7 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

I understand where the OP is coming from. All of the wife's family call me by my name, but my wife when in conversation with them always refers to me as farang. Have not bothered to ask her why but assume that it is easier for her or them.

When we take the car/bike for a service in the local village, where my wife is known by her nickname, they will refer to her as mia farang when she gives her phone number to call when ready. Cannot understand that either but maybe it is the Thai way, always do what is easy.

Does it bother me? Not really, apart from not not understanding why.

It's Ian Anderson! ???? 

1 hour ago, Bradmeister said:

Op,

 

As it should bother you as its racist.

 

Pure and simple. 

 

Its up to you to educate your friends.

 

  If you live in Germany,  you are an outsider.

If you live in Japan, you are Not Japanese.

If you live in almost any Latin country you are 

A white man.

If you live in America, you are an immigrant. 

 

All of these are racist and often used by the poor or uneducated. 

 

A few months back, I visited family friends from over 6 years ago.... They had already taught they're 4 year old daughter (or perhaps kindergarten)  to say Foreigner. Not a Man, Not a guest to they're house, not a friend of the family. 

 

They were instantly ashamed and apologized for their daughters outcry.

 

Its up to all of us to learn the language here, understand the laws and Proclamations of the Monarchy and teach young Thais to have more social skills and less bigotry. 

 

I am a man, I am a resident, I am a tax payer, home owner, and just like everyone else here, A subject of the King. 

 

 

 

You are full of **** and Thai bashing

 

Farang is the same as laowai (老外) is in China. I am no expert in Thai language, so I can not explain where it comes from. 

 

But laowai 老 (technically means old, but Chinese put it behind someone's name to show friendship) + 外 (literally 'outside', comes from the word 外国人, meaning foreigner). 

 

Same happens with farang (or gaijin（外人） in Japan for that matter). It's just a shorter  and easier slang word than the Thai word for "foreigner" or "white man". Where is the racism? 

 

 

 

Yes, I find it condescending and rude. I would never think of calling my wife or any other native that I want to talk about or with for Thai. There is another part in this and that is when a Thai comes to us to talk to my wife, then he or she interrupt our conversation without further ado. Seen from a Western perspective, Thais are very rude and unpolite.

1 minute ago, ctxa said:

You are full of **** and Thai bashing

No he isn't.

3 minutes ago, WineOh said:

Ian Anderson! ???? 

You know him better than me.????

Just now, GreasyFingers said:

You know him better than me.????

I've got Aqualung on as I type this! 

Nah, at least you know they are talking about you....555

1 hour ago, Cake Monster said:

This was how the slang word " Farang " came to be.

People with White Skin have been called Farang because of our Skin Colour, and Thais seem to relish the fact that the Guava Fruit Flesh is the white colour also.

Farang means the flesh of the Guava Fruit and is ripe for feasting on in many ways in Thailand.

That's why my GF bites my ass and likes that I am so white...lol, she must be part cannibal

19 minutes ago, Parsve said:

Yes, I find it condescending and rude. I would never think of calling my wife or any other native that I want to talk about or with for Thai. There is another part in this and that is when a Thai comes to us to talk to my wife, then he or she interrupt our conversation without further ado. Seen from a Western perspective, Thais are very rude and unpolite.

 You just don’t get it. It’s simply the way they are and how it is done and there’s nothing malicious or rude about. That’s just the way you interpret it, wrongfully so.

 

By the way, I’m pretty sure that there’s way more things perceived rude by Thais about the way Falangs behave, in their country nonetheless, than the other way round. 
 

I used to live in Thailand for 10 years and I found Thais to be very welcoming, non-confrontational and polite in general. Of course the ones that work in the tourism industry are a different story because they have to put up on a daily basis with rude falangs who yell and bitch and complain about everything. 
 

Lastly, when you talk about Thais to your friends and you refer to Thais as Thais you’re doing more or less the exact same thing the Thais do when they refer to you as farang. 

Thais and Thailand (systems, processes and rules etc) are both discriminatory. And it's completely institutionalised.

Always has been. Always will be.

I, like you, don't like it. But you gotta live with it.

 

Living in an Isaan village, I'm not bothered or insulted by being called a falang. When I am speaking to non-falangs, I often refer to myself as a falang, because it is easier to get my point across due to my limited Thai speaking ability. No problem - it's all Rock'N'Roll to me man. Far tooooo many snowflakes in the world today. 

Words dont bother me actions do.

In both of my countries of citizenship I considered third class citizen, at least in Thailand I am farang and in Latino countries I am gringo and the end result is zero.

31 minutes ago, Jaxxper said:

Nah, at least you know they are talking about you....555

Doesn't happen to me much. I guess I'm just too boring to be talked about.

