Overcharged For Being a Thai and Too White - a different racism story

[metisdead]

Some off topic trolling posts have been removed.  Another post of racist nature has been removed. 

[mogandave]

I think it amusing that the op will be happy if all the long-time customers have to pay more.

Exactly how does that benefit you?


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[TonyClifton]

1 minute ago, mogandave said:

I think it amusing that the op will be happy if all the long-time customers have to pay more.

Exactly how does that benefit you?


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Show me where the OP said it #1, and #2 that this would make him happy.  From there we can move forward.  I suspect this will be your only post.

[aircooledflat4]

OP what do you do when you find out the guy sitting next to you on a plane paid less than you for his ticket. Same journey, same everything, like for like. No probs wth that? Ok cool. But what if the guy happens to be non white? Start another overcharged for being too white a different racism thread?

[mogandave]

Show me where the OP said it #1, and #2 that this would make him happy.  From there we can move forward.  I suspect this will be your only post.

In the first post

[TonyClifton]

In the first post

Quote me.

Sent from my USA make America Great Again Motorola mobile phone.

[mogandave]

Facts:
 
I am American.
My wife is Thai.
My son is both Thai and American with both passports and a Thai ID.
My son is enrolled in an English Language School here in Bangkok following the Thai curriculum all in English.
 
This is his first year at this school and he is in the 4th grade.
I pay for van service to and from the school which covers 7km each way with 11 children in the van daily.
The school billed me for the van service.
The school charges 1000b more per month than the other 10 children.
There are 3 Koreans, 2 Filipinos and 5 other Thais as my son is Thai.
My son has round eyes.
He has white skin.
He's handsome.
The rest of the children are from various Asian countries.  They all have Asian eyes and the only other white children are the Koreans.  Well, nearly white.
 
Did I mention the van is charging me 1000b more per month than the other children? I have already overpaid without knowing it for the first semester.   My neighbor, the mother of one of Filipino boys told me she pays 2000b.  The school did a breakdown for me today showing me that I am paying 3000b.  My neighbor lives at the same address as we all live in a condo.  There are 6 children who live here, each paying 2000b.
 
The obvious assumption made by me was that all the children look Asian whereas my son looks a little Thai if you look closely.  
 
When confronted, the schools head teacher and coordinator did the requisite hummmminna hummina hummina and blamed it on the van driver.  I had my wife call the van driver who also did a bit of a dance before coming up with this explanation:
 
Your son is new.  
 
The others were all with us last year and our costs have gone up so we had to charge him 1000b more per month.  
 
That explanation smelled badly.  I felt the need to press on.  Ignoring the fact that 10 children x 2000b monthly = 20,000b + my boy at 3000b = 23,000b per month.  "So why not charge everyone 3000b" I pressed the wife to ask.  He said they won't do that.  "Ask the rat *$&*# if he is going to charge everyone 3000b next year?" I asked.  Nope, it will still be 2000b.
 
Not a mathematician and not really liking math much, I forced myself to do the math in my head.  Let's see, times are tough, and it's more expensive but it's just enough to charge me 1000b more and forego and extra 10,000b a month, or 120,000b a year extra if he charges everyone the "current rate."  It still doesn't smell good.
 
"Tell your husband we will give him a 500b discount if he doesn't like paying 3000b!" said the moron van driver and would be owner of the van service.  Now that was a might Christian thing for him do! Oh, did I mention this was a Christian school based on Christian Morals and the teaching of Christ?  I mention it now.
 
The school is run under the auspices of the Thai Ministry of Education.  
 
The joke, is that of the children who pay less than my son, half of them are foriegners who look Asian.  My son is Thai.  
 
Comments?  I am very curious about how much trouble I can cause the school.  Yes, I'm vindictive and don't like being discriminated against because of my white skin.  Sue me.
 
 
 
 
 

See?

[TonyClifton]

See?

No

Prove your premise.

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[mogandave]

No

Prove your premise.

Sent from my USA make America Great Again Motorola mobile phone.

You first.

[steve187]

11 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

If a new child starts using the service and is given the old lower price then you will have something to write about, as it stands you don't, as has clearly been explained to you you are just paying the new rate and the old customers have had their old rate honoured.

a bit like grandfathering the amount required for a yearly extension.

[TonyClifton]

You first.

Brilliant. You accuse me of something, then can't produce it, but I should prove it for you.

Do you need medical assistance?

Sent from my USA make America Great Again Motorola mobile phone.

[NanLaew]

14 hours ago, TonyClifton said:

I remind my son to wear a seat belt, but he says he is the only one wearing it.

Chip off the old block for sure, eh?

[Gandtee]

I would suggest this subject has been beaten to death. It has now become a squabble. 

[TonyClifton]

I would suggest this subject has been beaten to death. It has now become a squabble. 

You may suggest all you want but I started this thread. And after my meeting later today with the school officials who will be confronted so there there's going to be more. This is not even close to being over.

 

Sent from my USA make America Great Again Motorola mobile phone.

 

 

 

[jenny2017]

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•  #158

Posted 4 hours ago

  4 hours ago, mogandave said:

See? 

 

Your son, the school, and the van driver must love you a lot. 

 
Sent from my Thai make Thailand Great Again Somchai mobile phone.

Edited November 24, 2017 by jenny2017

[Berkshire]

11 hours ago, mogandave said:

I think it amusing that the op will be happy if all the long-time customers have to pay more.

