Does your Thai partner know much about history outside of Thailand?

[sqwakvfr]

I even asked some Thai’s “who’s is Tiger Woods?”.  The answer is “who he”.  I thought for sure at least some would know one of the greatest golfers is half Thai.  

[marin]

One thing to keep in mind is the Thai government schools phased out  world geography and world history years ago, up to 20. It was replaced with courses on Thai Buddhism and local culture. Sadly the government has focused on keeping them in the dark about just about everything.  Easy way to keep power as they have. 

[The Fugitive]

I asked my Mrs what did Thai's think at the time about B52's taking off from Utapao Airport and Ramasun Listening Station at Udon Thani? Did Thai rice farmers have any sympathy for Vietnamese rice farmers caught in the middle of it all? She said we didn't know much!

[KhunLA]

1 minute ago, The Fugitive said:

I asked my Mrs what did Thai's think at the time about B52's taking off from Utapao Airport and Ramasun Listening Station at Udon Thani? Did Thai rice farmers have any sympathy for Vietnamese rice farmers caught in the middle of it all? She said we didn't know much!

How old is she, and in her defense, I doubt if most Yanks even know or have an opinion of it.   Some still believe the USA got attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin ...  if they are even aware of the Vietnam war, or who was involved ... go figure.

 

Ignorance is Bliss

[ChipButty]

23 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

I even asked some Thai’s “who’s is Tiger Woods?”.  The answer is “who he”.  I thought for sure at least some would know one of the greatest golfers is half Thai.  

Lots of Thai's I know dont even like him, When I asked why he never admitted to being Thai, 

[jaideedave]

58 minutes ago, bluebluewater said:

I've known a whole lot of them who cannot find their own village on a map . . . 

BW..same here.Years ago I returned to my home town(Canada) for a visit which is 12 kilometers from Niagara Falls. I took many photos and got postcards etc to show my stepdaughter (teens) one of the wonders of the world.I sat her down in front of my computer for her to enjoy something she'll most likely never see. Less than two minutes into the presentation her phone rang...she answered and that was the end of that.

I now realize that all the pics I took when myself and some mates were riding our HDs around Thailand,Laos,Cambodia and Malaysia are actually only for my own use.I seldom take photos any more. Lesson learned.

[blackshadow]

a BIG NO!!!

[OneMoreFarang]

Ok, let's turn this around. I am sure we have some members here who are proud about their knowledge about countries, locations, history, current politics, etc. from all over the world.

Maybe this helps you in business or investment. But apart from that, how does that knowledge make everyday life better?

I think it's good to know that the local government is not to blame when gasoline prices rise because international oil prices rise. But apart from that, what does it really help in normal life?

[bignok]

3 hours ago, AndyFoxy said:

I've told my wife (Laotian) about some historical events. She feigns interest but at the end of the day, doesn't really give a flying ****.

Best way to be. Why stress over past events that had nothing to do with you.

[bignok]

4 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Ok, let's turn this around. I am sure we have some members here who are proud about their knowledge about countries, locations, history, current politics, etc. from all over the world.

Maybe this helps you in business or investment. But apart from that, how does that knowledge make everyday life better?

I think it's good to know that the local government is not to blame when gasoline prices rise because international oil prices rise. But apart from that, what does it really help in normal life?

Does the opposite. People worrying about stuff that doesn't exist anymore. 

[lanng khao]

41 minutes ago, marin said:

One thing to keep in mind is the Thai government schools phased out  world geography and world history years ago, up to 20. It was replaced with courses on Thai Buddhism and local culture. Sadly the government has focused on keeping them in the dark about just about everything.  Easy way to keep power as they have. 

That explains why my Mrs thought Helsinki was where the devil washed his hands..

[Crossy]

My lady has encyclopaedic knowledge of the Roman Empire and Ancient Rome! 

 

She was a Thai-speaking tour guide in Rome (the one in Italy) as one of her many, many occupations whilst living there.

