oldscool

Absolutely right. In fact I noticed a pic posted recently by another member, can't remember who, listing the changes over the last few decades, from the first step into decriminalisation (actually that may have been omitted, tellingly) and equal rights, through to pronouns, as if it was a war waged personally against him. The simple truth is that in Thailand social homophobes are in a small minority as far as I can see, except perhaps among expats.

Hi stoner, yes you're right, but there are 2 types of hostility as far as I can see: 1. Institutional hostility. Most of our home countries are good by comparison with most of the rest of the world on this measurement - recognising same sex marriage etc 2. Social or personal hostility. Thailand is one of the best, if not the best place in the world on this measurement.

Full credit it to you for persisting in trying to inform people that lgbtq+ people do have additional issues to consider compared to straight people. Many issues around retirement are common to all people of course, but lgbtq+ people have additional issues too.

What I'm suggesting is maintaining this subforum as an open forum, and creating a private lgbtq+ subforum. That way it won't disappear, but there will be a place for lgbtq+ people to discuss things without harassment. Much in the same way there's a private subforum for women. Homophobia and misogyny are symptoms of the same mentality a lot of the time. It will also reduce moderation overhead.

This is a key point. It's really astonishing that people compare it to having ginger hair, being bald, or smoking dope, each of which I've seen in the last few days, and more. This is why a private sub-forum is needed. Having to justify oneself to homophobes, conscious or unconscious, is not acceptable on a civilised forum

Well most of our home countries, and may even quite a few others, don't incarcerate gay people any more, and have achieved a good level of equality under the law, though not always complete. But there's still a huge amount of disparity in the way people are treated day to day. Simple examples, walking hand in hand, kissing in public, are likely to get a sound kicking in many places. In my own home country some towns are renowned for being gay friendly, but most aren't.

ok. Well Greece and Spain can be inexpensive, but I'm not sure how accessible they are for retirement for non EU citizens. I'm also not sure what people's attitudes might be like out in the sticks.

Back on topic, one website suggests Amsterdam. Bangkok. Buenos Aires, Argentina. Lisbon, Portugal. Madrid. Montevideo, Uruguay. Paris. Taipei, Taiwan. Tel Aviv, Israel. https://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/baby-boomers/slideshows/the-most-lgbtq-friendly-places-to-retire-overseas Maybe Greece?

The simplest solution is to create a new closed subforum. This subforum would remain for example for general questions about marriage/inheritance/wills/hospitals or any other gay related topic that people want to post about and contribute to. This solution requires zero management overhead, in fact it would probably reduce the moderation overhead.

Exactly. That's why I suggest a closed subforum, as is the case for the women's subforum. It doesn't require any management overhead, other than creating a new subforum. And it doesn't preclude discussions related to sexuality on the main forum.

General topics have general interest regardless of a poster's sexuality, and that doesn't preclude discussions about sexuality or gender in the general forum. But given the amount of homophobia on the forum it would make a lot of sense to have a closed lgbtq+ subforum. For example a poster recently started a thread about gay hookups in Pattaya, and it was immediately hit by homophobes whose comments had to be removed. There is a closed subforum for women, quite rightly given the number of misogynistic posts on the main forum. The same is needed for lgbtq+. It's not a question of divisiveness, It's a question of creating a forum that works for everyone. To imply, as you are doing, that straight threads are bombarded by gay trolls and bigots and therefore straights need a private subforum is obviously not true.

The respondents are per country. Different countries different sized populations,

It is disappointing to see these homophobic posts. They shouldn't be allowed on any forum, but especially not the gay forum. Perhaps the management would consider a closed lgbtq+ sub-forum.

Or compassionate and forgiving? It's a fundamental principle that Buddha's teachings are passed on freely. And they are in Thai monasteries even for long term stays the food is free - payment is discretionary at the end of the retreat, at least in the one I attended. Sadhguru, who I mentioned above has numerous free guided practices on his website/app. And you can volunteer for very long stays of 6 months plus sometimes, all free. Other courses are paid but it's a small fee. The mindfulness health industry, particularly in the west, is pretty far removed from the idea of spiritual growth. It's an industry that needs to turn a profit to survive I guess.

Actually I did reference the positives, but not itemise them, as in "despite the positives", and supplied the link for interested readers. There were 3 reasons for not itemising them: 1. The quote would have been too long. 2. Many tokers here claim to be unaware of the negatives, so it's a good idea to spell them out. 3. The medicinal benefits are overwhelmingly, but not exclusively, from low THC products that stoners wouldn't be interested in, therefore not especially relevant to a discussion on the health benefits of recreational weed. Apart from any of that, Anutin himself was and is clear about the intention for medicinal use only. It was poorly thought out decriminalization that is being rectified, that's all. In one of my first posts here a couple of years ago I posted that this was inevitable, based on what senior people in the health dept had told me. All the baloney about Thaksin being behind it is paranoia, another symptom of weed abuse. I understand that the long-term users - retirees and tourists - here wouldn't be at the sharp end of the health problems, but the Thai youth in particular would be, and as my quote makes clear, mental health problems associated with recreational weed at a young age can be severe and irreversible.