No. why should it. That's I am... 

Here we go again, more silly trolling, get a hobby...

22 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

 You just don’t get it. It’s simply the way they are and how it is done and there’s nothing malicious or rude about. That’s just the way you interpret it, wrongfully so.

 

By the way, I’m pretty sure that there’s way more things perceived rude by Thais about the way Falangs behave, in their country nonetheless, than the other way round. 
 

I used to live in Thailand for 10 years and I found Thais to be very welcoming, non-confrontational and polite in general. Of course the ones that work in the tourism industry are a different story because they have to put up on a daily basis with rude falangs who yell and bitch and complain about everything. 
 

Lastly, when you talk about Thais to your friends and you refer to Thais as Thais you’re doing more or less the exact same thing the Thais do when they refer to you as farang. 

Learn to read before you answer. I wrote that from a western perspective. they act rude and unpolite. I have not talked about a thai perspective. I did not write that I  call the natives thai, but the opposite, that I never call them "thai". About tourism places, I have for shorter times lived in such places, but there it have never happen to me that I have been called "falang". For the last eight years I have lived in a small village in the middle part of Thailand and it is from what I have experienced here I am talking.      

A troll post with a derogatory slur comment toward Asian people has been removed. 

Over my long membership in this forum , this subject comes up often, I would say a few times a year, and always there is the same misunderstanding between  being referred as  and being described as.

 

So to answer the OP. yes I would be "bothered" to referred as the Farang, I have a name , my parents gave me , and that's what I should be referred by. But if someone from the subset of foreigners in Thailand is described as a ferang then I would not be "bothered" since that is The term that describes that group of foreigners in Thailand. 

It doesn't bother me to hear 'farang'.   But most of my Thai friends call me Khun Ron.  

Just now, rwill said:

It doesn't bother me to hear 'farang'.   But most of my Thai friends call me Khun Ron.  

Why's that Dave?

51 minutes ago, olfu said:

Words dont bother me actions do.

In both of my countries of citizenship I considered third class citizen, at least in Thailand I am farang and in Latino countries I am gringo and the end result is zero.

I have 3 citizenships and live in another country. I agree with you, i dont care what they call me as long as i get served.

11 hours ago, WineOh said:

as I said in my OP, I try my best not to let it bother me but sometimes it gets too much.

I know I am a foreigner, but do I need to be reminded of that fact daily? 

It's very well ok that it bothers you,,,,   Bird Sh!t  ,,,,,,    ????

 

Farang is also the Thai word for the guava fruit, introduced by Portuguese traders over 400 years ago. ... The term means "bird-droppings Farang", as khi means feces, nok means bird, this refer bird-droppings is white color.

1 minute ago, sirineou said:

because I am feeling much better now 

So: Is being called Ferang, Farang, Falang OK or not?

19 minutes ago, Mutt Daeng said:

So: Is being called Ferang, Farang, Falang OK or not?

I thought i explained myself properly in my first reply, 

I should be called by my name,  no one has ever called me farang, if they did I would not answer because that is not my name. But if I was described as a farang it would not bother me because that is the term used in Thailand to describe the set of people I belong in . 

I have been in Thailand .on and of. for over fifteen years now, and no one who knew my name has ever called me "farng" it would be  disrespectful,  and impolite, but if someone did not know my name, and needed to refer to me they could say "the farang", or "the good looking guy", either way everyone would know who they were talking about.  unless of course there were two farangs at the table in which case using the terms "Good looking farang"  would be necessary to indicate they were talking about me. " Incredibly intelligent" and " spiffy Dresser "  would work also. ????

 

Yeah it bugs me a lot too. I'm not just a farang. I'm a home owner that has been spending my cash here in Thailand for 8 years. If some Thai person came to America, no one would call them a foreigner. It's disrespectful for people who know you to refer to you as a farang. You have a name and they know it. They should use it.

5 minutes ago, Kurtf said:

Yeah it bugs me a lot too. I'm not just a farang. I'm a home owner that has been spending my cash here in Thailand for 8 years. If some Thai person came to America, no one would call them a foreigner. It's disrespectful for people who know you to refer to you as a farang. You have a name and they know it. They should use it.

watch the video posted earlier.  

8 minutes ago, sirineou said:

it would be  disrespectful,  and impolite,

no, its not. 

There are way too many ultra sensitive people on this post, all upset because they are called 'Farang'.  It's all a bit pathetic really, as those people are clearly ignorant of what the word actual means to Thai people and yet live among the Thais. Watch the video posted earlier and you will see how silly you are, at being at all unsettled or upset by the word.  

As this will inevitably follow the preceding multiple topics on this subject this one will now close before it deteriorates any further.

 

CLOSED