If you moan about Thai people maybe the problem rests with you

By Dan Cheeseman

 

 

It is quite often I will moan about a Thai person, it could be a member of staff forgetting to do something or it could be the bad service I had at a restaurant. In fact, the topic of a Thai persons failings is something I hear other expats discuss on a weekly basis.

 

Maybe I am in a business meeting and the client is discussing how his Thai staff are unable to make simple decisions on their own, or it could just be a friend telling me that ‘Thai excellence in service’ is the biggest myth of all timei (which I actually do agree it is though). The point is there is always some rant as to why a Thai person has not come up to expectation.

 

Thai people can be infuriating

Thai people can be infuriating. This I cannot deny and if you have lived in Thailand long enough I am sure you agree with this, how can you possibly not?!

 

So then, how does my title marry up with the opening couple of sentences? Well, it does, you see I think we need to take ourselves off our ‘Western pedestal’ that assumes because things and people are not doing things the ‘Western’ way that somehow this makes them a lesser person. Because one culture is fundamentally different to our own, does not mean it is worse.

I have to correct myself on this all the time.

 

This negativism is why we get conflicts between countries, religion and the likes. If we do not understand the other person, we look at them as unequal and somehow less of an individual than ourselves.

 

There are times when I admire the Thai laid back, family centric attitude. We could die tomorrow and in a moment our position in society is worth nothing, however you view your position or status in society, that moment your inhale your last breathe everything disappears with it.

 

Full story: https://danaboutthailand.com/2018/06/11/if-you-moan-about-thai-people-maybe-the-problem-rests-with-you/

 

DAN ABOUT THAILAND

Weekly Vlogs and Blogs from in and around Thailand

i hear or see on rare occasion people taking cheap shots at thais

outside in cue etc, but it is a continuous stream here on thai visa forum.

it seem the more foreigners are bundled together,

the more  shots at thais are coming,

guessing it will take some hard core psychologist

to figure out the dynamics.

either way i've been here too long,

i'm not amused, i see no humor innit any longer,

i always thought blondes jokes were dull too.

come to think of it the stereotyping that bodybuilders

are all muscles no brain fall into the exact same

category

I think it is not the people, as much as it is the way things get done, that people get riled up about. Lots of nice folks to surround yourself with. But then the time comes to get something done. Sometimes those things are quite important.

Cheeseman is right that when you drop your expectations things get easier. But there is a cost to that too.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.......Ahhhh, very profound.

 

33 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

that assumes because things and people are not doing things the ‘Western’ way that somehow this makes them a lesser person.

Things doing things is strange enough, but to then reference "things" as "lesser people" is just poor writing.

My home country doesn’t see sixty fresh dead bodies on the roads every day. If I complain about Thai behaviour there’s a solid reason behind it, and there are things they need to change.

30 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Thai people can be infuriating. This I cannot deny and if you have lived in Thailand long enough I am sure you agree with this, how can you possibly not?!

No more infuriating than people anywhere else in the world. So I disagree with the premise that there is anything about Thai people that is uniquely infuriating.

 

And in most cases the sense of irritation experienced by some farang is directly proportional to the farang's sense of entitlement and the devastating consequences of farang loss of face when he realizes he isn't the center of the universe.

I expect the worst--hope for the best--less disappointed..

5 minutes ago, Stoker58 said:

My home country doesn’t see sixty fresh dead bodies on the roads every day. If I complain about Thai behaviour there’s a solid reason behind it, and there are things they need to change.

You tink too mutt... 555

6 minutes ago, Stoker58 said:

My home country doesn’t see sixty fresh dead bodies on the roads every day. If I complain about Thai behaviour there’s a solid reason behind it, and there are things they need to change.

And obviously there are things about your home country that drove you to pack up and leave for Thailand. Hopefully you moan about those things back in Farang Utopia and have made it clear that if they want you back (and surely they were devastated when you left),  changes will have to be made.

 

 

as i have never taken the pedestal stance  i dont feel the need to complain

however lets not get away from the truth  the general level of common sense/service/customer service/and the general subject of which we talk about leaves a whole lot to be desired

by anyones standards  all in all   i find it to be   somewhat frustrating

 

by the way i would think YOUR pedestal is taller than NELSONS COLLUMB

Amen to the article in the OP, about time somebody said that.

12 minutes ago, ChakaKhan said:

I expect the worst--hope for the best--less disappointed..

I expect the worst--hope for the best but the Thais never disappoint me.

I guess that just sums it up then, Dan. I must have a hell of a lot of problems.

Nevermind where you live, when you see things that defy logics and common sense ant that they are there anyway because people are too lazy or too stupid to fix it, you should speak up....and if the affected party think you're bad mouthing them, then so be it...

46 minutes ago, Stoker58 said:

My home country doesn’t see sixty fresh dead bodies on the roads every day. If I complain about Thai behaviour there’s a solid reason behind it, and there are things they need to change.

 

Your home country doesn't have 75% scooters.  If it did, they would see 60+ traffic deaths each day.

