BangkokReady

My point is that the fact that many women choose to work very low paying jobs and do not turn to prostitution refute this. Not innate, but there's certainly a cultural element in the higher rate of sex for money in Thailand.

Would my hypothetical "home country" have the cost of living that Thailand does? Plenty of people in Thailand manage to get by without being prostitutes.

Did I say that?

It does seem like a lot of the time here things that we would call abuse, trauma or neglect, people just call normal. It's actually kind of sad.

A lot of people are in denial over the state of employment in Thailand and pretend that any prostitute is only doing it because they have no other choice. This allows them to label the girl as an innocent victim and the John an evil predator, so they can excuse the behaviour of a Thai and demonise the behaviour of a foreigner. A double whammy.

So it should be ignored because he's left-wing?

I didn't see any of those, but it seems perfectly logical. What I'm talking about is something like "global warming slowed by X% during the pandemic, due to decreased emissions".

Does anyone know when the data is going to be released from the effect covid had on all this? The complete shut down for two years must have had some effect on emissions, which must have altered the warming in some way.

Toilet paper (for drying) is ALWAYS spotless afterwards - you're doing it wrong! Drying or wiping your anus as you would when using only toilet paper?

Why would you have more respect for an older person going out than one staying in? If both are doing what they want and are happy, why is one more worthy of respect? Should an older person who would rather be relaxing at home go out and party just to defy some sort of stereotype? You sound like you maybe have a few issues around your age and being seen as too old to party with the younger people. I suggest you try to worry less about what other people think of you and simply do whatever makes you happy. I thought one of the best things about getting older was the fact that you didn't have this anxiety around wanting other people to think you're cool and just being able to do what makes you happy. If you want to go out and party with younger people, go and do it. But I don't think any older person (or younger person for that matter) who would rather stay in than go out and party is deserving of any kind of criticism for doing what makes them happy.

Or fall in a puddle...

It's inconvenient, but it's kind of just a quirk of Thailand. I don't see any reason to get upset about it, but I also don't think there's anything wrong with people sharing their opinions on some of the more negative aspects of it. ????‍♂️

Absolutely, if you have that choice. Many foreigners and Thais living in Thailand do not.

Not all foreigners have a choice, nor do Thais who don't want to be soaked while they go about their daily business. Songkran happens all over Thailand. It is not isolated to Pattaya.

"The defiant will be punished for their actions!" Wow! You're so chilled out, positive and in harmony with nature!

Because you don't really understand what you're reading? Can you explain how I might be "the pot calling the kettle black"?

Yep. Why?

Are you suggesting that I am in any way claiming that what the Turk did was OK?

Just as there will always be people who feel the need to insult people who have different experiences or opinions to them. ????‍♂️

Well, you engaged with me and continue to do so. You can stop replying any time. This would be a wonderful analogy, if it reflected the truth of Songkran. You can go on pretending that Songkran is only as you describe it, even when others say their experience is different. I doubt anyone could tell you otherwise. It's clear that the truth of what actually happens means little to you. I guess when the truth conflicts with what you need to believe in order to "live in harmony", you cannot accept it and anyone who disagrees must be labelled a "misery". ????‍♂️

Probably, but what does that have to do with anything?

People who share different experiences of life to you. By being negative, refusing to accept the possibility of them experiencing life differently to you, by needing to pretend other people are a particular way in order to not have to listen to what they say, is evidence of a negative attitude. You have no idea whether I am miserable or not. The fact that you feel the need to label me as miserable, that you need to pretend that I am miserable, in order to engage with what I am saying, shows that you do not live a life of harmony. A better way, is to accept the fact that you might be wrong.

You. You're claiming that Songkran is good based on your personal experience of it and ignoring the fact that other people have completely different experiences to you. It has nothing to do with being miserable. It's about ignoring the truth because you don't like it. What does this even mean? I'm saying that not everyone gets a light spray of water during Songkran, some get a bucket of water over them. This has nothing to do with you not being me.

Still have the religious festival. Still have organised water fights. Stop the people in random places throwing water at people just going about their day who don't want to be soaked. Plenty of Thai people don't like the last part, they're just a lot more quiet about it than foreigners are.

You clearly don't, as is demonstrated by your attitude. You pretend to live in harmony with Thais, then you lie and insult others when faced with anything negative about them. Or stay indoors then moan about it online, as many Thais do!