Why are westerners so offended over the word farang? Get over it.

[thaitom]

1 minute ago, Neeranam said:

What you allow you condone. 

It doesn't really matter what i'm called, I answer to anything. 

[Neeranam]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

I always assumed 'alien' was a translation error.

Person from another star, and person from another country only have one accent different in written Thai.

Dao is nothing like chat

[alyx]

Or maybe it is our heritage: calling someone by their ethnicity , skin colour, physical appearance is considered rude, like going to  "the Arab" to buy some  vegetables, have the walls built by "the Italian"

Every generation has had their Jew, their Portuguese, their Spanish, their Moroccan  ... and it is not polite, even insultant when referred to in that manner.

I still dislike being called a Farang. When one goes to a department store or other places, the staff calls the customers " Clients" not "Mr" not "Madame" nor "Foreigners" and that is how I feel it should be.

In the same vein: I used to get upset by the (usually) security guard when they try to get my attention and say "You, You" which is a direct translation of "Khun, Khun" which, in Thai is not offensive. Knowing that is is not meant , I do not really pay attention anymore.

Farang feels totally different and I am not ready to get over it 

[itsari]

27 minutes ago, tubby johnson said:

Question: If black people can be offended over the ni word that they use dozens of times a day (and which Spotify hasn't banned, even after the Joe Rogan n-word brouhaha), then why can't foreigners in Thailand be offended by the 6-letter f-word?

The word you refer to is not accepted . Who cares what Spotify regards as acceptable .

I am against the use of the word farang myself . 

[Neeranam]

2 minutes ago, alyx said:

In the same vein: I used to get upset by the (usually) security guard when they try to get my attention and say "You, You

The security guard at local hospital has been greeting me with welcome to Thailand for the last 10 years or so. 

[Neeranam]

4 minutes ago, thaitom said:

It doesn't really matter what i'm called, I answer to anything. 

I'd you have no respect for yourself, others will have none too. 

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Dao is nothing like chat

Look at my post again.

[ThailandRyan]

5 hours ago, tingtongfarang said:

I cant think of any reason to be offended when a slope calls me farang ????

Nice derogatory term you used besides it being racist. Farang is not derogatory

[Neeranam]

5 minutes ago, alyx said:

I still dislike being called a Farang. When one goes to a department store or other places, the staff calls the customers " Clients" not "Mr" not "Madame" nor "Foreigners" and that is how I feel it should be.

Staff call me "look ka" here in shops, never farang. 

 

[thaitom]

2 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I'd you have no respect for yourself, others will have none too. 

Are you feeling okay ? what are you saying ?   what does being called a farang or whatever.... have to do with respecting myself.      oh ..... I get it , your one of these ......... and I fell for it.     

[alyx]

3 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Staff call me "look ka" here in shops, never farang. 

 

That is what I  wrote and meant ….

[sawadee1947]

6 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Who's offended?

 

No one I know.

 

Should I be?

 

Time for a poll? Simple, up or down.

 

 

Maybe even crowd funding to finance the Poll?????

[MikeN]

Many years ago I was on the BTS near a family group of Thais, presumably 2 grandparents, mother and 2 boys, when a “farang” backpacker got on. Mother said to the boys “farang kii nok “, and if anybody deserved that this girl did....one of the scruffiest backpackers I have ever seen. So the boys started chanting farang kii nok whenever another foreigner got on. Grandpa said something to the mother about “Mai supaap” (not polite), she replied that farang wouldn’t understand, don’t worry. The boys kept jumping up and down, pointing at the farang kii nok, like typical spoilt Thai boys.

 When I walked past them at my station I couldn’t resist telling the mother that “ Luk Mai supaap, farang baang khon phoot parsa Thai  dai “ The pronunciation was probably 5/10 but grandpa cracked up and mother looked suitably chastened.

[Neeranam]

If you don't speak Thai, to be frank(does that come from Franks), or to call a spade a spade, you probably mishear things. 

Many years ago I got upset at the bus conductresses calling me farang. Every time I got on the bus, they'd shout "farang' pointing to the back of the bus. 

I felt like Rosa Parks until I learned Thai and realized they were saying" kang lang" which means go to the back. 

 

[Dirk Z]

I am not offended by the word farang at all. Even my wife calls me that sometimes. In restaurants asked about the level of spice I often say "pet-farang" and so on.

[firemans35]

I came across this same subject on a different site. Below are some of the comments.

 

"The only way that I could think of the word being offensive or negative in the English language is if it is used to define or dismiss people. For example, saying something like "they don't matter because they're just a foreigner".

