Farangs Being Farangs

[sylviex]

If an Asian European (or Brit/Aussie/Merkin ... ) with a somewhat Thai appearance walked into a shop here and was addressed in Thai by one server, would a second, more observant server say to the other, "He's not Thai, he's farang" ? If not, what might they say ?

[Rasseru]

If an Asian European (or Brit/Aussie/Merkin ... ) with a somewhat Thai appearance walked into a shop here and was addressed in Thai by one server, would a second, more observant server say to the other, "He's not Thai, he's farang" ? If not, what might they say ?

Assuming that my current understanding is correct, that those with Asian faces are by definition not farang, wherever they might have been born or have lived their lives, an observer who could tell that the person was not Thai but did not know anything about him beyond that, might simply say to his or her colleague, 'He's not Thai.'

[Ulysses G.]

If an Asian European (or Brit/Aussie/Merkin ... ) with a somewhat Thai appearance walked into a shop here and was addressed in Thai by one server, would a second, more observant server say to the other, "He's not Thai, he's farang" ? If not, what might they say ?

Assuming that my current understanding is correct, that those with Asian faces are by definition not farang, wherever they might have been born or have lived their lives, an observer who could tell that the person was not Thai but did not know anything about him beyond that, might simply say to his or her colleague, 'He's not Thai.'

That is my understanding also. Even if he spoke fluent Ozzie and lived in Australia from birth, he would not be considered a farang.

[sylviex]

Assuming that my current understanding is correct, that those with Asian faces are by definition not farang, wherever they might have been born or have lived their lives, an observer who could tell that the person was not Thai but did not know anything about him beyond that, might simply say to his or her colleague, 'He's not Thai.'

I knew someone would say that . I am trying to force you to choose an alternate word/means of expression in this situation.

[Ulysses G.]

If an Asian European (or Brit/Aussie/Merkin ... ) with a somewhat Thai appearance walked into a shop here and was addressed in Thai by one server, would a second, more observant server say to the other, "He's not Thai, he's farang" ? If not, what might they say ?

He doesn't speak Thai.

[Ajarn]

If an Asian European (or Brit/Aussie/Merkin ... ) with a somewhat Thai appearance walked into a shop here and was addressed in Thai by one server, would a second, more observant server say to the other, "He's not Thai, he's farang" ? If not, what might they say ?

Assuming that my current understanding is correct, that those with Asian faces are by definition not farang, wherever they might have been born or have lived their lives, an observer who could tell that the person was not Thai but did not know anything about him beyond that, might simply say to his or her colleague, 'He's not Thai.'

That is my understanding also. Even if he spoke fluent Ozzie and lived in Australia from birth, he would not be considered a farang.

He would be a farang to me.

[sylviex]

How about a black guy -ethnic African, 3rd generation American ?

Let's say our more observant Thai noticed their mate was assuming this dark-skinned chap was from deepest, darkest ( ) Africa, not Merka. Might he not give his mate a nudge and whisper, "He's a FARANG" ?"

[geriatrickid]

If an Asian European (or Brit/Aussie/Merkin ... ) with a somewhat Thai appearance walked into a shop here and was addressed in Thai by one server, would a second, more observant server say to the other, "He's not Thai, he's farang" ? If not, what might they say ?

hansum man............

[sylviex]

If an Asian European (or Brit/Aussie/Merkin ... ) with a somewhat Thai appearance walked into a shop here and was addressed in Thai by one server, would a second, more observant server say to the other, "He's not Thai, he's farang" ? If not, what might they say ?

hansum man............

Quite -- does the term not include some notion of coming from a "Western" country ?

[gpdjohn]

How about a black guy -ethnic African, 3rd generation American ?

Let's say our more observant Thai noticed their mate was assuming this dark-skinned chap was from deepest, darkest ( ) Africa, not Merka. Might he not give his mate a nudge and whisper, "He's a FARANG" ?"

I am married to a Chinese Thai and am currently in a true "international " family comprised of American (white, me ) American, black (Texas ) Mexican, Canadian, and English ( UK )

My "uncle" ( black, really, really dark black complexion, from Texas) has lived in a rural Thai village for over 30 yrs ( near KK ), & speaks fluent Thai.

This question was raised last time we were together and I was told that he has been called "farang" since he first arrived and the local Thai had never seen a black man before. He said that some times they would just say "Ay Dam, bpen ngai?", but that came mostly from the older Thai males.

