To What Degree Is Thailand Xenophobic?

[wolfmanjack]

a neighbor down the street had her sister come up from pattaya..i asked her if it was nice there..she told me it was beautiful ..except for all the foreigners..this is coming from a women who gets her money from foreigners..i was speaking with a Thai guy who said to me..why guys can't find girls in there own country..why do they have to keep coming here and taking our women..there is a hatred or dislike of foreigners in Thailand..most who do not see it..probably have foreign friends or Thai bar girls as girlfriends in Thailand..and really do not socialize with the average thai..and as far as owning land in thailand..that it would raise prices..hel_l..these prices are already way overvalued..1.5 million a rai and up..thats 46,000usd i can buy an acre in the usa..which is 2 times larger..around any small city..for that or less..quick story..my wife and i were looking for a little bit of land about 5km outside the city of surin..northeast..middle of nowhere..we stopped to eat and the lady told us there was some land for sale..2 rai..we asked how much..5 million baht..i got a good laugh out of it..and now at 32baht to the dollar..i'll say in the usa.

An Acre is 2.5 rai. Yes it is much cheaper in most parts of the USA. I have my recreational land in the USA up for sale right now at $1500 an acre ( less than 20,000 per rai at todays exchange rate). Much less than land in thailand with no paper.

[PrBkkPr]

Lol! Was talking to my Thai bf (he is educated form Sydney) this morning about TV postings and mentioned about a certain Mahtin who posted on this site a racists point about his TGF who views all Indians as cockroaches and my bf replied that this uneducated Mahtin's TGF must most probably be from Isaan and he remarked if that is so, why is it that almost 85 % of the Thais workship a cockroach if that was their stupid mentality because was the Lord Buddha was an Indian in the first place and also why a lot of Thais are workshipping Hindu deities all over Bangkok such as the elephant deity (Lord Ganesha).

Just shows that xenophobia only comes from the stupid uneducated "lower life forms". (Now that is not xenophobia right....lol!)

[jasreeve17]

This country exhibits tonnes of prejudice from the indiginous population much of which is based, amongst other things, on xenophobia. The coutry itself exudes it, rather than individuals. It's a politically managed and sustained nationalism working on old xenpophobias.

They have a constant fear of those close (look at what the Burmese did to them and the huge effect on their collective psyche) and those far away (consider the French, 'farang' turning up and taking half the country). One could easily consider the term 'farang' to be a clear indication of xenophibia by grouping foreigners together in one big scary group...

Thais are extremely egocentric, and these types are, of course, prone to xenophobia...

People that travel around the World naturally become less xenophobic, thus those educated abroad know better. The problem is that they (and their families) often use Thai xenophobia for their own gains. Mr T would be a prime example because I doubt that he's particularly fearful of anyone, but he is very happy to propetuate these fears within the masses for his own personal wealth gain.

[Heng]

Thais are extremely egocentric, and these types are, of course, prone to xenophobia...

And they are just as prone to not to care (that includes a lack of fear, concern, respect, whatever) for anything or anyone beyond the world right in front of them. That's hardly xenophobia.

I'm more than happy dealing with foreigners on a day to day basis, collecting rent or interest from them, but probably wouldn't go out of my way to increase their rights here (the popular ones are: right to immigrate permanently, own land, etc.), but that's not out of xenophobia, but simply a complete lack of concern for their fate (note: it's the same lack of concern I would feel for strangers of any nationality). IMO that's the predominant local take. "Your rights are your problem, not mine."

[TheDon]

Actually wouldnt this poll actually show what percentage of farangs are xenophobia? As this shows what they think of Thai's

[luumak]

this is a dumb poll. it is entirely subjective. further, the person making the selection may not really have any clue based on his/her own experience as well (short timer/bad experience).

xenophobia is a 'fear' of foreigners. the thais are going thru something much different although we commonly refer to it as such.

thailand has simply 'had enough' of hoards of farang (this happens everywhere look at morocco, greece, costa rica...)

thailand is modernizing and losing its 'soul', the modernization = west and west = bad. people are hearkening back

thailand has its share of modern problems that are blamed in large part indirectly on the west - dope, sex...

it sees its wealth - in particular property and imported mfg goods as zero sum. cant let farang buy expensive property because then - rich thais cant scoop it up (not like the poor will be buying it). imported goods still have huge tarriff - but burmese and khmer work openly at all jobs in the bottom rungs of society.

