You Farang

[mikethevigoman]

an old ditty I was taught as a youngster

"sticks and stones can break my bones,

but names can never hurt me"

i wonder which one of us posted that first ?

[mrt273nva]

when they say "hey farang" to me i just turn it around and kill them with kindness. i even take it as an invite to conversation and go over to them and smile and ask how they are doing. even if their intentions were an insult to begin with they have never continued to be insulting once engaged in conversation, even if it is just some simple. gives me a chance to practice my thai and in a fun way i am able to insult them right back with their reaction being gracious for the light humor. i often run into these people again and we throw comical insult at each other in fun just continuing from the last conversation.

[jbsears]

I find it quite strange that it is acceptable to call out someone because of their ethnicity. I can't imagine the response you would get back home if you ever yelled out to a foreigner 'Hey Chinaman' or 'Hey Asian'. You would be looked at like a racist.

[jdinasia]

I find it quite strange that it is acceptable to call out someone because of their ethnicity. I can't imagine the response you would get back home if you ever yelled out to a foreigner 'Hey Chinaman' or 'Hey Asian'. You would be looked at like a racist.

Thailand is not back home! <Thank goodness!>

[lazeeboy]

I find it quite strange that it is acceptable to call out someone because of their ethnicity. I can't imagine the response you would get back home if you ever yelled out to a foreigner 'Hey Chinaman' or 'Hey Asian'. You would be looked at like a racist.

Thailand is not back home! <Thank goodness!>

if they call you farang call them a thai and follow them round the store ,everytime they look at you smile and call them thai,it really imbarasses them ,play them at there game ,but remember to keep smileing,this really pisses them off

[tropo]

I have lived in Thailand for years now and have adapted appropriately I feel.

However a few things still annoy me immensely. Whilst walking in a shopping Mall with my two sons, two idiots on separate occassions shout hey you farang and laughing. I am quite pacafistic(sp) but really felt like smacking one in the face. My question to you Thai experts is 'would I be justified'?

If it came to police involvment no problem as one police commander is an uncle of my wife.

I'm no expert on Thai behaviourisms, but I wonder if you maybe misinterpretting the intention of their comment: "hey you farang".

I say this because "hey Joe" is a very common expression in the Philippines, quite commonly shouted out to foreigners on the street.

It's really just saying "hello", but personally I still find it a little irritating.

[wolfmanjack]

I have lived in Thailand for years now and have adapted appropriately I feel.

However a few things still annoy me immensely. Whilst walking in a shopping Mall with my two sons, two idiots on separate occassions shout hey you farang and laughing. I am quite pacafistic(sp) but really felt like smacking one in the face. My question to you Thai experts is 'would I be justified'?

If it came to police involvment no problem as one police commander is an uncle of my wife.

I'm no expert on Thai behaviourisms, but I wonder if you maybe misinterpretting the intention of their comment: "hey you farang".

I say this because "hey Joe" is a very common expression in the Philippines, quite commonly shouted out to foreigners on the street.

It's really just saying "hello", but personally I still find it a little irritating.

I agree. It is usually just saying hello. I get it all the time out here and they are usually smiling when they say it.

If some one points and says " Falang Falang" I usually point back and say ":khon Thai Khon Thai" and every one laughs.

Kids at my son's school call him falang. He says " are you stupid or what ? I am Luk Kueng"

The word Falang does not bother me. The neighbor kids call me Lung Falang.

Then again white boy, honky, yank, redneck, hick. None of these bother me because that is what I am and i consider all of them better than the alternative.

[WitawatWatawit]

Most Thai males are arrogant show-offs, even from a young age. Because of their upbringing, they're constantly demanding attention (that's because they're the centre of attention from the day they're born, constantly fawned over and spoon-fed -- into their teens, in some cases). So their efforts to impress their friends by shouting things like"Hey you! farang!" etc are best dealt with by just simply turning your back on them as if they don't exist. Works everytime. They hate being ignored.

But here are a few anecdotes which broke my cool. One was when a woman told her screaming little brat that if he didn't behave then "the farang" (pointing directly at me) would hurt him badly -- I didn't quite catch the drift of some of her words, but it was to do with ghosts and supernatural beings. Bitch. I replied by calling her the village idiot in Thai. Another was when I was buying food for my dogs, and a little big man (you know the type -- drives a pickup with a bunch of cheap labour sweltering in the back, and believes he's king dick of all that he surveys), walked over to my trolley and began actually sifting through the contents (can you believe that?) and saying to his entourage "See, farangs eat dog food". I was at a loss as to what to do about that one, so I just muttered under my breath "baan nawk" and deliberately turned around and backed up against him to force him out of my path. But it was pointless. The superior Thai male got his laugh at my expense. Then the really galling one -- once I was with my very young daughter looking at some stuff on some stalls in a major shopping centre, when a young Thai male (about 15) actually came up behind me and smacked me on the back of the head. It was quite a whack and almost knocked my glasses off. He danced away yelling "Farang! Farang!" and laughing with his friends as they ran off. It was so humiliating that even the stall holder was shocked and apologised to me.

