BangkokReady

"One cuts, one chooses" is an example of fairness and therefore does not fit in with your list of examples of unfairness. You would need to say "I cut, I choose" for it to make sense.

I wonder how long until we see propaganda posters on the BTS!

Basically, they see it as someone taking a job from a Thai that they could do. "Thailand is for Thais" as they would no doubt say. Whether they could do it as well, or other benefits of immigration are lost, is another question. But that is the logic.

Foreigners either pay or serve to be here. Also often they are discriminated against over Thai people. "Guest" is hardly an appropriate analogy.

The only assumptions I made about your mum and dad is that they were married at the point in time I mentioned. I then went on to describe what I believe marriage to have been like in that era. I didn't actually specifically refer to your parents situation.

I think this comes from a very different time, at least in Western countries. The fact that generally people didn't date but "courted", and often didn't have sex before marriage, meant that "popping the question" was a lot easier to do. I'm not sure of the psychological reason, but it seems like knowing someone for a short amount of time then getting married seems functional where people don't have sex before marriage, but not so where they do. I guess it has something to do with men being the ones who decide who gets married, and a virgin being somehow higher value or being easy to commit to? I can imagine someone meeting a woman who has never been with another man and proposing within weeks/months. I can't imagine the same happening where the girl has had multiple sexual partners. Not sure of the exact reason.

I have no problem with it either. As long as both parties know what they're getting into and keep up their end of the deal, no one can really judge that. Some may cast aspersions on it, but often this is simply sour grapes. Most "Western relationships", where people pretend it's all about love and personality, would likely not have happened had the man not been in a position to provide something to the woman and the woman not been physically attractive to the man. And often these "love based" relationship collapse where one of the parties no longer provide what they initially did, while the other party still feels they can find that elsewhere.

Who would be left to do the actual investigation though?

If he's willing to do that, it makes his claims seem pretty genuine. Good to know he at least has a roof over his head. What about schooling?

It's a tricky one. As others have said, as much as you could be a positive influence on the boy, having him in close proximity to your son would likely lead him astray. Unless your positive influence is so strong that it causes him to completely turn his life around. Not impossible, but it's quite the risk to take, and once you took him in, it would be difficult to then turf him out again if things go bad. Even if you were to rent a room somewhere for him, it might put him in a slightly better position, but then you might be considered on the hook for anything he does, and you can't really know exactly what his behaviour will be like in the future. It's really sad, as you hear a lot of stories of children being pretty much left to fend for themselves in Thailand. Local people often don't seem particularly concerned and there doesn't seem to be any authority caring for them. It's good that you're even thinking about the situation. I hope you're able to do something.

Given the circumstances, and the fact that she came onto him, the gut feeling is that she isn't simply looking for a hook-up with an elderly man. Probably hoping something long-term (but not too long-term, given the age), that will result in her inheriting whatever assets he has left. As others have said, if they both want it to head in a "you take care of me until I die, then you will be taken care of after that" deal, it could be OK. But there's always the fear of elder abuse and neglect once the guy becomes infirm.

Basically, some people don't like the idea of working/middle class tourist coming to Thailand to get drunk, party, and use prostitutes. They would rather have extremely wealthy tourists staying in luxury hotels and eating in expensive restaurants. This is based the international image that Thailand has and the affect this has on how much "face" they either lose or gain. They don't really care about the amount of money coming in or whether regular Thai people are benefiting from it.

Well this is just crazy talk. We need to be making it harder and less attractive to visit Thailand as a tourist. That way only the high-quality tourists will come!

I think what they actually say is that the crime deserves the death penalty. They don't mention anyone being guilty.

I like to take street photos. Often there are people there, but it's a wide shot so nobody is exactly being aimed at or shot at close-up. I feel no guilt about these sort of photos. Sometimes I'm wating for people to go so that I can get just the buildings and nothing else. Sometimes a local walking by can enhance the shot though. If I wanted to take a photo of someone up close where they were the main focus, I would ask. If they said no, I would not photograph them. I'm pretty sure you can do it legally, but I don't feel right about it. I was once sizing up a shot in Vietnam that would have featured a fruit seller quite prominently (although not the sole subject, just foregrounded). She noticed this and shook her head. I felt a little disappointed, but respected her wishes. Read the room, I guess.

Are there meant to be people in these photos? I just see photos of the ground.

So what's the logic here? He had to end the affair but didn't want anyone else to have her? Or kill her then kill himself so that they can be reincarnated and be together in their next lives? I like some of the principles of Buddhism, but the way some Thais have such absolute faith in reincarnation can make them do some pretty crazy things sometimes. Also no real regard for his wife or kid. At least four lives completely ruined. Good job.

It's an opportunity to put another foreigner down, which leads them to feel that their own status has been elevated.

It means he butted someone with his head. "an aggressive and forceful thrust with the top of the head into the face or body of another person."

Surprising to hear of a lone man trying to stop him. Definitely a good thing, but sad that all he got for his troubles was an eye injury.

You can only learn things about people from your immediate social circle? I find that surprising. I don't think that is normal and it is certainly not the case for me. Do you want to try a different ad-hom?

You also hear women say "Oh I like a bad boy me" and "But he makes me feel so safe". Women can very often like men that treat them very badly. Then there's the fear. The bad-boy she chose threatens to kill her if she leaves (even more likely in Thailand). Also there's the fact that men often earn more than women, and they have a kid together, so they're pretty reliant on him. I think they just find a way to tolerate it or even don't mind it in some situations. Don't abusers normally apologise and act nicely for a while after an assault?

Would you tell your friends if your wife was beating you and you were scared to leave her?

*people

She isn't bad looking. I wonder why she chose a gambling wife-beater 15 years her senior. Unless the bad-boy type of thing drew her to him. No other way out in Thailand. If the circumstances are as she says, I can't say I blame her. What a mess.