thailand is a nation that will never make the jump to clean democracy. never. therefore...it does not like to be criticized officially for:

endemic corruption, weak government, weaker regulation, pure incompetence, greed of the first order, police/military mafias, street mafias

the rigid class divide. top 5% control everything, next the professional class, next the mafia classes and the rabble (85%). this serves thailand well.

poor public assistance, education, ruination of natural resources and fauna, laziness...

it is arrogant and it does not like outsiders pointing to its shortfall. very simple and understandable. now that throngs of outisiders are more-less living or spending a great deal of time in thailand - these things come to light as well as the gross arbitrariness and inconsistencies of the government bureaucrat (immigration, business lics., etc...).

the bureaucratic class labors under an illogical and unfounded mis-impression that we are all just trying to break or skirt their laws for whatever (in particular visas) reason. the are too shallow and arrogant to look inside themselves and note the inconsistencies they deal with in their lives as a thai working thru a bureaucracy. at a certain level, its not much better than cambodia - save for the outward bribe to khmer. nothing is hard/fast, in writing, can be shown to an offical to make them say ...oh, ok sorry about that. thai bureaucrats at every stage try to see what they can do to shoot you down, not help you out. seems like being married is no help at all, same with kids.

look at what malaysia has done with three disparate groups of people. not look at the failure called thailand. there has never been a nation that has squandered opportunities in modern time like thailand. outsiders will reach a tipping point whether hassle, money or both. how about singapore?

**the worst foreigner in ANY country is the one that does not have the inclination to learn the cultural subtleties and does what they please. this does more damage to the foreign reputation than i can think of - and there are tens of thousands of this lot in thailand. ironically, much of this is encouraged by thai govt in form of single male traveler to bkk/pty. if you cant speak enough of any language to meet your daily needs, cant talk to your lover in s/he language, dont eat the local food, sleep in aircon bliss while your neighborhood slumbers under a creaky fan, have silly electric needs like big computers/tv's, drive a big stupid showy truck that is worth more than 2 houses where your lover comes from. if you go into a service joint and toss money about - you are a large part of their dislike. this is western arrogance. no one need go hat-in-hand but even if you are married and have a kid and lived here for decades, you are not a citizen.

>>> much of the 'problems' of thailand for farang the old hands will know came from the floods of noobs that have hit thailand in the last five years. the endless stupid visa questions, the floods of visa runners who if thailand ceased to be what it is would pack up and be home tomorrow. pattaya has becoem a total abortion and it can be laid at this throng. they have no interest in asia, asian culture or its people in all candor. so, we all pay the piper.

this is not a screed, hopefully it has provided minor insight.

the average thai that does not work around the foreigner is a lovely person. the government officals are undereducated and arrogant. but in defense - they have seen throngs of weirdos. the poor thai asks after many years of service to the the foreigner, seeing everyone else grow rich and fat - sours.

finally, let us not forget that very hard times have hit thailand and inflation is on the march. its not blamed on farang but it aint easy to drag out that thai smile when life sucks -for life. when nations modernize, they lose the personal feel. it is inevitable.

LEARN TO SPEAK SOME THAI - and get out of klong toei/pattaya .... much of your perception will go away

bad poll

Edited May 22, 2008 by luumak

[mikethevigoman]

I voted 50 per cent, probably caused more by ignorance than hatred,. its more the other way round in the UK and USA id say,.

[on-on]

Speaking of Xenuphobia, has anyone ever seen a Church of Scientology here? I know Amway is huge, so I can't believe the CoS hasn't tried to make inroads at some point as Thailand has become more and more developed.

[tw25rw]

Most Aussies hate indians, we tend to tease them all the time. UK has a rep of hating them too. Whats with that? everyone seems to hate them.

Is teasing them a sign of hatred???

I'm Australian living in the UK and see little sign of this hatred here too, though the Asian muslims aren't that well liked in the areas they have populated.

Personally, I have maligned Indians occasionally, especially when at Bangkok airport, but I wouldn't call it hate.

[jasreeve17]

Thais are extremely egocentric, and these types are, of course, prone to xenophobia...

And they are just as prone to not to care (that includes a lack of fear, concern, respect, whatever) for anything or anyone beyond the world right in front of them. That's hardly xenophobia.