But said that he's always been called a farang.

He was treated worse in Texas....

[sylviex]

Interesting, gpdjohn.

It's a sensitive issue, but ... do you think the locals felt calling him farang was "respectful" (even though he is black, which is not a good thing here, we'll pretend he's not) or just a regular use of the word ?

[Ulysses G.]

If an Asian European (or Brit/Aussie/Merkin ... ) with a somewhat Thai appearance walked into a shop here and was addressed in Thai by one server, would a second, more observant server say to the other, "He's not Thai, he's farang" ? If not, what might they say ?

Assuming that my current understanding is correct, that those with Asian faces are by definition not farang, wherever they might have been born or have lived their lives, an observer who could tell that the person was not Thai but did not know anything about him beyond that, might simply say to his or her colleague, 'He's not Thai.'

That is my understanding also. Even if he spoke fluent Ozzie and lived in Australia from birth, he would not be considered a farang.

He would be a farang to me.

Me too, but neither of us is Thai.

[gpdjohn]

Interesting, gpdjohn.

It's a sensitive issue, but ... do you think the locals felt calling him farang was "respectful" (even though he is black, which is not a good thing here, we'll pretend he's not) or just a regular use of the word ?

I asked him if he was ever refered to terms that were common back in the USA, and you know what those are..

He replied "No", "always as a farang" and that "dam" was the worse he has ever been called here. Kinda surprised me knowning how predjudiced the world can be. He said it was probably because they had never seen a extremely dark skinned black before. Remember, we're talking over 30 yrs ago.. He also said that he doubts it was out of respect, "Because I didn't know any customs and the culture and basically did everything wrong" ( I had to laugh when he told me that )

But...

He has allot of shall I say "stories" on how the Thai police have dealt with him throughout the years with him being a small businessman in a small village.

Luckly, my other "uncle" ( Thai/ Lao) is a major player ( one of the top 4 ) in the Thai police narcotics enforcement arena, way down yonder in Bangkok... a card my black uncle has and will never use.

He also states that he generally has been treated very well by almost every Thai, heck he decided to live here and not back in the US along time ago, and said that he will never go back.

I don't pretend he's not black, he is, and he knows I'm white and when we talk sometimes it is of a black/white nature, from both sides..he was raised in a small Texas town ( late 40's and through the 50's) where the "N" word was used everyday, towards him and his family, but he was raised by a good woman who taught him not to judge people on what color they are, but what they do.

He's well travelled, worked in Saudi Arabia for awhile prior to coming to Thailand.

Overall a great person, a loving man, & someone whom I'm proud to have in my family. ( and hopefully he feels the same of me... )

And I stand corrected...he lives outside of Korat, not KK.

[Ulysses G.]

When I first came to Thailand to live, the guy who owns the Duke's was opening his first restauraunt in LOS with a black partner named Willie. Willie was the nicest guy you ever wanted to meet and all the Thais liked him too (but the bargirls would never admit to having "gone" with him).

Every three months, Willie had to go one a visa run to Malaysia, and he could never understand why he was the only one that the customs guys would call in for an anal probe at the border.

[FolkGuitar]

I wonder if the question should be; do you mind being called a farang?

If you decide it should be, my answer would be, why on earth should I?

"I" don't think you should. But this wasn't a personal question anyway. It was generic.

On a personal level, did you object to being called 'gaijin?' I didn't, except when I knew that it was being deliberately used in a derogatory way and then I would require the speaker to change it to gaikokujin.

I think in 13 years this may have happened only 2-3 times, and probably by by bozuzoku. (Youth gang members.)

Is there such an option for name change in passa Thai?

[mcgriffith]

All the long timers here in LOS know perfectly well that the term "farang" is not really a derogatory term.

Thai society/culture is certainly xenophobic to a certain degree....this country has never been colonized by the western European countries like all the surrounding nations....but they have had to cede territory, under extreme duress, to the French, in the 1800's. A large part of what is now Laos and Cambodia, was part of the Thai kingdom. And we won't even begin to address what the Burmese did, in a previous era.

The Thai people are very proud of their country, but I would not personally consider them as rabidly nationalistic as other nations.

IMHO, when they use the term "farang", there is no personal disrespect intended.....

[tamsin]

I will go with "asians" for the other lot.

That's no fun. Call yourself a caucasoid and our local pals mongoloids.