I could catalogue a lot more incidents, but that would be pointless as we've all had them. Needless to say, I now treat the "Hey you" types with minimal acknowledgement -- sometimes perfunctorily, or simply ignore them. It's not disdain, heaven forbid, just an attempt to keep hassles to a minimum for myself and my family. Anyway, every day I encounter really decent, charming and gracious Thais. They make living here worth all the other hassles.

Wit.

[Globeliner]

Most Thai males are arrogant show-offs, even from a young age. Because of their upbringing, they're constantly demanding attention (that's because they're the centre of attention from the day they're born, constantly fawned over and spoon-fed -- into their teens, in some cases). So their efforts to impress their friends by shouting things like"Hey you! farang!" etc are best dealt with by just simply turning your back on them as if they don't exist. Works everytime. They hate being ignored.

But here are a few anecdotes which broke my cool. One was when a woman told her screaming little brat that if he didn't behave then "the farang" (pointing directly at me) would hurt him badly -- I didn't quite catch the drift of some of her words, but it was to do with ghosts and supernatural beings. Bitch. I replied by calling her the village idiot in Thai. Another was when I was buying food for my dogs, and a little big man (you know the type -- drives a pickup with a bunch of cheap labour sweltering in the back, and believes he's king dick of all that he surveys), walked over to my trolley and began actually sifting through the contents (can you believe that?) and saying to his entourage "See, farangs eat dog food". I was at a loss as to what to do about that one, so I just muttered under my breath "baan nawk" and deliberately turned around and backed up against him to force him out of my path. But it was pointless. The superior Thai male got his laugh at my expense. Then the really galling one -- once I was with my very young daughter looking at some stuff on some stalls in a major shopping centre, when a young Thai male (about 15) actually came up behind me and smacked me on the back of the head. It was quite a whack and almost knocked my glasses off. He danced away yelling "Farang! Farang!" and laughing with his friends as they ran off. It was so humiliating that even the stall holder was shocked and apologised to me.

I could catalogue a lot more incidents, but that would be pointless as we've all had them. Needless to say, I now treat the "Hey you" types with minimal acknowledgement -- sometimes perfunctorily, or simply ignore them. It's not disdain, heaven forbid, just an attempt to keep hassles to a minimum for myself and my family. Anyway, every day I encounter really decent, charming and gracious Thais. They make living here worth all the other hassles.

Wit.

Please try "Hey you! Khon Lao!" It does work! Believe me, try it next time all of you!

[PeaceBlondie]

Am I the only one here who sees some of the anecdotes being of clashing male egos? Not one but both of them saying to the other, "Hey, I'm bigger and stupider than you are, and more likely to fly off the handle?"

[lazeeboy]

Am I the only one here who sees some of the anecdotes being of clashing male egos? Not one but both of them saying to the other, "Hey, I'm bigger and stupider than you are, and more likely to fly off the handle?"

easy solution dont go out then your only a pain to your wife

[Neeranam]

Another was when I was buying food for my dogs, and a little big man (you know the type -- drives a pickup with a bunch of cheap labour sweltering in the back, and believes he's king dick of all that he surveys), walked over to my trolley and began actually sifting through the contents (can you believe that?) and saying to his entourage "See, farangs eat dog food". I was at a loss as to what to do about that one, so I just muttered under my breath "baan nawk" and deliberately turned around and backed up against him to force him out of my path. But it was pointless. The superior Thai male got his laugh at my expense.

I sure know the type.

I admire you, I think, doing nothing. I couldn't, especially if a 15 yo actually hit me in the supermarket.

In the park yesterday a few 15 yos were hanging around the gymnasium things watching my young daughter on the exercise machine. One made a comment about me and her. I managed to say nothing but it was hard, but I gave him a look that made him shit himself.

Please try "Hey you! Khon Lao!" It does work! Believe me, try it next time all of you!

Fight rascism with rascism, no thanks.

Edited June 16, 2007 by Neeranam

[meemiathai]

Most Thai males are arrogant show-offs, even from a young age. Because of their upbringing, they're constantly demanding attention (that's because they're the centre of attention from the day they're born, constantly fawned over and spoon-fed -- into their teens, in some cases). So their efforts to impress their friends by shouting things like"Hey you! farang!" etc are best dealt with by just simply turning your back on them as if they don't exist. Works everytime. They hate being ignored.

