In 1969-70 I spent a year in apartheid South Africa. Those Whites-Coloured signs were everywhere, on buses, buildings, doorways, elevators, park benches, etc. 

The Afrikaners really were racists and worse. It was disturbing then, and I don't like to see similar discrimination here or anywhere, in this day and age.

However, I didn't come here lost in a fog of ignorant bliss. I was aware that many people in this country are uneducated, ill informed and tribal even while they embrace modern technology like smartphones.

While it can still rankle to hear insulting comments or observe ignorant, boorish behavior by many, I accept that it's part of the way this place is put together.

I can't change it, and anyway would never like to see it become a PC nation like the one I fled from. The day someone in their fifties runs to the press here to accuse a high profile figure of touching her on the shoulder 30 years ago, is when it completely loses it's character for me. 

 

 

37 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Love to know how we all react to the first bus load of Chinese that are encountered behaving in the same fashion they did previously!

Indeed. Remember that bus load of Chinese some months back, screaming "REFUND! REFUND! REFUND!" at all the important city officials on stage, since they were promised some fancy cultural exposition instead? Haha.

 

Once this inevitably happens again, will the Thais' reaction be closer to the "dirty farangs" we've been getting, in this wake of Corona, and given that it's their virus? Hmm. HMM.

Some Thai temples also have different entrances for foreigners than for Thais. I don’t like it but I can understand it. It’s not the norm though.

 

you can’t compare systematic racism where discrimination is encoded into the legal system with some one-off cases. Neither are good but one is much much worse than the other.

On 4/28/2020 at 11:43 AM, smutcakes said:

Who cares? Does it really bother anyone that much? Oh no they made me use another entrance, i feel so hurt!!!

You might feel hurt if the other entrance they made you use was the rear entrance.

On 4/28/2020 at 12:23 PM, johng said:

On 4/28/2020 at 11:43 AM, smutcakes said:

Who cares? Does it really bother anyone that much? Oh no they made me use another entrance, i feel so hurt!!! ????

I would mind this very much if I were still in the old country, aka USA. But no, not here I won't mind a bit, not when I still have easy access to other kind of "entrances" (and lot more of it than where I come from). Bottom line is you are here as an expat, not their citizen, by your own volition. But for some reason folks like to bring their own "democracy" with them wherever they go, and impose it wherever they land. I guess the old colonial mindset is hard to get rid of, among farangdom.

2 minutes ago, watthong said:

I would mind this very much if I were still in the old country, aka USA. But no, not here I won't mind a bit, not when I still have easy access to other kind of "entrances" (and lot more of it than where I come from). Bottom line is you are here as an expat, not their citizen, by your own volition. But for some reason folks like to bring their own "democracy" with them wherever they go, and impose it wherever they land. I guess the old colonial mindset is hard to get rid of, among farangdom.

I think you have confused the word "democracy" with "decency"?