SURVEY: Do you think Thailand is becoming less tolerant of foreigners?

[Scott]

There have been a lot of changes that affect Thai society.   In your opinion, is Thailand becoming less friendly and open to foreigners?   Chose the option that best fits your thoughts on the situation.  

 

Please feel free to leave a comment.

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm....Xenophobic comes to mind. To describe foreigners in your legislation as “aliens” sums it up really. Your money is welcome but you are not.

[Pedrogaz]

Most certainly less tolerant.

[orchis]

7 minutes ago, bbbbooboo said:

Hmmm....Xenophobic comes to mind. To describe foreigners in your legislation as “aliens” sums it up really. Your money is welcome but you are not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(law)
This term is also used in US UK Australia and Canada.

[Paiman]

I ticked the second choice, but off course it can get worse.

 

Just a short note; A few days back on a market in Prachuap, I lost my Thai motorbike driving license where it was parked. I rode for roughly 30 meters, stopped to wait for a friend to catch up. A medium aged Thai man came running up to me waving my driving license.

 

Off course I thanked him.   A pleasant surprise which I would have not expected.  And he saved me a lot of work that would have followed.

 

[Kadilo]

 Be no surprise to see the top “far less tolerant” come put on top by a country mile what with all what’s currently going on. Even their own polls say the majority don't want us there. 

[ChipButty]

The more Thai language you learn the worse it gets

[Brunolem]

Wrong choice of word to start with: Thailand, a country, has no state of mind. 

 

The Thai population, who is concerned here, should be split in two parts: the government and its bureaucracy on one side, and the general population on the other side. 

 

The bureaucratic rules regarding foreigners, notably visas, have not changed for a long time. 

 

If the government was becoming less tolerant toward foreigners, it would most probably amend the rules in order to make things more difficult. 

 

For example, it could double the amounts required to get certain visas.

 

These amounts have not changed for at least 20 years, something which, once inflation is added, makes its cheaper (and financially easier) to get a visa today than it was in the past. 

 

The general population can be xenophobic, depending on how much contact it has with foreigners (more in Pattaya and less in Isaan rice paddies). 

 

These days, thanks to the covid 19 hysteria, it seems that there is more suspicion (fear, perception as a threat) against foreigners, and it is certainly not good, because it may take time to reverse this tendency, especially if there are more "Egyptian debacles" to come... 

[Anythingleft?]

It's been mentioned other topics, the general population away from the tourist hot spots are most welcoming and pleasant

 

Any interaction with people in government positions or where the Thais feel you should be gifting them just because you are there and seen as cash cows seems to be where the problems lie in the majority......

[Swiss1960]

Personally, I assume that the majority of people who voted for option 1 either don't live here or are bar mongers who have missed their beer and girls too much.

 

Fact is - see the polls- Thai people are AFRAID of the virus, they see and read about what happens in China, Europe, USA and they don't want people possibly bringing in the virus to come here

 

I completely agree with that sentiment 

[Sujo]

46 minutes ago, orchis said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(law)
This term is also used in US UK Australia and Canada.

Australia is also a racist country. US obviously is, dont know about canada.

[Srikcir]

'less tolerant'

To clarify, it seems as if the current/"previous" government represented by a long legacy of authoritarian elitist rule is becoming more intolerant to contamination of Thai society by democratic cultures embedded in foreign residents. 

For 'short term' foreign visitors the intolerance is balanced by economic benefits.

[drbeach]

10 minutes ago, Swiss1960 said:

Personally, I assume that the majority of people who voted for option 1 either don't live here or are bar mongers who have missed their beer and girls too much.

 

Fact is - see the polls- Thai people are AFRAID of the virus, they see and read about what happens in China, Europe, USA and they don't want people possibly bringing in the virus to come here

 

I completely agree with that sentiment 

It can't possibly be option #1 unless in relation to the irrational fear mongering due to covid.

 

Prior to covid, I felt the tolerance level was about the same as it's been for many years. I definitely wouldn't say it's worse.

 

Now is different, so that's why i voted for the second option.

 

That said, similar things are happening in many other countries...from black people banned in many Guangzhou businesses (including McDonalds) back in April, to foreigners banned from many businesses in Vietnam (and Thailand) to racist attacks against Asians in the west since at least March. The whole world is becoming more xenophobic and loony. Whether things will get better once the hysteria over this "virus" dies down remains to be seen. I'm cautiously optimistic though.