I'm more than happy dealing with foreigners on a day to day basis, collecting rent or interest from them, but probably wouldn't go out of my way to increase their rights here (the popular ones are: right to immigrate permanently, own land, etc.), but that's not out of xenophobia, but simply a complete lack of concern for their fate (note: it's the same lack of concern I would feel for strangers of any nationality). IMO that's the predominant local take. "Your rights are your problem, not mine."

Thanks for supporting my case on egocentricity, Heng. All we have to do now is link this to a tendancy for xenophobia, and we'll be in agreement.

p.s. You know how your apathetic nature irks me...

[Tod Daniels]

I have rarely visited or lived in a country which so blatantly exhibits such racism and xenophobia as the glorious "Land 'O Thais". I do concur with another poster though that it is politically managed and encouraged.

The constant categorizing people by skin tone is yet another example. When I mentioned to a thai that in America they would be thought of as 'yellow skinned', short asians, and no one would care which country they were from, nor take the slightest notice in the shade of their skin they were appalled at the thought. I will admit I pushed them saying they were lumped into the Laotian, Burmese, and Cambodian categories, which is a category most thais probably hate to be in.

I witnessed yet another example of their rampant xenophobia or veiled hatred for their neighboring S/E Asian races yesterday. There is a relief tent set up near my house taking donations for Cyclone Nargis, and the China earthquake disasters, with separate boxes for each. When I asked the girl staffing the booth which box most people were putting money into (not that I have proof for or against the premise that any of this money will actually reach anyone in need), she replied everyone was giving to China as they were thailand's friend but no one was giving to Burma as they fought a lot with thailand before. That mindset is pervasive in all levels of the society from the poorest street vendor to the richest alleged chinese/thai. You need only see how the Lao or Cambodian people are looked down upon here. Having stayed in Lao and Cambodia I would say without a doubt the people there are friendlier, more open to conversation in any language they might know, and far less concerned about losing 'face' than even the average 6th grade dropout educated thai is.

It is the generations of mindless brainwashing sold to the diminutive inhabitants here as "culture" that makes them so xenophobic, and yet completely blind to the fact they are. Being American I am proud of the fact, and I understand national pride, but it is taken to such an extreme here as to make the mind wobble.

To the 'we-b-thai' camp that goes around wai'ing every soi dog and limbless beggar, or lives up-country in Nakhon Nowhere in a shack with their (in)significant other and their extended family thinking you’ve found utopia whilst eating mystery meat and drinking sticky rice whiskey; If you think these people are an ever smiling, happy, accommodating culture, I want what ever medication you're on. I would be very hard pressed to find another country whose inhabitants are as coldly calculating with an outright agenda against foreigners as the inhabitants of this very small insignificant country. As I said before there is little in the way of actual culture here and instead the generations of mindless brainwashing has been sold to them as such. There is no need for a foreigner to learn about the mythical alleged thai culture because it simply doesn’t exist to the degree that it would positively or negatively affect any interaction you’re likely to have here in the glorious “Land ‘O Thais”.

I will agree with another poster that learning to speak this language is at least the first step to bridging the 'gap' of what I term "inter-species communication". Although that being said; it is far from a stable bridge. I speak thai when I need to make a point, voice an opinion, or ask questions that require a real answer. Most of the time I am happy to compel thais to struggle in english, and prefer listening to the side chatter in thai to see what their real agenda/mindset is.

So are thais xenophobic? YES to a fault. Factor in their constant fixation on face saving, their predilection to bend the truth when it suits them, and you have an alleged 'culture' with little redeeming values. However; knowing the above facts makes the ever so shallowly smiling sheep-like diminutive inhabitants here utterly predictable in most situations.

[Naam]

So are thais xenophobic? YES to a fault. Factor in their constant fixation on face saving, their predilection to bend the truth when it suits them, and you have an alleged 'culture' with little redeeming values. However; knowing the above facts makes the ever so shallowly smiling sheep-like diminutive inhabitants here utterly predictable in most situations.

i tend to agree with this summary except for the expression "xenophobic". having said so, i'd like to emphasize that i couldn't care less whether the average Somchai Pornthip hates me, dislikes me, tolerates me or loves me.

inspite of the fact that the meaning of "xenophobic" was explained in this forum godzillion times, the word is still used in wrong context

[jasreeve17]