But here are a few anecdotes which broke my cool. One was when a woman told her screaming little brat that if he didn't behave then "the farang" (pointing directly at me) would hurt him badly -- I didn't quite catch the drift of some of her words, but it was to do with ghosts and supernatural beings. Bitch. I replied by calling her the village idiot in Thai. Another was when I was buying food for my dogs, and a little big man (you know the type -- drives a pickup with a bunch of cheap labour sweltering in the back, and believes he's king dick of all that he surveys), walked over to my trolley and began actually sifting through the contents (can you believe that?) and saying to his entourage "See, farangs eat dog food". I was at a loss as to what to do about that one, so I just muttered under my breath "baan nawk" and deliberately turned around and backed up against him to force him out of my path. But it was pointless. The superior Thai male got his laugh at my expense. Then the really galling one -- once I was with my very young daughter looking at some stuff on some stalls in a major shopping centre, when a young Thai male (about 15) actually came up behind me and smacked me on the back of the head. It was quite a whack and almost knocked my glasses off. He danced away yelling "Farang! Farang!" and laughing with his friends as they ran off. It was so humiliating that even the stall holder was shocked and apologised to me.

I could catalogue a lot more incidents, but that would be pointless as we've all had them. Needless to say, I now treat the "Hey you" types with minimal acknowledgement -- sometimes perfunctorily, or simply ignore them. It's not disdain, heaven forbid, just an attempt to keep hassles to a minimum for myself and my family. Anyway, every day I encounter really decent, charming and gracious Thais. They make living here worth all the other hassles.

Wit.

Please try "Hey you! Khon Lao!" It does work! Believe me, try it next time all of you!

Followed with a "ben here arai!" works even better!

[cdnvic]

Ignoring it and carrying on with your day works best though.

Don't be such a wuss just because someone calls you a name.

[meemiathai]

Most importantly, most (99%) of the time, it is not even name calling.

Why is it so difficult for farangs to understand this? And why is it they are so stubborn not to believe it?

[saraburioz]

Most importantly, most (99%) of the time, it is not even name calling.

Why is it so difficult for farangs to understand this? And why is it they are so stubborn not to believe it?

Wrong- very often it is pure negative rasism.

[raro]

I'm no expert on Thai behaviourisms, but I wonder if you maybe misinterpretting the intention of their comment: "hey you farang".

I say this because "hey Joe" is a very common expression in the Philippines, quite commonly shouted out to foreigners on the street.

It's really just saying "hello", but personally I still find it a little irritating.

exactly.....I always point back at them, and with some lunatic smile/laughter I say "Khon Thai, Khon Thai" - they usually turn away with red ears....

on another incident, two fat girls with me in an elevator start gossiping about me being tall. I say in Thai "tall yes, but not fat". Gossip stopped, I had a big smile in the face - this cat-that-just-ate-the-canary style smile....

[madjbs]

Most importantly, most (99%) of the time, it is not even name calling.

Why is it so difficult for farangs to understand this? And why is it they are so stubborn not to believe it?

Wrong- very often it is pure negative rasism.

Oh?? and what brings you to that conclusion?

[Luckydog]

I for one am fed up with hearing this talk, I was insulted by a motorcycle taxi driver once who thought he was safe by speaking in Issan dialect, he was wrong and was so rude I did get into a chat with him. He started puffing his chest out and his mate got involved so I beat them both. I am not proud of the fact and due to loss of face with them I was advised by Thai friends to move.If it hadn't been for the intervention of some very persuasive Thai Navy friends it might not have had a happy ending.

Moral of the story, they are a cowardly lot who will always use strength in numbers to come back at you when they lose face from being caught out trying to be clever. Don't get involved physicaly with them, they don't have the honour to deal with you man on man.

Ignore them and treat their stupid comments with the contemp they deserve. It is just ignorance. Manners are in short supply here. Once we come to terms with that it gets easier. My Thai teacher told me years ago that the majority have such a poor upbringing and education they can't be expected to realise they are being rude, she gets comments from uneducated types as well and just ignores it.

They are indeed "a cowardly lot!" . Walk away from trouble of you could end up DEAD!

[Huw]

"When they say 'hey falang' shout back 'hey Khon lao'"

I like this one. When I am up in Esarn I usually ask them in Thai if they are Cambodian. If I'm really bothered I'll ask if they are Kamin Dang. Most of the time I don't really get bothered by people saying farang. It's funny how you can look across the street and see someone's lips form the word 'farang.'