 

But to stay safe and save myself any inconvenience or trouble, since Mar 26 I have been very cautious and limited about my movements. Other than a quick trip the beach earlier in the month and a possible trip to immigration sometime between now and the end of September, my movements will be limited to near my home, with some possible exceptions depending on the vibe I'm getting in August and September.

 

Although another beach trip remains on the agenda, but not before the Rayong hysteria dies down first. I refuse to enter any stores where masks, temperature checks and the app are necessary. I haven't missed much though...putting money into local businesses and spending more time appreciating my garden and nature is something I'll probably end up doing permanently from now on. Who cares about boring shopping malls.

 

That said, once the current measures are eased, I'll be slowly visiting places I've been avoiding for the last few months.

[drbeach]

5 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

'less tolerant'

To clarify, it seems as if the current/"previous" government represented by a long legacy of authoritarian elitist rule is becoming more intolerant to contamination of Thai society by democratic cultures embedded in foreign residents. 

For 'short term' foreign visitors the intolerance is balanced by economic benefits.

I see that vibe reverberating through China. Never felt it was nearly as bad in Thailand...except maybe now. That said...it was in China years ago that I was insulted and abused for being a foreigner but never in Thailand. I speak the language fluently by the way. My greatest annoyance on a day to day basis are little racist kids who say things like "Mr farang" not to me, but to their parents or friends (basically because a farang is walking past some farang story emerges).

 

Not the worst thing in the world I guess, but imagine I raised my 4 year old kids to notice "otherness" and say "Mr Asian" when an Asian walks past on the streets of Brisbane or Los Angeles or London. Come on.

[worgeordie]

54 minutes ago, Paiman said:

I ticked the second choice, but off course it can get worse.

 

Just a short note; A few days back on a market in Prachuap, I lost my Thai motorbike driving license where it was parked. I rode for roughly 30 meters, stopped to wait for a friend to catch up. A medium aged Thai man came running up to me waving my driving license.

 

Off course I thanked him.   A pleasant surprise which I would have not expected.  And he saved me a lot of work that would have followed.

 

Ditto, last year I had been in a shop,pulled the keys out of my pocket

and my driving licence an Makro card must have fallen out too,i did

not know till i got home,so quickly returned to Makro,nobody had handed

in there,next shop,greeted by smiling guard,with cards in his hand

thanked him profusely ,they could have been replaced,but the drivers

licence would have been a headache

regards worgeordie

[rabas]

8 minutes ago, drbeach said:

I see that vibe reverberating through China. Never felt it was nearly as bad in Thailand...except maybe now. That said...it was in China years ago that I was insulted and abused for being a foreigner but never in Thailand. I speak the language fluently by the way. My greatest annoyance on a day to day basis are little racist kids who say things like "Mr farang" not to me, but to their parents or friends (basically because a farang is walking past some farang story emerges).

 

Not the worst thing in the world I guess, but imagine I raised my 4 year old kids to notice "otherness" and say "Mr Asian" when an Asian walks past on the streets of Brisbane or Los Angeles or London. Come on.

If you speak so well you should know that the term farang refers to Westerners and is more often not used in a derogatory sense. Just like using the word Asian in the West is not derogatory. Did you see Crazy Rich Asians?

 

I'll give you an example of 'farang'.  A friend involved in immigration work one day told me "Immigration prefers farang (Westerners) because their paperwork is meticulous and they don't cheat as much as Asians especially Koreans." Farang is often complementarity in discussions about Western things. Google translates 'Westerner' as farang.

 

Since you get along with Thai so well, as do I, be proud to be Farang, you will never be Thai!

[NightSky]

Things began to change not long after the 2014 coup

[potless]

In over 10 years here, I havent experienced the so called xenophobia in the general population. Maybe I am impervious to it ? The Thais i know havent changed a bit. Right now, the long suffering people in the tourist/hospitality industry would tolerate Jack The Ripper if he had money to spend.  

[4MyEgo]

From my day to day interactions with Thai's, I usually get what I put out, I start with a smile, or a slight bow forward and usually I get the same response, I also always say thank you in Thai if being served.

 

I have learned from my experiences that Thai's don't usually smile or wai or bow slightly first, however if you do they will usually respond as long as you don't look like a tourist not knowing what your doing.

 

Who knows what they have been taught at school or told about us, some might have even seen us raise our voices or being rude in a way that their culture doesn't accept, yes unfortunately mud sticks.

 

Also I think the language barrier has a lot to do with it, so if they can avoid us they are safe for another day ????