Exactly how does that benefit you?


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The OP is training to become a professional victim.  This is a real term, by the way...

 

[Professional victim can refer to a person:

--who has a victim complex, i.e. seems to think that all hardships in their life stems from their being oppressed; or

--whose public visibility and/or contribution to public discussion is based and dependent on their being (or playing) a victim.

A complex-type professional victim might associate every obstacle with just one of their minority profiles, or varyingly with whatever intersectional minorities they represent. It can be a form of responsibility dodging, especially when it's employed as a psychological coping mechanism.]

[OldSiamHand]

16 hours ago, TonyClifton said:

I remind my son to wear a seat belt, but he says he is the only one wearing it.

If this school is worth its salt and you are truly concerned that your son receives a good education, then the van should have a bus monitor as well.  they confirm that the kids wear their seatbelts.  relying on the kids to do it themselves is foolish.  of course if you ask them if they wear a seat belt they will say yes.

 

if this is a genuine thread, then i applaud your efforts in righting a perceived wrong.  however, i would strongly suggest you get your son out of that school now.  he will be an easy scapegoat for any repercussions.  there are plenty of good international schools that aren't affiliated with any religion and with qualified headmasters and teachers for you to choose from.  the goods ones all have extensive bus service as well.

[OldSiamHand]

15 hours ago, TonyClifton said:

I see you need some help with your logic.  I'll help you.

 

My son is Thai.  He is enrolled.  His bill is paid. He is one month into the 1st month of the 2nd semester.  Got it? Do you understand?

This school teaches in English only.  I don't think they are classified as private as they teach the Thai Curriculum but all of it in English.  They are licensed by the Ministry of Education subject to their rules and regulations. 

 

It is you who embarrasses yourself.  You assumed facts, not in evidence.  Next time you'll be more careful.

 

 

If you are paying tuition it is a private school - either for profit or foundation run.  all schools, private and public, have to be licensed to operate in Thailand.

[DavisH]

3 hours ago, steve187 said:

a bit like grandfathering the amount required for a yearly extension.

School fees are not normally grandfathered, so not sure why the cost of the van is. The only reason that the van ride would cost more is that the student lived further away than other kids. However, this is not the case. 

[TonyClifton]

Solved and agreed.

 

I shall pay 2000b from now on, not 3000b.  A very rational explanation was given and I will accept it at face value.  

 

The takeaway from all of this centers on communication.  The headteacher excelled at doing a crappy job of communicating between all parties.  Instead of problem-solving he hid until this potential misunderstanding became critical.  He pawned off the problem initially onto the van driver who possibly answered the question correctly, but the protestation from the headteacher of knowing nothing created a vacuum which I of course filled with the most rational of explanations. 

 

As I stated, I'm not sure the story that I just got is 100 percent true, but it was a good explanation and I am now satisfied.  I am also paying what every other child in the van pays for the same van seat.

[Gandtee]

17 minutes ago, TonyClifton said:

Solved and agreed.

 

I shall pay 2000b from now on, not 3000b.  A very rational explanation was given and I will accept it at face value.  

 

The takeaway from all of this centers on communication.  The headteacher excelled at doing a crappy job of communicating between all parties.  Instead of problem-solving he hid until this potential misunderstanding became critical.  He pawned off the problem initially onto the van driver who possibly answered the question correctly, but the protestation from the headteacher of knowing nothing created a vacuum which I of course filled with the most rational of explanations. 

 

As I stated, I'm not sure the story that I just got is 100 percent true, but it was a good explanation and I am now satisfied.  I am also paying what every other child in the van pays for the same van seat.

Thank goodness for that.!

[stevenl]

So what was the explanation? Was it racist, as you have been claiming, or was it something else?

[TonyClifton]

Just now, stevenl said:

So what was the explanation? Was it racist, as you have been claiming, or was it something else?

I need confirmation from my neighbor who originally started all this by telling me she paid 2000b.  I will give the school director the benefit of the doubt as the narrative he provided seemed quite reasonable.  

 

I would still fire the useless headteacher who from Monday until now, did absolutely nothing to quell the growing sentiment that this was Thai racism.  He,

for the most part, hid until I pushed it to the point where he could no longer hide. 

[jenny2017]

3 minutes ago, TonyClifton said:

I need confirmation from my neighbor who originally started all this by telling me she paid 2000b.  I will give the school director the benefit of the doubt as the narrative he provided seemed quite reasonable.  

 

I would still fire the useless headteacher who from Monday until now, did absolutely nothing to quell the growing sentiment that this was Thai racism.  He,

for the most part, hid until I pushed it to the point where he could no longer hide. 

I'm sure that you've got a lot of new friends now. On here and everywhere. Best of luck !! Is it not over?

[TonyClifton]

1 minute ago, jenny2017 said:

I'm sure that you've got a lot of new friends now. On here and everywhere. Best of luck !! Is it not over?

Yes, it's over.  I agreed to 2000b from here forward but the 3000b I paid the first semester is off the table.

[TonyClifton]

Money Transferred and I shall waste no more time.  For the record, my biggest complaint with this school has been parent-school communication.  It sucks.  It not only fueled this issue but constantly causes trouble throughout the school year due to the incompetence of the headteacher.  

 

I am hoping that this issue got the attention of the school director as it is clear that the headteacher handled this entire issue poorly.

[metisdead]

As the OP's dilemma has been resolved, this topic is now closed.