Mind you, there is overlap between the two at this time of year and I call these people leaky hemarhoids.

Brilliant!

[madjbs]

Not this topic again

[john b good]

All the long timers here in LOS know perfectly well that the term "farang" is not really a derogatory term.

Thai society/culture is certainly xenophobic to a certain degree....this country has never been colonized by the western European countries like all the surrounding nations....but they have had to cede territory, under extreme duress, to the French, in the 1800's. A large part of what is now Laos and Cambodia, was part of the Thai kingdom. And we won't even begin to address what the Burmese did, in a previous era.

The Thai people are very proud of their country, but I would not personally consider them as rabidly nationalistic as other nations.

IMHO, when they use the term "farang", there is no personal disrespect intended.....

They might not have had to cede territory, however they have fallen over and got into bed with the Japanese (WW2)

Admittedly there were quite a few resistance types who helped the allied cause.

BUT those in power at the time capitulated without putting up any resistance whatsoever.

It beats me why they have an army when they have never defended anything.

[madjbs]

They might not have had to cede territory, however they have fallen over and got into bed with the Japanese (WW2)

Admittedly there were quite a few resistance types who helped the allied cause.

BUT those in power at the time capitulated without putting up any resistance whatsoever.

It beats me why they have an army when they have never defended anything.

Not entirely true, they did fight for a very short time but quickly realised they would be entirely obliterated if they continued to defend the country. War was never announced to the U.S.A as the Ambassador in the U.S refused to announce a declaration of war to the U.S government. The country was never a real Japanese allie, they were treated as an occupied country by the Japanese. They wanted to save the country from bloodshed at the end of the day.

[solent01]

and to get back on topic.......

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. This is the Thai new year after all, and guess what country you were in at the time............? If you don't like this festival, do as others do and stay away/hide for a few weeks, its simple really, hardly rocket science.

[davidgtr]

So what if we are called farang or not?

Come on you guys....get a life.

It's great living here here - if it was that bad we wouldn't be here would we?

[Rasseru]

I wonder if the question should be; do you mind being called a farang?

If you decide it should be, my answer would be, why on earth should I?

"I" don't think you should. But this wasn't a personal question anyway. It was generic.

On a personal level, did you object to being called 'gaijin?'

Never.

[sylviex]

I asked him if he was ever refered to terms that were common back in the USA, and you know what those are..

He replied "No", "always as a farang" and that "dam" was the worse he has ever been called here. Kinda surprised me knowning how predjudiced the world can be. He said it was probably because they had never seen a extremely dark skinned black before. Remember, we're talking over 30 yrs ago.. He also said that he doubts it was out of respect, "Because I didn't know any customs and the culture and basically did everything wrong" ( I had to laugh when he told me that )

But...

He has allot of shall I say "stories" on how the Thai police have dealt with him throughout the years with him being a small businessman in a small village.

Luckly, my other "uncle" ( Thai/ Lao) is a major player ( one of the top 4 ) in the Thai police narcotics enforcement arena, way down yonder in Bangkok... a card my black uncle has and will never use.

He also states that he generally has been treated very well by almost every Thai, heck he decided to live here and not back in the US along time ago, and said that he will never go back.

I don't pretend he's not black, he is, and he knows I'm white and when we talk sometimes it is of a black/white nature, from both sides..he was raised in a small Texas town ( late 40's and through the 50's) where the "N" word was used everyday, towards him and his family, but he was raised by a good woman who taught him not to judge people on what color they are, but what they do.

He's well travelled, worked in Saudi Arabia for awhile prior to coming to Thailand.

Overall a great person, a loving man, & someone whom I'm proud to have in my family. ( and hopefully he feels the same of me... )

And I stand corrected...he lives outside of Korat, not KK.

Very interesting, esp. as we expats tend to be quick to call the Thais on racism/colourism.

Nice to know your Uncle found a place he could be comfortable.

[altman]

i am surprised that my angry rant against a couple of steroid smuggling neanderthals became a thread of 'what does farang' mean.

endit.

[Donnyboy]

personally, I dont get called a farang , but if I was called one, it wouldnt upset me, hel_l Ive been called worst things in my home country, and racial slurs as well, it doesnt happen to me here.

[Blinky Bill]

personally, I dont get called a farang , but if I was called one, it wouldnt upset me, hel_l Ive been called worst things in my home country, and racial slurs as well, it doesnt happen to me here.

So what do you get called DB? Pakeha?