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by 4MyEgo

[Lemonltr]

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

The more Thai language you learn the worse it gets

I rarely came across that when I lived in Isaan but often in Pattaya. When I asked why on a few occasions I got the same answer. "Falang speak Thai know too much" Not a good "target" 

Mind you when I first moved to Isaan and whilst on the songteaew I often heard older females say "Falang men" Falang stink! My lovely Thai neighbours made me put an end to that in my best coloqual Thai. All fine thereafter and friendly. 

[Lemonltr]

I have a theory that the attitude towards Farangs deteriorated in a graph exactly corresponding to the graph of declining pound exchange rate. 

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, bbbbooboo said:

Hmmm....Xenophobic comes to mind. To describe foreigners in your legislation as “aliens” sums it up really. Your money is welcome but you are not.

Did it ever occur to you that the English translation for Thai's would appear normal, whereas to us the word Alien or Farang might be offensive, personally I don't think it is meant to be translated in an offensive way, let's face it English to Thais is not something that is taught well at school and if it is, it is usually by some teacher who doesn't know the language well.

 

My wife's two teenage son's talk to me in English, I encourage it in the house, and some of the words they come up with are so ancient I haven't heard of them since I was a kid, go figure.

 

As for a particular government minister (A-Nut-in), well yes we can say he is Xenophobic as he has let his tongue slip in public, only later to say it was all a misunderstanding so as not to lose face.

[DUNROAMIN]

I have not noticed any change here in NE Isaan country.

[abrahamzvi]

Yes, I believe that Thailand is less tolerant of "foreigners", but in a manner which is beneficial to the country itself as well as to the many honest and decent non Thais living in this beautiful country. It is only right for the Thai authorities  to insist on exercising the laws strictly to make sure that only decent and honest, law-abiding non Thais are allowed in, and encouraged to live here. I do know that some regulations are burdensome on some decent non Thais and I hope that some of such non-essential regulations will be corrected.

[mokwit]

Street level, Thai people have never been friendlier. My feeling is that officialdom don't really want us staying here long term and integrating/understanding too much. They prefer 2 weeks and gone, no time to see through the front.

 

 

[rwill]

The 3rd and 4th answers are the same thing.  Plus do you mean the Thai government or common Thai people?

 

I would say the Thai government has become less tolerant of foreigners bending the rules which has made it harder on those of us that had followed them.

The recent talk of ending double pricing does not show they are less tolerant.  Not to say it will ever happen.  The government also showed a great deal of leeway for foreigners during the current crisis.

 

In my dealings with common Thai folk I would say nothing has changed.

Edited July 19, 2020 by rwill

[bkk6060]

Actually, I think many foreigners are less tolerant of foreigners then Thais.

The arrogance, negativity, hate and lack of general respect for others has greatly increased amongst foreigners it seems.

Thais seem pretty much the same as 10 years ago.

Edited July 19, 2020 by bkk6060

[mokwit]

Just now, abrahamzvi said:

Yes, I believe that Thailand is less tolerant of "foreigners", but in a manner which is beneficial to the country itself as well as to the many honest and decent non Thais living in this beautiful country. It is only right for the Thai authorities  to insist on exercising the laws strictly to make sure that only decent and honest, law-abiding non Thais are allowed in, and encouraged to live here. I do know that some regulations are burdensome on some decent non Thais and I hope that some of such non-essential regulations will be corrected.

Sure, they don't want criminals, but the Thai authorities are not looking benevolently on the self styled 'good falangs' and saying, ah yes, that is exactly the type of 'good falang' who has learned the language and integrated that we welcome (as some on here think). I think they would prefer people who stay in farang ghettos.

[Saltire]

As the only farang in the village for 3 years so far I can honestly say I have no personal experience of intolerance or xenophobia in Thailand. I only encounter politeness and friendiness. I am sure it exists elesewhere. One problem seems to be that the general population seem to believe everything they are told by the powers that be.

 

When I agreed to settle here with the wife I asked her if the locals may not be happy to see me move here, she said after 1 week they won't think about it at all. She was wrong, having a farang here is still a bit of a novelty, and visitors to the village, especially children, are still brought to 'look at the farang'.

 

Can't say the same about China though.

[geoff65]

1 hour ago, Sujo said:

Australia is also a racist country. US obviously is, dont know about canada.

Yes, its not good here but the whole world has racism in various ways. Most Aussie are very welcoming except some insecure p..s