So are thais xenophobic? YES to a fault. Factor in their constant fixation on face saving, their predilection to bend the truth when it suits them, and you have an alleged 'culture' with little redeeming values. However; knowing the above facts makes the ever so shallowly smiling sheep-like diminutive inhabitants here utterly predictable in most situations.

i tend to agree with this summary except for the expression "xenophobic". having said so, i'd like to emphasize that i couldn't care less whether the average Somchai Pornthip hates me, dislikes me, tolerates me or loves me.

inspite of the fact that the meaning of "xenophobic" was explained in this forum godzillion times, the word is still used in wrong context

Naam, I wouldn't say that the word is used in the wrong context, but perhaps that it's in itself a big idea that people view slightly differently. It's one of those words that has some 'movement'.

Being a German your English is probably better than mine (I'm not joking), but maybe you more likely to take words literally and matter of factly whereas others might allow words more fluidity?

Words like xenophobia, racism and prejudice, to me, offer truthful insight into Thailand, but it's still difficult to agree exactly how (the words themselves are problematic).

[PeaceBlondie]

Two regular posters that I respect and admire, Heng and Naam, have just each expressed a rather similar attitude toward people other than himself: indifference. I believe Heng wrote that he doesn't care about those who are not close to him. That is a good start for xenophobia.

"I don't know": ignorance.

"It doesn't matter": prioritization of values.

"I don't care about other people different from me": the seed of xenophobia or tribalism.

But actually, how different is a Burmese from a Thai, a Thai-Chinese, a Laotian, a Belgian? Each bleeds when cut, each has family, each has material and spiritual needs.

[Thai at Heart]

I have rarely visited or lived in a country which so blatantly exhibits such racism and xenophobia as the glorious "Land 'O Thais". I do concur with another poster though that it is politically managed and encouraged.

The constant categorizing people by skin tone is yet another example. When I mentioned to a thai that in America they would be thought of as 'yellow skinned', short asians, and no one would care which country they were from, nor take the slightest notice in the shade of their skin they were appalled at the thought. I will admit I pushed them saying they were lumped into the Laotian, Burmese, and Cambodian categories, which is a category most thais probably hate to be in.

I witnessed yet another example of their rampant xenophobia or veiled hatred for their neighboring S/E Asian races yesterday. There is a relief tent set up near my house taking donations for Cyclone Nargis, and the China earthquake disasters, with separate boxes for each. When I asked the girl staffing the booth which box most people were putting money into (not that I have proof for or against the premise that any of this money will actually reach anyone in need), she replied everyone was giving to China as they were thailand's friend but no one was giving to Burma as they fought a lot with thailand before. That mindset is pervasive in all levels of the society from the poorest street vendor to the richest alleged chinese/thai. You need only see how the Lao or Cambodian people are looked down upon here. Having stayed in Lao and Cambodia I would say without a doubt the people there are friendlier, more open to conversation in any language they might know, and far less concerned about losing 'face' than even the average 6th grade dropout educated thai is.

It is the generations of mindless brainwashing sold to the diminutive inhabitants here as "culture" that makes them so xenophobic, and yet completely blind to the fact they are. Being American I am proud of the fact, and I understand national pride, but it is taken to such an extreme here as to make the mind wobble.

To the 'we-b-thai' camp that goes around wai'ing every soi dog and limbless beggar, or lives up-country in Nakhon Nowhere in a shack with their (in)significant other and their extended family thinking you’ve found utopia whilst eating mystery meat and drinking sticky rice whiskey; If you think these people are an ever smiling, happy, accommodating culture, I want what ever medication you're on. I would be very hard pressed to find another country whose inhabitants are as coldly calculating with an outright agenda against foreigners as the inhabitants of this very small insignificant country. As I said before there is little in the way of actual culture here and instead the generations of mindless brainwashing has been sold to them as such. There is no need for a foreigner to learn about the mythical alleged thai culture because it simply doesn’t exist to the degree that it would positively or negatively affect any interaction you’re likely to have here in the glorious “Land ‘O Thais”.

I will agree with another poster that learning to speak this language is at least the first step to bridging the 'gap' of what I term "inter-species communication". Although that being said; it is far from a stable bridge. I speak thai when I need to make a point, voice an opinion, or ask questions that require a real answer. Most of the time I am happy to compel thais to struggle in english, and prefer listening to the side chatter in thai to see what their real agenda/mindset is.