Good points and good advice. Thais are a deeply racist, this is well known, but I have seen an increase in anti-foreigner sentiment in the past year which is worrying. It seems to me that the word 'farang' is increasingly being used as a derogatory term though this may be a mis-perception.

As for slapping the hel_l out of the people described by the OP - imho a very bad idea. Apart from the fact that it demeans and is illegal, any Thai in the vicinity will pile in on the side of the Thais, irrespective of rights or wrongs, and the police will never support a foreigner against a Thai.

H

[Huw]

I for one am fed up with hearing this talk, I was insulted by a motorcycle taxi driver once who thought he was safe by speaking in Issan dialect, he was wrong and was so rude I did get into a chat with him. He started puffing his chest out and his mate got involved so I beat them both. I am not proud of the fact and due to loss of face with them I was advised by Thai friends to move.If it hadn't been for the intervention of some very persuasive Thai Navy friends it might not have had a happy ending.

Moral of the story, they are a cowardly lot who will always use strength in numbers to come back at you when they lose face from being caught out trying to be clever. Don't get involved physicaly with them, they don't have the honour to deal with you man on man.

Ignore them and treat their stupid comments with the contemp they deserve. It is just ignorance. Manners are in short supply here. Once we come to terms with that it gets easier. My Thai teacher told me years ago that the majority have such a poor upbringing and education they can't be expected to realise they are being rude, she gets comments from uneducated types as well and just ignores it.

They are indeed "a cowardly lot!" . Walk away from trouble of you could end up DEAD!

The OP is right, Thais in general are cowardly, but for well-understood reasons they are at a developmental stage where bravado and self-impressing antics is important, hence the astonishing acts of stupidity on the roads here. Causing them to lose face or incur damage to their self-image can be a risky business though, and is liable to result in over-response. Driving here is like a fascinating game of one-upmanship or chicken but most of them will back down and pretend not to see you if you stand your ground. They feel good if they force their way in front of you, and the worse the carve-up the better they feel, though an accident wastes so much of their time they are expert in avoiding actual collisions. They love brinksmanship because they impress themselves, but if you don't yield and can manoeuvre your car well, they mostly back away.

I recall being accosted by someone in Silom a couple of years ago when I worked there. He evidently objected to me obliging him to stop while I was on a zebra crossing outside a school, and got out of his car to remonstrate. I merely pointed out to him that he should notice that I was old while he was young, yet I appeared to be unafraid of him. I invited him to consider why this might be so, what it was that I knew about me that he didn't know, and whether this may result in a rapid change in his life if he continued with his (apparently) intended assault. After a few moments thought he remembered he was late for something, that I wasn't worth it anyway, and got back in his car to continue his important day.

Funny old world sometimes...

Thais seem to be very vulnerable to suggestion, and in my experience are extremely susceptible to hypnosis.

H

Edited July 12, 2007 by Huw

[Huw]

I'm no expert on Thai behaviourisms, but I wonder if you maybe misinterpretting the intention of their comment: "hey you farang".

I say this because "hey Joe" is a very common expression in the Philippines, quite commonly shouted out to foreigners on the street.

It's really just saying "hello", but personally I still find it a little irritating.

exactly.....I always point back at them, and with some lunatic smile/laughter I say "Khon Thai, Khon Thai" - they usually turn away with red ears....

on another incident, two fat girls with me in an elevator start gossiping about me being tall. I say in Thai "tall yes, but not fat". Gossip stopped, I had a big smile in the face - this cat-that-just-ate-the-canary style smile....

Nice one. Demolishing their self-image is very damaging for them and they probably took a while to recover. Like shooting fish in a barrel sometimes.

H

[sbk]

Derogatory and extremely negative views are against forum rules. Lets try to keep this within the bounds of civil behavior without resorting to tarring 65 million people with the same brush.

3) Religious or racial slurs .... or extremely negative views of Thailand will not be tolerated.

Very slippery slope here.

[Mobi]

I can think of dozens of things that may happen to me daily in Thailand that are more annoying than some stupid jerk shouting "Hey Farang"

It is just ignorance tinged with a hefty dose of resentment, and it's no big deal.

If you're going to get into a tizzy about every Thai that you perceive has insulted you, you are not much better than them - if at all.

Ignore it, and enjoy your life - and if you can't do that, then I don't have to advise you what to do....

[madjbs]

Hes been at it on the golf forum as well SBK, Time for a holiday me thinks!

