case it is jealousy.

.

Ah, but you see, the Thais do not harbor any ill feelings against Oriental people who spend and spend and who get girls easily, too. Nothing. If anything, there is more respect and a willingness to share. If say, you are a Korean or a Singaporean and you blow 100 dollars an hour, there is admiration and they still love you. Seen it so many times.

Very few Thais make 20 pounds a month and it is not a prerequisite to hating farangs. The rich ones hate you too. And a face consumed by jealousy has a different look on it from one that expresses racial antipathy.

The hatred goes deeper, is historical and is similar to the Japanese xenophobia against the whites ( which started when the Portuguese would kidnap the Japanese into slavery- so the gov't there closed off the country to all foreigners and taught the locals that a gaijin= danger and trouble ). The Thai gov't had a bad experience with white would be colonizers, so they closed off the country to all white people in the past while allowing Oriental people in no problem. It was a law that white people were not even allowed in the country. Yes siree!

Indians otoh would be treated as slaves and dirt but still allowed in. Whites ( seen as one nationality- FARANGS) were seen as enemies- the way a Russian treats a German or an Arab treats a Jew. Things got better but the underlying history of mistrust and hatred remains. It resurfaces from time to time as it is traditional.

Some hate black men where I live as they get girls very easily, and that again is jealousy as opposed to racism

Oh, I am sure those black men are delighted to hear that and have heaved a sigh of relief now. Maybe now we can announce the same here in the US to all the black people- it is just jealousy that you have been experiencing.

If you are prejudiced against a person because of him/her being of a different race and what you perceive that race's behavior is before you even know the person, and treat him/her differently, it is racism.

[lavezzi]

If you are prejudiced against a person because of him/her being of a different race and what you perceive that race's behavior is before you even know the person, and treat him/her differently, it is racism.

if thats the case then everyone is a racist. we all have learned to adapt beleifs about different races in how they generally behave, such as asians being shy and africans being outgoing. when we meet a person of another race there will always be some level of prejudice to which we have no choice in the matter.

[ladislav]

Ah, you mean when I meet an Asian man, I start pacing nerveously back and forth and saying- Oh, you want some flied lice? And then stick fingers in his face and jump up and down shouting "Oriental. Oriental?" Barking and guffawing? And you mean most people do that? I don't think so.

[xiongmao]

Thailand isn't so good for white guys - too many loutish tourists have ruined our reputations.

Far better to go somewhere off the backpacker trail. It's not too hard as this includes most of central China, the Philippines (outside of Manila/Cebu), Malaysia and Indonesia (outside of Bali).

[anamericaninbangkok]

Thailand isn't so good for white guys - too many loutish tourists have ruined our reputations.

That's news to my and my friends. It's been very good to us. If you want to go off the backpacker trail, I know a few places I that some Thais don't know of, much less backpackers.

Yes, some of the racism towards farang is a form of jealousy but Thai men working, even the laborers, are making at least $150-200 a month. Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia are every bit as racist as in Thailand.

Ladislav, as you mentioned, I think Thailand is better for overseas and expatriate Asians than it is for White folks. When I went to Thailand, I know I was treated better than most White travelers because I was not seen as the 'sex tourist' or 'aggressive foreigner' compared to them. I mean, can you really blame Thais for not being a little disgusted by the behavior of some farangs while they are in Thailand? And to be honest, I've heard many Whites complain about racism in Asia--except for the Philippines. Wouldn't Eastern Europe or Latin America (where White males are seen as superior) be a better destination for White males than those Asian countries?

I've lived on Sukhumvit Soi 1, within walking distance of Nana Plaza, and despite my having women running in and out of my apartment more frequently than Asa Akira has cocks in her ass, I was treated decently. The women at my apartment never said anything about "my women." Some were good girls, others were straight up hos.

Would it help if the "farangs" learned the local language? I feel a lot of times the xenophobia comes from a lack of communication and understanding. And from what I hear, most expats don't bother to learn the local language.

Like Ladislav stated, sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. There are times when it's better to use their inability to speak English against them and times when it's better to speak Thai, like in immigration when extending a visa.

One thing that annoys me is that Thai women automatically assume they're going to need to speak English with you. Many are either too shy or stupid to speak English so they immediately think communication is going to be an issue. Then when you do speak Thai with them, they still think you probably don't know what you're talking about. This does irritate me. Some Thai women who didn't give me a chance to speak, have tried explaining something in English that I already know. Most of the time their English is atrocious.

Looking back, I think the reason I was attracted to my wife is she had the courage to speak English, doesn't back down meekly like some Thai women do, and didn't treat me like I was some dumb ass foreigner. If you really want to put a Thai woman in her place, speak in Thai to her when you're pissed off. Tell her you want to make sure she understands and you're not going to put up with any bullshit. If you do this in English, they'll let it go in one ear and out the other.

I've had a few fights here in Thailand when I first came here. What I know now is that you will rarely ever get into a physical confrontation with a Thai if you don't initiate it or get aggressive. You can make your point firmly but once you get aggressive that's when the weapons come out, friends pop up you didn't know were there, and the major problems start.

[E Irizarry R&B Singer]

............One thing that annoys me is that Thai women automatically assume they're going to need to speak English with you. Many are either too shy or stupid to speak English so they immediately think communication is going to be an issue. Then when you do speak Thai with them, they still think you probably don't know what you're talking about. This does irritate me. Some Thai women who didn't give me a chance to speak, have tried explaining something in English that I already know. Most of the time their English is atrocious. .........

This so sounds like me when dealing with stateside Latinos that are first generation in the U.S. of Gay. Just replace Thai with Spanish here.

[momopi]

Back in 2009, the Chinese-language press reported that of the ~20,000 recent Thai mail-order brides recorded, 74% married European and 13% married Asian. The article did not specify how North Americans are counted or excluded. Of those that married Asian, the article claimed that the majority was to Japanese men. Taiwan is well known for its mail order bride population, but only 1.8% are from Thailand (vs Vietnam is a much more popular choice). Some also claim that the number of Thai brides is actually smaller because the stats report foreign spouse marriages, and a certain % of it is Thai men living in TW and married local Taiwanese women. If the Thais discriminate against whites, the statistics show otherwise, though the mail order brides are mostly from poorer northern provinces. Economic factors seem to carry a heavier weight.

As for the Japanese men who imported brides, the "3H" thing actually started in Japan (三高 Sankō). 3H for men is High education, High income, and High body stature (tall). 3H for women is High education, High career, and High income. Basically 3H women looking for 3H men, and the men who can't find a wife locally go abroad to import one.

Due to the economic realities in Japan, the new "3 Low" (三低 / Santei) is sometimes used: Low profile, Low risk, and Low restrictions. Low profile (in Japanese) implies the man is not a chauvinist. Low risk means the man has a low risk job or career -- not necessarily high pay but stable job. Low restriction means the man does not tie the wife to the house and does his share of the housework. Other implied attributes include:

- The man must respect himself (have self respect) before respecting others.
- The man must know how to take care of himself and his health, so that he does not cause worry to his family.
- The man must know how to enjoy living, when faced with a brick wall he knows to figure it out himself and walk around it instead of bashing his head on it over and over.
- The man must have good temperament and does not get pissed off or angry
- The man must know stability, does not change job frequently or carry heavy debt
- The man must know how to self-manage his time, tasks, and emotions, lead a stable, self-regulated life and is not an emotional basket-case.

But if the man is old, then his prospects become more limited regardless of how well he fits into the ideal. Like it or not, "handsome young man with beautiful young women" is still the idealized couple.