So are thais xenophobic? YES to a fault. Factor in their constant fixation on face saving, their predilection to bend the truth when it suits them, and you have an alleged 'culture' with little redeeming values. However; knowing the above facts makes the ever so shallowly smiling sheep-like diminutive inhabitants here utterly predictable in most situations.

Misplaced national pride, and a complete lack of moral self soul searching will always prevent Thailand from improving. But didn't you know it already, Thailand is perfect.

[Naam]

Naam, I wouldn't say that the word is used in the wrong context, but perhaps that it's in itself a big idea that people view slightly differently. It's one of those words that has some 'movement'.

Being a German your English is probably better than mine (I'm not joking), but maybe you more likely to take words literally and matter of factly whereas others might allow words more fluidity?

that might well be the case Jasreeve. more than once i was called "pedant" in this forum (and in life). the real reason (for me being such a pedantic @sshole) is that at very young age i studied Latin and Greek. our lecturers were Jesuit priests and the emphasis/keyword on ANY subject we studied was "logic, correctness and clarity". we were not allowed to use multivalent or ambiguous expressions, something which is quite normal in day to day communication.

[Heng]

Thais are extremely egocentric, and these types are, of course, prone to xenophobia...

And they are just as prone to not to care (that includes a lack of fear, concern, respect, whatever) for anything or anyone beyond the world right in front of them. That's hardly xenophobia.

I'm more than happy dealing with foreigners on a day to day basis, collecting rent or interest from them, but probably wouldn't go out of my way to increase their rights here (the popular ones are: right to immigrate permanently, own land, etc.), but that's not out of xenophobia, but simply a complete lack of concern for their fate (note: it's the same lack of concern I would feel for strangers of any nationality). IMO that's the predominant local take. "Your rights are your problem, not mine."

Thanks for supporting my case on egocentricity, Heng. All we have to do now is link this to a tendancy for xenophobia, and we'll be in agreement.

p.s. You know how your apathetic nature irks me...

Why would you want to link my opinions to yours when they are converse concepts? The xenophobia label is IMO just a habit of those whose egos are wounded by their own: perception of lack of importance and lack of accomplishment -whether real or imagined- the latter often just lack of self fulfilment and possible clinical depression type issues. It should be noted that the xenophobia label is often just a "they fear me or us" label as well, it's quite common and has been used all over the world since the beginning of time. More often than not though, it says more about the folks making such claims rather than the object of such labels. For example, when youths in gang culture make frequent proclaimations that they other gang is afraid of them, IMO it's more likely that either the opposite is true or at the very least there are inferiority complexes at work here. When some African Americans during the "black power" movement in the 60's and 70's expressed concepts like 'whites fear the black man, that's why they have an organized system of suppression'... it's easy to see that was likely more along the lines of the concepts expressed above: lack of apparent accomplishment as a race or group combined with psychological rationalization for lack of said accomplishment. In no way am I saying that Thais are immune from such labels either. It seems to be a part of human nature to say the problem must be you, and not me.

p.s. Even if I knew who you were, I doubt I would recall that. Try eating some candy Jas, you might feel better.

[Heng]

Two regular posters that I respect and admire, Heng and Naam, have just each expressed a rather similar attitude toward people other than himself: indifference. I believe Heng wrote that he doesn't care about those who are not close to him. That is a good start for xenophobia.

"I don't know": ignorance.

"It doesn't matter": prioritization of values.

"I don't care about other people different from me": the seed of xenophobia or tribalism.

But actually, how different is a Burmese from a Thai, a Thai-Chinese, a Laotian, a Belgian? Each bleeds when cut, each has family, each has material and spiritual needs.

Indifference towards outsiders (and I'm talking about on a family level), which yes, for me is predominantly made up of 1-2 nationalities and racial groups, IMO isn't the same thing as xenophobia.

I do like that breaking down of common phrases (for the benefit of the average forum reader?) though, here are mine:

"I could care less about the plight of other Thais, Americans, Brits, Germans, Asians, farangs, Indians... (despite being from the same background as them)" --- what folks are really saying is: "It sucks to be you."

"Thais, Americans, Brits, Germans, Asians, farangs, Indians... whatever are xenophobic." --- what they really mean is: "It sucks to be me."

[Enigma56]

how the main culprits were from Laos, to self evident agreement from the other chattering Thais there.

