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

[TropicalGuy]

26 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

 I went to one of my banks to change my nationality. I told the clerk that I wanted to change my nationality on my account. She was confused and asked her colleague in the adjoining booth. Then the customer there, an old Thai/Chinese woman, piped up that I could never become Thai. Her clerk agreed and then the customer in the booth 2 away shouted that farang can't change their nationality. The old woman started berating farang so I told her that I know many "Jek" who have become Thai, to which she replied that 'Kon Jeen' can but they are still Chinese, farang can't and will always be farang, and she used to work in the ministry of interior! The way this old hag said 'farang' , almost shouting it out as she screwed up her face said a lot about Thai Chinese thoughts on us. Totally offensive. 

Hag similar attitude to Municipal bitch toad processing my Yellow Book. 12 wks of paperwork obstacle humiliation hell for me & my Thai lady.????

[TropicalGuy]

8 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Actually, those fees are based on Nationality, not race.

Actually based on Thai National ID or Not. My Foreigner Pink ID Card is Issued by Yet Rejected by All Thai Govt (because No Photo & Poor Name Translation BUT accept TDL though) BUT Ponk ID would get me Thai Citizen National Park or Mall Aquarium Prices ( both never done). 

[Sparktrader]

20 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Actually, those fees are based on Nationality, not race.

Which is fascist. A rich Thai pays 10x less.

 

Then you have asian faces who speak Thai getting cheap price.

 

 

[SuwadeeS]

Farang for foreigners is the equivalent as "Neger" for black skin people.

Further, there are still so many fascist in the Thai culture.

Dual pricing is only one.

[jvs]

On 4/21/2022 at 10:25 AM, Neeranam said:

I am Thai but everyone calls me a farang, even when they know my nationality. Happened in the bank the other day.

You will always be a farang here.No matter how many Thai passports you have,it is the way

things work but you being a true Thai will understand.

[ThailandRyan]

20 minutes ago, TropicalGuy said:

Actually based on Thai National ID or Not. My Foreigner Pink ID Card is Issued by Yet Rejected by All Thai Govt (because No Photo & Poor Name Translation BUT accept TDL though) BUT Ponk ID would get me Thai Citizen National Park or Mall Aquarium Prices ( both never done). 

Used my Pink ID card and the GFs to register and check in at the hotels in Chumpon, Krabi and here on Phuket. Never once did they blink and eye and never once asked for the vaccination proof either. Yet the tourist family behind us checking in here on Phuket had to show everything including the Thai Pass, not equal but you can see the disparity. If you act like you belong, then for the most part we have never been treated poorly.

[prakhonchai nick]

Just come across this thread and not prepared to wade through 20 pages of posts

May I suggest it is the bitterness in the way farang is sometimes spoken, invariably by old Thai women

[jvs]

On 4/21/2022 at 1:08 PM, Joe Farang said:

If anyone used that word in referring to me, I would be very upset.

 

 

sarcasm right?

 

[Paul Kernell]

I'm not offended as long as it's used in the context. Thais call us farangs because they can't say French. Call me anything but don't call me French. 

It's type casting for all white skin people, the same as many stupid white people think all black people come from Niger! Hence the name.

[jvs]

37 minutes ago, TropicalGuy said:

Actually based on Thai National ID or Not. My Foreigner Pink ID Card is Issued by Yet Rejected by All Thai Govt (because No Photo & Poor Name Translation BUT accept TDL though) BUT Ponk ID would get me Thai Citizen National Park or Mall Aquarium Prices ( both never done). 

My Thai pink id has my photo and my name translated correctly.

 

[TropicalGuy]

14 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Used my Pink ID card and the GFs to register and check in at the hotels in Chumpon, Krabi and here on Phuket. Never once did they blink and eye and never once asked for the vaccination proof either. Yet the tourist family behind us checking in here on Phuket had to show everything including the Thai Pass, not equal but you can see the disparity. If you act like you belong, then for the most part we have never been treated poorly.

Never tried using Pink ID in private sector. TDL used pre-Covid for domestic hotels & flights though. (haven’t moved from Phuket last 24 months).

[Joe Farang]

12 minutes ago, jvs said:

sarcasm right?

 

Yes

[jvs]

3 hours ago, jing jing said:

Then you are are a Thai citizen, but you are obviously not ethnically Thai.  Maybe Scottish-Thai would be appropriate -- as in African American.