[geriatrickid]

Usually it's just an empty shout out so I smile. I don't think most of these guys (it's never girls) are intentionally trying to be mean. I did have 2 cases where the guys were tards, so for one guy I said "sorry, no gay, no sex" waived my hands back and forth and tried to look shocked. Based upon his reaction I think he lost face but didn't quite know what to do.

The other guy, I was about to go, sorry no more eht drugs and put on a sad face, but then I thought, the poor bugger's probably a walking sero conversion case so I didn't say anything. I think that night I hugged the dog alot and gave thanks for not being sick or impoverished and for not being an a$$hole.

Edited July 12, 2007 by geriatrickid

[Huw]

Most Thai males are arrogant show-offs, even from a young age. Because of their upbringing, they're constantly demanding attention (that's because they're the centre of attention from the day they're born, constantly fawned over and spoon-fed -- into their teens, in some cases). So their efforts to impress their friends by shouting things like"Hey you! farang!" etc are best dealt with by just simply turning your back on them as if they don't exist. Works everytime. They hate being ignored.

But here are a few anecdotes which broke my cool. One was when a woman told her screaming little brat that if he didn't behave then "the farang" (pointing directly at me) would hurt him badly -- I didn't quite catch the drift of some of her words, but it was to do with ghosts and supernatural beings. Bitch. I replied by calling her the village idiot in Thai. Another was when I was buying food for my dogs, and a little big man (you know the type -- drives a pickup with a bunch of cheap labour sweltering in the back, and believes he's king dick of all that he surveys), walked over to my trolley and began actually sifting through the contents (can you believe that?) and saying to his entourage "See, farangs eat dog food". I was at a loss as to what to do about that one, so I just muttered under my breath "baan nawk" and deliberately turned around and backed up against him to force him out of my path. But it was pointless. The superior Thai male got his laugh at my expense. Then the really galling one -- once I was with my very young daughter looking at some stuff on some stalls in a major shopping centre, when a young Thai male (about 15) actually came up behind me and smacked me on the back of the head. It was quite a whack and almost knocked my glasses off. He danced away yelling "Farang! Farang!" and laughing with his friends as they ran off. It was so humiliating that even the stall holder was shocked and apologised to me.

I could catalogue a lot more incidents, but that would be pointless as we've all had them. Needless to say, I now treat the "Hey you" types with minimal acknowledgement -- sometimes perfunctorily, or simply ignore them. It's not disdain, heaven forbid, just an attempt to keep hassles to a minimum for myself and my family. Anyway, every day I encounter really decent, charming and gracious Thais. They make living here worth all the other hassles.

Wit.

Please try "Hey you! Khon Lao!" It does work! Believe me, try it next time all of you!

Nice one. My wife assures me that to call 'Kwai' and gesture such as to imply habitual masturbation is deeply offensive to the young Thai bucks.

H

Edited July 12, 2007 by Huw

[Penkoprod]

Nice one. My wife assures me that to call 'Kwai' and gesture such as to imply habitual masturbation is deeply offensive to the young Thai bucks.

The OP could even try letting his little finger dangle, and waggle it at them (meaning his pinky is the size of their *ahem*.........male appendages)

Or, if he REALLY wanted to get his head kicked in should he encounter them again, only this time when they are more mob handed, pretend he is

holding a brush pole, and flex his wrist up and down

Best to just cast his eyes upwards, followed by a shake of the head

Penkoprod

Edited July 12, 2007 by Penkoprod

[MKAsok]

I recall being accosted by someone in Silom a couple of years ago when I worked there. He evidently objected to me obliging him to stop while I was on a zebra crossing outside a school, and got out of his car to remonstrate. I merely pointed out to him that he should notice that I was old while he was young, yet I appeared to be unafraid of him. I invited him to consider why this might be so, what it was that I knew about me that he didn't know, and whether this may result in a rapid change in his life if he continued with his (apparently) intended assault. After a few moments thought he remembered he was late for something, that I wasn't worth it anyway, and got back in his car to continue his important day.

Funny old world sometimes...

Thais seem to be very vulnerable to suggestion, and in my experience are extremely susceptible to hypnosis.

H

Are you some kind of Jedi?

[meemiathai]

Most importantly, most (99%) of the time, it is not even name calling.

Why is it so difficult for farangs to understand this? And why is it they are so stubborn not to believe it?

Wrong- very often it is pure negative rasism.

What can I say? Do you even know anyone thai? Go ask them but I think you will still insist on what you think even if the answer from them is no!

I have tried to explain the same thing but for the cantonese word for farang ie "gwailo" in a HK base expat forum. And yes a lot of farangs are very stubborn! They are telling me how to use my language!!! I guess I just have to avoid stupid people?

Any medicine to cure stupidity?