[Joe Farang]

4 hours ago, sharksy said:

Knowing a bit about history isn't really related to knowing where a country is on a map.

I remember growing up with all sorts of wars in the news, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Timor etc.  But wouldn't have been able to find them on a map.

 

But for context, isn't it a bit like a genocide happening in Wales, and the English not generally knowing about it?

How many wars do you know about that don't involve a Western country?

Without Googling it, give a synopsis of one of those wars.

[steven100]

most thai's live in their own little Thailand bubble .....  they know nothing about the world outside ...     especially today's youth

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

thai's live in their own little Thailand bubble .....  they know nothing about the world outside ... 

The Thai education system virtually guarantees that outcome. The only Thais who are aware of anything else are those who have traveled outside Thailand.

[The Fugitive]

Don't watch Thai TV because I can't understand Thai language. Whole family only seem to watch the soaps and spend (or waste) the rest of their time on their smartphones. In UK I used to watch the news, weather, films (not many) and documentaries. My Mrs would never sit and watch a documentary. Perhaps karaoke is to blame?  

[BangkokReady]

18 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

But apart from that, how does that knowledge make everyday life better?

I think that because human nature is kind of universal, and things tend to repeat themselves, we can learn lessons from things that have happened in history that help us to understand what is happening now and what might happen in the future.  This is particularly relevant when it comes to politics and other things that affect society. 

 

As an example, the writing of George Orwell is incredibly useful in identifying patterns of fascism, the use of propaganda, how communism/ideology is used to control people and how easy it is to slip into authoritarianism from a movement that starts out claiming to be about setting people free and liberating them from oppressors.

 

People often comment on Orwell and say that he "predicted" this and that, but in reality, a lot of Orwell's writing was based on what had happened in the past and what was going on at the time of writing.  For example, 1984 is cited as predicting what we see happening in some places now, but it is actually based on Stalinist Russia set in England in a WW2 time period.

 

Along with learning lessons from the past, the study of history is going to increase higher order thinking skills, like critical thinking and creativity.  I know a lot of people don't see the point of studying anything where it isn't going to be directly applied, but generally, studying for the sake of studying will have benefits in every part of someone's life.

 

I think it also helps us to understand who we are as people, learning how people lived in the past.

 

I'm not suggesting that someone who knows about some historical time period or another is in any way superior (there are a lot of educated people who do not understand much outside of what they are educated in).  And I know that for many people it's a luxury to have the time, or to have been raised to read, to study and to have an inquisitive mind, but I think there are clear benefits to it.

[OneMoreFarang]

11 minutes ago, steven100 said:

most thai's live in their own little Thailand bubble .....  they know nothing about the world outside ...     especially today's youth

Probably that makes them happier as if they would know much about the rest of the world.

[AndyFoxy]

36 minutes ago, bignok said:

Best way to be. Why stress over past events that had nothing to do with you.

Definitely.

[steven100]

13 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

The Thai education system virtually guarantees that outcome. The only Thais who are aware of anything else are those who have traveled outside Thailand.

absolutely correct ....  sad but true ....   what sort of education curriculum doesn't include history and geography ....  Thailand's obviously.     Many Thai students will grow up to be very professional 7-11 cashiers

[OneMoreFarang]

4 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

I think that because human nature is kind of universal, and things tend to repeat themselves, we can learn lessons from things that have happened in history that help us to understand what is happening now and what might happen in the future.  This is particularly relevant when it comes to politics and other things that affect society. 

 

As an example, the writing of George Orwell is incredibly useful in identifying patterns of fascism, the use of propaganda, how communism/ideology is used to control people and how easy it is to slip into authoritarianism from a movement that starts out claiming to be about setting people free and liberating them from oppressors.

 

People often comment on Orwell and say that he "predicted" this and that, but in reality, a lot of Orwell's writing was based on what had happened in the past and what was going on at the time of writing.  For example, 1984 is cited as predicting what we see happening in some places now, but it is actually based on Stalinist Russia set in England in a WW2 time period.