African American isn't that an insult in itself?

[Seeall]

On 4/21/2022 at 9:20 AM, LivingNThailand said:

From what I understand, and I may be wrong, Farang means all Foreigners regardless of race, creed, color, religion, etc.   So why be offended?  It's a word for everyone.  I'd rather be called a Farang than a Foreigner or Alien.  But, as others have  mentioned above, it's the way it is said, the tone.  

no!  They dont call other asians Farlang..

[Joe Farang]

5 minutes ago, jvs said:

African American isn't that an insult in itself?

Why is it?

President Biden refers to himself as Irish American. Do you believe that he is insulting himself?

[transam]

27 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

I'm not offended by words but it's clearly racist. But racism is accepted in Thailand.

 

Np fees 5 to 10x based on race.

Not in my pub.....????

 

On 11.11.11, every year on Remembrance Day, our Town of Ubon puts on an excellent R.D. event, over a dozen large wreaths on stands are on display, the wreath put forward for the town's westerner's, and presented by one of us says ........

........."Farangs of Ubon".......

Now do you think we are being derogatory to the fallen.....?

[candide]

16 minutes ago, Paul Kernell said:

I'm not offended as long as it's used in the context. Thais call us farangs because they can't say French. Call me anything but don't call me French. 

It's type casting for all white skin people, the same as many stupid white people think all black people come from Niger! Hence the name.

It comes from Latin and derived languages. The black colour (in general, not particularly about people) is niger in Latin and negro in Spanish. In the U.S. it was probably originally borrowed from Spanish.

[jvs]

7 minutes ago, Joe Farang said:

Why is it?

President Biden refers to himself as Irish American. Do you believe that he is insulting himself?

In a way yes,he is not Irish.He is also placing himself in a box and that is what racism is all about. I believe people who identify themselves in a similar way are not helping the cause.

We all come from somewhere and that is exactly why there is racism. When you look at our genetic ancestors we do not differ

all that much.

 

[GinBoy2]

10 minutes ago, jvs said:

In a way yes,he is not Irish.He is also placing himself in a box and that is what racism is all about. I believe people who identify themselves in a similar way are not helping the cause.

We all come from somewhere and that is exactly why there is racism. When you look at our genetic ancestors we do not differ

all that much.

 

We're falling into the rabbit hole here.

 

My son is clearly Asian American, he ticks that box on the census.

I'm Hispanic American, proudly so and since we're soon to be the majority, get over it whities.

 

....oops that's got to be derogatory too

[paulikens]

On 4/21/2022 at 4:52 AM, transam said:

Perhaps you are just a Mr. Angry......????..............................????

 

Never heard a farang calling a Thai anything other than Thai, or local, so your g**ks thing is nonsense......

 

1. Answer me this, do Thai folk from the deep south up to the far north, whether children, adults, male or female, of what ever background or employment use the word farang if it is required or in context to something...?

2. If they do, why would folk from ALL backgrounds, etc, use a derogatory term.. ?

@transamsame as the n word was used throughout the 60s and 70s  because they know no better and are ignorant.  as someone said in another post, ive been with thais and they know my name and still refer to me as farang, so how is that not derogatory!    

[Sparktrader]

6 minutes ago, paulikens said:

@transamsame as the n word was used throughout the 60s and 70s  because they know no better and are ignorant.  as someone said in another post, ive been with thais and they know my name and still refer to me as farang, so how is that not derogatory!    

Rude and racist.

 

[Hempire]

I’ve been coming to Thailand for almost 20 years now Im finally living in koh samui and I have never heard anyone complain ??? 

[prakhonchai nick]

1 hour ago, TropicalGuy said:

Never tried using Pink ID in private sector. TDL used pre-Covid for domestic hotels & flights though. (haven’t moved from Phuket last 24 months).

Pink card only valid for ues in province of issue. Air Asia Buriram airport refused it, though correct province but never had any problems using it elsewhere in Thailand for hotels and domestic flights.

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, transam said:

Not in my pub.....????

 

On 11.11.11, every year on Remembrance Day, our Town of Ubon puts on an excellent R.D. event, over a dozen large wreaths on stands are on display, the wreath put forward for the town's westerner's, and presented by one of us says ........

........."Farangs of Ubon".......

Now do you think we are being derogatory to the fallen.....?

No... But you are potentially being derogatory to yourselves and perpetuating the idea that its widely acceptable to refer to caucasian westerns as ‘farangs' in all circumstances. 

