People In Authority In Los?

[siamruby]

One thing about the Thai culture is the Thais like to obey someone in authority whether it the police, the council officers,the teachers ,the ajarn in uni, the boss and whoever is in charge of wherever you are. It s also the culture of respect the elder and their opinions.

on the other hand the superior people do not like people beneath them argue with them. This also make working relationship quite difficult as the promotion at work will mostly goes by 3 things the qualification,the experiance and the age. I think it s also quite awkward in Los to have a boss younger than you.

I wonder if you ever argued with someone in authority? and what happened? For sure I hope no one dare to argue with a policeman carrying a gun!

[francois]

hi'

surely not a good thing to do, even if you are right, they do think that you're wrong or either better listen to what they have to say ...

keep it cool, getting into a talk would lead to problems

I, once got real mad at a policeman, that gave me ticket for something I should not have done ... I was wrong but late also, real late ... so got my ticket, did not even felt better after saying what I thought ... ( the poor guy did not understand a word of english, and when I started in Thai, I got only a kinda funny smile ...)

in every case, keep it cool, even if you don't deserve the blame

Thai way ... with a smile

you pay or get your ticket and go ... thank you vely big(thinking anything bad you want)

francois

[Buckwheat]

A) Argued with someone in authority?...yes, my wife is Thai and I argued with her once

What happened?....blue eye for me

[Heng]

Yeah, I do it all the time. I'd say you might get away with it a hundred times... probably several hundred times before getting shot in the forehead.

[penelope]

I do all the time(in a business context), but this is not arguing.....this is discussing/disagreeing/challenging/presenting a side objectively/defending your position etc...

[RDN]

...  I wonder if you ever argued with someone in authority? and what happened? For sure I hope no one dare to argue with a policeman carrying a gun!

Yes I argued with a policeman once - and wrote all about it in another thread. He was lying, I did nothing wrong. He needed money and wanted 1000 baht. I ended up giving him 300 without a receipt. I should've offered 50 - I think he would have taken it. That one incident has still tainted my view of the Thai police, unfortunately.

Original thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...15entry133522

Edited October 18, 2004 by RDN

[damnaam]

I prefer to avoid confrontation where possible and this approach worked fantastically in Phuket earlier this year when three traffic cops stood at the side of the road, approx 100 metres apart, beckoned me to pull over, in quick succession. I chanced my arm, rode blissfully by, on the trusty Wave, without even acknowledging them. My wing mirrors remained empty - they couldn't be bothered to come after me. I do ride with dipped beams at all times since mind. Live and learn eh

[siamruby]

...  I wonder if you ever argued with someone in authority? and what happened? For sure I hope no one dare to argue with a policeman carrying a gun!

Yes I argued with a policeman once - and wrote all about it in another thread. He was lying, I did nothing wrong. He needed money and wanted 1000 baht. I ended up giving him 300 without a receipt. I should've offered 50 - I think he would have taken it. That one incident has still tainted my view of the Thai police, unfortunately.

Original thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...15entry133522

Yes,unfortunately there are a lot of bent cops in LOS. And seem to be that no one can do anything about it. All you can do is alway negotiate the 'fee'. Don't forget it s Thailand and you are allowed to barter with everything .

[siamruby]

I prefer to avoid confrontation where possible and this approach worked fantastically in Phuket earlier this year when three traffic cops stood at the side of the road, approx 100 metres apart, beckoned me to pull over, in quick succession. I chanced my arm, rode blissfully by, on the trusty Wave, without even acknowledging them. My wing mirrors remained empty - they couldn't be bothered to come after me. I do ride with dipped beams at all times since mind. Live and learn eh

You were so lucky! I know a traffic cop who shoot at people who don't stop when they get called, especially the one who ignore them and drive off. The reason behind the shooting he said "Because there are a lot of drug runners who will try to get away when the police stop them. And the only way to stop them is shoot first and ask later! "

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I prefer to avoid confrontation where possible and this approach worked fantastically in Phuket earlier this year when three traffic cops stood at the side of the road, approx 100 metres apart, beckoned me to pull over, in quick succession. I chanced my arm, rode blissfully by, on the trusty Wave, without even acknowledging them. My wing mirrors remained empty - they couldn't be bothered to come after me. I do ride with dipped beams at all times since mind. Live and learn eh 

You were so lucky! I know a traffic cop who shoot at people who don't stop when they get called, especially the one who ignore them and drive off. The reason behind the shooting he said "Because there are a lot of drug runners who will try to get away when the police stop them. And the only way to stop them is shoot first and ask later! "

You convinced me already. I'll stop when asked to by a nice policeman

[chanchao]

Of course you can argue with people in authority (=plead your case). Depending on the case at hand, it may be best not to do it in front of other people though.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[sua yai]

Traffic violations are one thing. If you ride a bike, or drive a car, know the financial penalties involved for going the wrong way on a one way street, no helmet etc. Pay the fine and learn.

However, without going into details, try facing 15 yrs to life over here- my Embassy and lawyers told me that was the situation I was in - and I bet you find yourself being really pleasant with the police, yet fighting your corner at every step. (Incidently, the matter had nothing to do with illegal substances - I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time).

Over a three month investigation period - I was on bail - my view of Thai police changed. They were always polite and generous. They did their jobs and I'm still living in the los happily.

However, I'll never take a policeman's word as gospel again. But, NEVER argue with them.

[pluto_manibo]

If I didn't argue with the traffic police, I would have payed tens of thousands of baht in tickets for imaginary offences. The thing is, I do it respectfully no matter how boiled up inside I am...

[Ajarn]

I prefer to avoid confrontation where possible and this approach worked fantastically in Phuket earlier this year when three traffic cops stood at the side of the road, approx 100 metres apart, beckoned me to pull over, in quick succession. I chanced my arm, rode blissfully by, on the trusty Wave, without even acknowledging them. My wing mirrors remained empty - they couldn't be bothered to come after me. I do ride with dipped beams at all times since mind. Live and learn eh 

You were so lucky! I know a traffic cop who shoot at people who don't stop when they get called, especially the one who ignore them and drive off. The reason behind the shooting he said "Because there are a lot of drug runners who will try to get away when the police stop them. And the only way to stop them is shoot first and ask later! "

Same as in many, if not most countries. Running a police roadblock is risky business. I've never done it here, but a few farang friends have, luckily, with no problems.... I would rather pay the couple of hundred baht than get the 'thrill' of waiting for a possible bullet in the back..

As for arguing with authorities, it rarely seems to have any effect in any part of the world I've been in, so why should authorities here be any different...

But, if I ran into a cop who was busting my balls too much, I would have no problem taking it all to the station and dealing with it there- unless I had something to hide, or if I was in the wrong in the first place and deserved the ball-busting (within reason)... I feel pretty confident in dealing with such situations when I'm in a righteous position- but there are good and bad ways to 'argue' here, as most of us living here know already...

And, yes, the fact that many many situations are 'negotiable' here has worked in my favour on a number of occasions...

[axl]

...I wonder if you ever argued with someone in authority? and what happened? For sure I hope no one dare to argue with a policeman carrying a gun!

well - I usually do have a lot of respect for people in uniforms... though - I've never met so many "unauthorized" wearing one; still I would never argue with them...