 

Along with learning lessons from the past, the study of history is going to increase higher order thinking skills, like critical thinking and creativity.  I know a lot of people don't see the point of studying anything where it isn't going to be directly applied, but generally, studying for the sake of studying will have benefits in every part of someone's life.

 

I think it also helps us to understand who we are as people, learning how people lived in the past.

 

I'm not suggesting that someone who knows about some historical time period or another is in any way superior (there are a lot of educated people who do not understand much outside of what they are educated in).  And I know that for many people it's a luxury to have the time, or to have been raised to read, to study and to have an inquisitive mind, but I think there are clear benefits to it.

Good post.

I also like that I have some knowledge about the world. I am also reading the news all the time. But sometimes I ask myself: Why? Lots of things happen all over the world and it seems most people don't learn from it. Many people in many countries follow the biggest liars even when it should be easy to know about those lies. 

I think knowing what is going on makes often more headache: Why do all those stupid people do what they do... 

 

[BangkokReady]

1 minute ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Good post.

I also like that I have some knowledge about the world. I am also reading the news all the time. But sometimes I ask myself: Why? Lots of things happen all over the world and it seems most people don't learn from it. Many people in many countries follow the biggest liars even when it should be easy to know about those lies. 

I think knowing what is going on makes often more headache: Why do all those stupid people do what they do... 

I guess you cannot have the knowledge that might come in handy but make you sad, and at the same time enjoy ignorance that might make you happy but also vulnerable.

 

I think that's why many non-Western countries are a lot happier, but tend to have less political agency.  They're kind of "innocent" in a lot of ways.  Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.

[BangkokReady]

5 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I also like that I have some knowledge about the world. I am also reading the news all the time.

It's entertaining as well.  I think we (possible men more than women) like to study things and know some facts.  Like how watching a game of sport can be more interesting if you know all the rules of the game, how they train, and the history of the two teams.

[ThailandRyan]

My partner watches the world news as well as local news. She asks questions about anything she can not find d while searching Google. 

[bignok]

17 minutes ago, steven100 said:

absolutely correct ....  sad but true ....   what sort of education curriculum doesn't include history and geography ....  Thailand's obviously.     Many Thai students will grow up to be very professional 7-11 cashiers

Geography and history don't led to many jobs. 

[The Fugitive]

5 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

My partner watches the world news as well as local news. She asks questions about anything she can not find d while searching Google. 

My Mrs is exactly the opposite. She says; 'What do I care about anything going on elsewhere?'

[ChaiyaTH]

5 hours ago, sharksy said:

I guess its quite important to me to be able to discuss things and get an opinion back when visiting historical places, like a regular western GF would.  Have an interest in the place you are visiting - rather than just post up photographs with no knowledge or interest behind them.

All they care about is that the finance for now is in order and that there is nice food to eat, and some fun to watch or do. The selfie part is not with all of them so much, only narcistic ones.

 

To be honest I would not want them to be like 'a regular western GF' because then I would simply date a 'western girl'.

 

It is actually nice to not be bothered with all the nonsense from western news and countries here and living quite peaceful, nothing really changes while in the news and past decade they make you think the world ends constantly (climate change, covid, proxy wars).

 

[transam]

Mine knows nothing, not even why the moon changes shape, but she knows a lot about superstition and Buddha stuff.......................

[Rimmer]

Off topic posts and pictures of B52s and Vietnam have been removed,  the topic is about:

 

Does your Thai partner know much about history outside of Thailand?

[Walker88]

We had a President who didn't know what the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor was all about, didn't know China and India not only share a border, but had a war over it when that POTUS was alive. He also thought there's a country bordering India called Nipple and another named after a command to an attack dog: Sickem.

 

I guess what a Thai woman knows or doesn't pales in comparison to the lack of knowledge by a guy who had the nuclear codes to 7,800 warheads.

 

Ignorance is relative.