 

As pointed out earlier in the thread... IF use of the word ‘farangs’ was not considered potentially derogatory we would hear in Thai News, we don’t. 

 

 

And.. why present a reef as ‘farangs’ of Upon, are there no foreigners in your group who also want to pay their respects but are not caucasian?.... 

 

A far more respectable moniker would perhaps be ‘foreign residents of Ubon’ or simply ‘residents of Ubon’...  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GinBoy2]

So for most of us, non 100% white there are a shi***t load of words that get thrown at us, Spiks daegos and I'll add the Irish, Paddys.

 

I'm not sure any of us in the 21st century actually feel offended by any of them

 

The only folks that can feel offended are blacks using the N word. That was from the most appalling time in history and they have a right to be outraged. They as a people can use it as they want, but for the rest of us back off.

 

I really dont give a rats ass what what people call me whatever they want. 

[richard_smith237]

The key take away for me from this thread is that it is a 20 page debate. 

 

So, there clearly is something ‘wrong’ about the use of the word ‘farang’ regardless of how many people thing it is acceptable, there are clearly enough who thing it is not acceptable in many situations and circumstances.... 

 

That alone is sufficient to suggest it should not be used. 

 

I don’t get upset if someone who doesn’t know my name refers to me a ‘farang’ if out of good intention. BUT, I will not perpetuate the use of the term ‘farang’ by referring to myself as one. 

I refer to myself a ‘westerner’ (never farang) when talking with other westerners about westerns in Thailand. OR with Thai’s if referring to others of my nationality Khun Angrit or referring to other westerners as Chan-Tawantk.... 

 

In much the same way, I never refer to my Wife as Mia...  I always refer to her as Pharryaa - this sets the tone of respectability, I find the same when referring to myself and other foreigners here not as ‘farangs’ by by nationality or generalising as Chan-Tawantk. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Artisi]

On 4/21/2022 at 12:29 PM, LivingNThailand said:

I know this is hard to believe, but some people are just nasty.  And some Thais just don't like "farangs" even though we are loveable and likeable people. ????

And have a liking for sick and poorly buffaloes......... ????

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

So for most of us, non 100% white there are a shi***t load of words that get thrown at us, Spiks daegos and I'll add the Irish, Paddys.

 

I'm not sure any of us in the 21st century actually feel offended by any of them

 

The only folks that can feel offended are blacks using the N word. That was from the most appalling time in history and they have a right to be outraged. They as a people can use it as they want, but for the rest of us back off.

 

I really dont give a rats ass what what people call me whatever they want. 

I'm not so sure... 

 

Back at uni, I recall announcing.... “I’m heading down the chinky, anybody want anything”... 

The Chinese girl in my house came up to me afterwards and asked me not to use that word, it was offensive, she been racially teased over the years and was called ‘chinky’... 

 

I have never used the term since. 

 

------

 

I also recall at uni we were placed in a group with two overseas students from Laos. 

We couldn’t pronounce their names... so we just called them Number 1 and Number 2...  

We thought it was funny, I look back now with some embarrassment, how hard was it really to learn how to say their names. 

 

------

 

So... While I don’t give a ‘rats ass’ what people call me because I have thick skin, I do consider what I call other people, how I refer to those around me and myself. 

 

 

 

 

[Sparktrader]

1 hour ago, Paul Kernell said:

I'm not offended as long as it's used in the context. Thais call us farangs because they can't say French. Call me anything but don't call me French. 

It's type casting for all white skin people, the same as many stupid white people think all black people come from Niger! Hence the name.

I know a Japanese from a Thai. Can speak to them in their language even. Why can't they educate themselves? Ignorant and racist.

 

Where are you from?

 

Australia

 

Is that in Europe or near America?

 

Clueless

[transam]

18 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

No... But you are potentially being derogatory to yourselves and perpetuating the idea that its widely acceptable to refer to caucasian westerns as ‘farangs' in all circumstances. 

 

As pointed out earlier in the thread... IF use of the word ‘farangs’ was not considered potentially derogatory we would hear in Thai News, we don’t. 

 

 

And.. why present a reef as ‘farangs’ of Upon, are there no foreigners in your group who also want to pay their respects but are not caucasian?.... 

 

A far more respectable moniker would perhaps be ‘foreign residents of Ubon’ or simply ‘residents of Ubon’...  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very picky......????