That's racial stereotyping rather than xenophobia, IMO. Racial stereotyping is very common on ThaiVisa too.

So why not leave then..racial stereotyping bah..Thais have the monopoly on that I think

[stuandchris]

I was quite interested in luumark's reply until he started on the Pattaya 5 years ago bit.

I first came to LOS [bKK] in 1975 and it was a bigger hole and more depraved than Pattaya is now, no I don't live there.

Don't blame the lack of culture on the expats or 'sexpats' even though I personally despise them.

It isn't the influx over the last 5, 10 or 20 twenty years that have spoilt your idea of cultural Thailand, that culture went a hundred years ago.

BKK thitry five years ago was a whore's playground and that was before the pervs could afford the airfare.

It is a shame but culture left when money arrived. Culture is for the 'classy' tourists now.

[elkangorito]

Two regular posters that I respect and admire, Heng and Naam, have just each expressed a rather similar attitude toward people other than himself: indifference. I believe Heng wrote that he doesn't care about those who are not close to him. That is a good start for xenophobia.

"I don't know": ignorance.

"It doesn't matter": prioritization of values.

"I don't care about other people different from me": the seed of xenophobia or tribalism.

But actually, how different is a Burmese from a Thai, a Thai-Chinese, a Laotian, a Belgian? Each bleeds when cut, each has family, each has material and spiritual needs.

I strongly disagree PB.

"I don't know" means exactly that. Not knowing something is not a wrong doing.

"It doesn't matter" may be important but it may not be...AT THE TIME!

"I don't care about other people different from me". Now this is the key statement. It all revolves around what "care" means to the user.

The human ego is a normal but terrible thing. Many people say that they "care" about others, purely to gain "attention from certain people". On the same token, these people will usually perform "caring acts", which are meant to be noted (by others) as such. Generally, the reason for this is "EGO". For example, I want people to think that I'm a great guy so I will go about "seeming" to "care" for people.

With regard to myself, I really don't care about other people who are different from me. This is very true for me because quite honestly, the lives of other people are not my business...unless they directly interfere with my life. I don't give a toss how different people are from me. As a matter of fact, I like "different" people. To me, "not caring" about someones life means "not interfering" with someones life. Ultimately, it means respecting them. I will now suggest that the terms "caring" & "selfish" need to be reversed in meaning. If I truly care about someone, I WILL NOT "push & shove" them around to my way of thinking...I will offer suggestions. If I am "selfish", I will order them to follow "rules". If you dispute the word "order", try substituting it for "making them feel guilty", if you get my drift.

Xenophobia is about fear & ego. The ego thrives on fear & power. Both of these things (fear & power) can be easily self controlled if the individual is willing to be aware of such things.

[MSingh]

To attempt to categorise around 60,000,000 People isn't easy, to then attempt to assume what they ALL think & then make a % of it, is virtually impossible..

If there was an option of " a lot " then i'd go with that but there's not so i went for 80%..

Edit, i wonder what Planet the 18 People who voted 0% are from ??

Edited June 4, 2008 by MSingh

[pattayaheaven]

todd-daniels.

A perfect post,as i agree whole heartedly but i am amazed you havent been thrown off this forum for your views.I would not have said that on here but good luck,hope to see you here tomorrow.

[uptou]

We have a thai lady whos a freind of the family,whos lived in the uk for years & really takes care of her english husband,& she has said that thais are generally "wary" of farang.She didnt use the word xenophobic,but i suppose she could have had it in mind.I think she more or less had a chalk & cheese thing in mind.Obviously xenophobia is around us here,but i dont believe its any worse than in the uk,for example,where we have our "chinky & paki" shops.

I also always remember drinking with this good old thai guy called Duan,who made an impression on me because he talked freely to me about the things he didnt like about thailand,something that ive not really come across much at all with other thais,(he thought Mr T made thailand look a joke to the rest of the world amongst other things).I think this attitude had come about from him travelling alot outside of thailand.It was interesting to me that when he went to the states he had someone ask him would he like to live over their full time,but his reply was "not really,i wouldnt want to be veiwed as a second class citezen over here".

I would say though that its not always xenophobia,if for example a bar girl buggers off with your ATM card & withdraws all your funds.............then maybe you go to a bar with some farang mates & run down the thai people all night with remarks bordering on racism.