 

Just be thankful your home country's economy doesn't force most people to choose unsafe modes of transport.

farang moves to Thailand, then complains about Thai's. farang baaaaaaa

New land and new lifesyle. New perceptions make for happy and gentle life. We seem to have few self centred bogans here in the east.

56 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

And obviously there are things about your home country that drove you to pack up and leave for Thailand. Hopefully you moan about those things back in Farang Utopia and have made it clear that if they want you back (and surely they were devastated when you left),  changes will have to be made.

 

 

Since I left, half the pubs and all but one of the banks in my home town have closed down. Need I say more?

14Years or working  with Thais,  I decided to retire  early before I went totally  loopy. Within 1 month every one commented on how young and healthy I looked.  Treading on hot Coles every day in case I upset someone at work isn't my idea of a good working environment. Prams and dummies come to mind

Obviously Thailand isn't as developed as many western nations but we all know that and many of us still prefer living in Thailand to living in our home countries. 

I'm trying to do my bit to encourage change by setting a good example by driving properly and couteously and by declining unnecessary plastic bags or straws etc.

In general I find Thai people to be hard working and caring.

I lived in Rhodesia / Zimbabwe for 20 years and Thailand and it's people are very civilised in comparison. 

I also lived in Brussels for a couple of years when my partner was working there and I had to report to the equivalent of an amphoe and was categorised as a concubine. That was around the turn of the millennium. 

I'm treated well by Thai people.

1 hour ago, Tony45 said:

New land and new lifesyle. New perceptions make for happy and gentle life. We seem to have few self centred bogans here in the east.

The only thing I have misgivings about here in Thailand, is the very sad lack of common sense among most of the population, I am referring to people from the very top, ie politicians, highly educated people etc, to the rice farmer, shopworker, etc.

In saying that, I still say that overall, the good far outweighs the bad, where in the UK it is the exact opposite.

Seems to me some people just like  to complain about anything you can complain about the amount of deaths accidents on the roads in Thailand 

wont make any difference until the Thai Authories get more serious with giving out more severe penalties 

same as the Brits old saying  complaining about the weather nothing changes 

but you chose to live here so accept things as they are 

can always live in hope things will get better

Every topic about Thais (or Trump) the same people are moaning.

 

Dan is correct.

2 hours ago, Lamkyong said:

as i have never taken the pedestal stance  i dont feel the need to complain

however lets not get away from the truth  the general level of common sense/service/customer service/and the general subject of which we talk about leaves a whole lot to be desired

by anyones standards  all in all   i find it to be   somewhat frustrating

 

by the way i would think YOUR pedestal is taller than NELSONS COLLUMB

By all accounts Nelson had a modest "Collumb"

Dan seems to be banging on about death a lot this week,do hope the lad is okay.

3 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

I think it is not the people, as much as it is the way things get done, that people get riled up about. Lots of nice folks to surround yourself with. But then the time comes to get something done. Sometimes those things are quite important.

Cheeseman is right that when you drop your expectations things get easier. But there is a cost to that too.

and that "cost"  is the one "you" end up paying, if  the Thais had to pay it would be a different story.

Personally I find many Thais lazy,selfish, careless, thoughtless.

Havent seen much to change my opinion in over 12  years.

Have a few  Thai friends who are very nice, saying that I think   my description of Thais fits many people in the world especially these  days, the world of "self" it seems.

So what if I moan about em, they dont care and neither should you.

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

This negativism is why we get conflicts between countries, religion and the likes. If we do not understand the other person, we look at them as unequal and somehow less of an individual than ourselves

I rarely interact on a personal level with anyone, anywhere.

If you don't talk to them, employ them or have relationship with them, you have no need to moan about them.

This works anywhere in the world. Mail order, 7-11 & Tesco is a wonderful thing.

 

I call myself a 'digital hermit'.

18 minutes ago, Justfine said:

Every topic about Thais (or Trump) the same people are moaning.

 

Dan is correct.

PTSD

Post Trump/Thai  Derangement Syndrome

The way I see it is, Thailand is not perfect, but then again where I came from, Sydney, it is too perfect, controlling a more appropriate word.

 

Sure when I look at Thai's I say to myself how the fark, but then I am sure if they were in Sydney, they would say how the fark.

 

I would have loved to have been raised in an environment that is as stress-less as it is here in Thailand, as opposed to the stressed-out environment I was raised in, in Sydney.

 

So when I look at someone driving erratically, riding a motorcycle without a helmet or a young child on it, no police to be seen within coo-ee, food prepared on the street in an unhygienic way, check out staff at Lotus or Big C not being able to handle more than one customer at a time, i.e. someone holding up the que while something is checking an items price to confirm the cost, eg, stand aside please, next, yiatta yiatta yiatta, I just take a breath and say, do you want to go back to Sydney, and then realise, no, I am not in a hurry anymore, I am living the dream, so no complaints from me, it is what it is, and perfect I do not want because I know it doesn't exist, so I lower my expectations and smile, while I bite my tongue, gently 555