 

Unquestionably there are contexts where referring to someone as a foreigner (an outsider or interloper; a person from outside one's community) could be considered offensive. If you follow that link, you'll find that most in the vast majority of cases, to "call someone a foreigner" is implicitly negative/rude. 

 

"I teach college in a state university, and I avoid calling anyone "foreign" because the term also means "strange, odd, or unfamiliar," which are words that often carry negative connotations. I refer to students from other countries as international students, because I see the term "international" as more objective and less offensive."

 

"I'm not sure if you're a native English speaker (or just really ignorant), but the word "foreigner" is most definitely offensive, at least in the U.S. With the tradition of discrimination against immigrants in the U.S., along with the recent issues of Hispanic and Syrian immigrants, the word "foreigner" has taken on a negative connotation." 

[1FinickyOne]

13 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

40% of Thais own crypto, including my 80 year old mother in law. . 

i have speculated a bit but dont hold any..

 

though i would like to get a suit made sio i could be invisible too

[Neeranam]

3 minutes ago, alyx said:

That is what I  wrote and meant ….

Ah, I misread, sorry. 

[Funkymover]

I do not like it, as,, you just said, it is a label.. and not a group label but also as an individual,,  when I am out with people , if i meet a foreigner , I do not call him foreigner,   I call him buy his name , or as a person,  that guy , that person,, not ,,, foreigner,, I have even been in someone house,,, where they were talking to me, about me, at me, and were calling me farang,,, I had to correct them and tell them,  you know that is not my name, or other situations, where i have pointed out , there is no country called farang,    to me in some situations it is  rude and ignorant , it is acceptable if they are talking about a group in some situations,, e.g , a group  are loud , then they can say,, that table of farangs, are loud..  But for me, most times,, I do not like the way they label us, describe us, or just use it because they can not have the decency to even  use my name . 

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Why are foreigners so offended when Thais call them farang?

Personally, during my 20 years of living in Northern Thailand, I was never offended when called a farang. In fact, due to many ethnic minority people in the North who cannot pronounce "r", in my village I was always called falang!

[transam]

1 hour ago, Excel said:

 Grammer police are exclude from this forum but the point of language is to communicate which my post clearly did irrespective of whether it was written in Oxford English spelling or Medieval English text.

Or repost it corrected, that would be more advantageous to those of us in the here and now....????

[AhFarangJa]

Geez, not this old chestnut again. They raise this every couple of years. Please, please, put it in the overused bin for future generations.

[ikke1959]

It is always kon Thai, kon Jipun, etc but for Westerners it is only Falang.... It is not decent if people talk about you even if they know you they will say falang... I always tell them I have a name or at least say kon falang..... As we not do the same. we don't say   the Thai said.. the Thai did if we talk about the Thai people 

Edited April 21, 2022 by ikke1959

[MikeN]

31 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

. 

 

It's not laziness, she probably, like most Thai, just doesn't like farang. 

 

If she doesn’t like farang, then I would think that teaching Thai at a language school is not the best choice of occupation ?

[Doctor Tom]

5 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Generally, Thailand is 30/40 years behind the west. 

At least 10 years 'In front' compared with the UK. 

[transam]

1 hour ago, Excel said:

Yes and when explained clearly to my families and Thai friends here over the years here they understand totally and hence show that respect. Thais are not the numbnuts many people like to project but tend to be extremely respectful people, well at least the ordinary folk are, so it is a simple matter of explanation and understanding. 

They probably still don't understand but smile and nod, but think you are a snob who doesn't want to fit into another countries traditions ....????

[Purdey]

After a while you get used to people separating you out by a word that says you are a foreigner. Whether you believe it means ferengi or farangses it means "you are not one of us." You are different. And the difference is the colour of your skin.

While westerners have the word foreigner, and so do Thais, farang means different based on skin colour. Just like the Thai nickname for Indians (khek). It isn't a pejorative in their eyes but it separates you clearly from other races.

[Doctor Tom]

2 minutes ago, Purdey said:

After a while you get used to people separating you out by a word that says you are a foreigner. Whether you believe it means ferengi or farangses it means "you are not one of us." You are different. And the difference is the colour of your skin.

While westerners have the word foreigner, and so do Thais, farang means different based on skin colour. Just like the Thai nickname for Indians (khek). It isn't a pejorative in their eyes but it separates you clearly from other races.

None of that is true.  Farang simply means foreigner.  A Back Brit, or Black US citizen would also be called a farang. 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Doctor Tom

[David T Pike]

It does not bother me one bit! It sounds like it should be a word for "Big Dick"!   

 Look at the farang on that guy! ????

[bkk6060]

Yes, most people call me AH.  So, Falang is an upgrade.