OneMoreFarang

Can you please PM me the same or publish it here? Thanks!

I wonder about your conviction that they learned perfect English from their dad...

Since I left the navy I never, ever made my bed. ????

You really think you have any rights in the decision-making? WOW I wrote: "If part of the deal is that he lives somewhere in a red village without communication network, then that would be fine with me - not that I expect that anybody cares about what I like." And you decided to ignore the part which I now highlighted just for you. One of us is ignorant or manipulative.

And why do you bring this topic up here for discussion? Did you hope that lots of members will tell you: Force your son to do what you want. I would bet that "it is my way and that's it, no other way" is a sure way to make the situation worse. And if one day, maybe in a few years, you think about what you did wrong, then maybe remember this discussion.

No! Mothers and females have a parental role, and fathers and males have another parental role. That's psychology 101. Denying that fact is ridiculous.

I understand this is a difficult situation for you. One thing I am pretty sure about: Your son won't care at all about the legal situation. He will do what he wants to do and what he gets away with. If he would stay together with i.e. drug addicts or criminals then I understand that you would do anything to get him away from those bad influence. If you force him to not see his mother, then I am pretty sure he won't understand that. And no argument "I only do this for your future" will convince him. So the question is: Do you want to be legally right and alienate your son? Or do you want to try to make the best out of the situation? I am pretty sure you won't be able to force your son to accept what you want and/or the legal situation.

I try to remember the time when I was 15. My mother allowed A and my father wanted B. What did I choose? Obviously the option which I wanted. My parents were married and not divorced, but I am sure even if they would have been divorced and I would have done what I wanted, and with what I get away with, and not just obey what one of them told me to do. In my case my father never wanted to give advice to me. If I asked him something he wanted that I do what he told me to do. I would have liked advice and make my own decision, but when I did that, he asked/accused me "why did you ask me and then do it differently?" Personally, I think it would be best for your son, and also your daughter, if you support them, try to influence them to be good at school, maybe go to university or learn a suitable job, etc. Also try to keep them away from drugs and other bad influences. Will you be able to do that by dictating to your son what he should do? I have my doubts. Will he follow your advice when he sees that you try to support him? Not sure, but that is still a lot more likely than the "I tell you what you have to do" option. And about you not speaking Thai after 15 years in Thailand: Why not? Didn't you think it would be a good idea that you can communicate with the Thai people around your children, their friends, teachers, other parents? Will your children bring friends home and tell them: this is my dad, he lives here since I was born, but he doesn't understand you...

Look at the last decades. The military often "accepted" a civil government. They interfered when the corrupt leader of those governments behaved like he is above the law. Thaksin could still be the beloved PM if he wouldn't have been so greedy and corrupt.

"America" does try to interfere in Thai politics, and almost any other politics around the globe. That shouldn't be a surprise to anybody.

If part of the deal is that he lives somewhere in a red village without communication network, then that would be fine with me - not that I expect that anybody cares about what I like.

PT: We do anything you want as long as you support that our criminal leader can come back to Thailand without going to jail.

Of course my one is different. ????

I don't think I would say I concern myself especially with Gen-Z, but they are part of the people around us and part of the population in this world. I think it is a good idea to have some general information about others, what they do, how they are motivated, etc. And about meeting, what you call "real ladies": I am happy in my long-time relationship with my girlfriend who I met when she was young but who is now not young anymore. I don't plan to replace her. But just in case she would i.e. die in an accident and if I would look for a new girlfriend again, then I would look for a nice girl, and not an old woman. Who wants to start a relationship with an old woman, who has lots of baggage from her earlier life when the alternative is a nice girl?

Why? Can't we all be concerned about anybody else who lives in our community?

Obviously they are different. Growing up with a smartphone is a very different experience compared to growing up without one. On the other hand, they are obviously not all the same. Obviously I know people in that age group, but I wouldn't say I know enough of them well enough to understand them.

This is important for anybody who wants to apply for a tourist visa in Phnom Penh (and maybe other places). In the Thai embassy over there they insist that the person who wants a visa has a ticket booked to leave Thailand with 60 days after arrival. "Excuses" like the visa will be extended don't count. You must show the ticket to leave Thailand. Otherwise no visa! And to make things more interesting, they tell that to the visa applicant when he/she wants to pick up the passport with visa after waiting for 3 days. So better make sure you have a ticket to leave Thailand again, otherwise no visa! P.S.: I had the ticket, and I got my visa. But I saw a couple of unhappy people who didn't get their visa.

Presumably I don't. But being together with her for many years I help the family from time to time. The father is old and now he has to go sometimes to the hospital. Sometimes an ambulance takes him for free, and sometimes not. Someone has to pay for the transport. I am not the only person who helps the father, and I can afford it more than others. I don't complain about that fact. I would also help my family in farangland if they needed to go to the hospital but couldn't afford it.

Really? Where does that wisdom come from?

Option 1, you really don't know. Option 2, you pretend you don't know. There is a difference between sex and love and relationships. Some guys sometimes just want to f#^$, or get a BJ. Baby, let's do it. And after he comes that's it. Thanks, and maybe see you another time. No, you don't have to tell me your name.

That reminds at the time when I spoke with American soldiers with my broken English, and I told them I always forget the difference between much and many. They looked at me and asked: Is there a difference? I gave up after that. And yes, I consulted a dictionary, at that time on paper, and I found the answer.

It seems you made up your mind about lots of people or groups of people. There is no such thing as the groups of bar girls. They are not all the same. Some women, bar girls or not, marry rich guys because they want to live with lots of money. Some like it, some not so much. Other women, including bar girls, stay with guys or marry guys who they are comfortable with or maybe they love them. It's not all the same.

And where does your knowledge come from? Reading statistics? Listening to priests? Tell us with how many girls and women did you talk who work or worked in that business? Did you listen to them? Did you try to understand them? Or did you just try to bring them to the rigorous way - at least your version of that? I don't pretend that all people in the nightlife industry are happy. Some are, and some are not. Just like those rice farmers. Some like it and some hate it. And some of them change their life.

I agree that no one has to sell their body here to survive. But many do it because they want a better life. It's their choice, even if you don't like it. With your background I wouldn't be surprised if there is a lot of Christian background with you about things which good girls do and not do and what society accepts or not. In that way Thailand is very different. Lots of women which made lots of money in the bar business and who maybe married a rich farang are well accepted in those rice villages. Lots of girls want that they will grow up and be like that. And parents want that their daughters grow up like that. You probably don't like it and don't understand it. But that is reality in Thailand.

Yes, if she would have grown up in a happy family with loving parents then her life would probably be different. But that was not the case. And a few hours with a nice psychologist won't "repair" her. People do what they do according to their own experiences in life. They try to make the best out of their life - even if the best is not what others think should be the best.