Blame The Individual Not The Culture

[dondraper]

I see too many threads on here making excuses for someone's actions because this person was supposedly taught to think a certain way. Um... there is this thing called free will and no one is forced to follow a specific doctrine, they choose to do so. And, amazingly, there are heaps who are able to shake off the less logical aspects of their behavioral living environment. The individual in question simply lacks or is too lazy to fire up the required brain cells to think rationally.

I believe that many of you are whipped by your Thai partner and rationalize your pandering as a compassionate gesture of adopting to Thai culture.

[OxfordWill]

When we get robbed by someone from our town we seldom blame it on our culture. I got robbed in Bristol and I didnt blame it on English traditions. Idiots here get robbed in Bangkok and suddenly its Thai culture to blame. They are, plain and simple, complete morons. Normally, too old to be taught differently either.

[bkkjames]

I see too many threads on here making excuses for someone's actions because this person was supposedly taught to think a certain way. Um... there is this thing called free will and no one is forced to follow a specific doctrine, they choose to do so. And, amazingly, there are heaps who are able to shake off the less logical aspects of their behavioral living environment. The individual in question simply lacks or is too lazy to fire up the required brain cells to think rationally.

I believe that many of you are whipped by your Thai partner and rationalize your pandering as a compassionate gesture of adopting to Thai culture.

Out to make friends again today Don?

Never heard of being a product of your environment? It's ok, I suggest you give it sometime for it to sink in.

[CHAIYENYEN]

When we get robbed by someone from our town we seldom blame it on our culture. I got robbed in Bristol and I didnt blame it on English traditions. Idiots here get robbed in Bangkok and suddenly its Thai culture to blame. They are, plain and simple, complete morons. Normally, too old to be taught differently either.

well said and perceptive ...

[noahvail]

My wife always used that phrase - Thai culture - to explain away anything I didn't like. It's taken her a while, and now the 'mea farang' (she hates that) is now thinking out of the box of the culture she was brought up in. She is standing up for what she perceives to be her rights, and pretty much blasting those who are doing the wrong thing by 'western' standards - things that she used to call 'Thai culture.' I think it started back at songkran, when she hated when people on scooters were drenched and occasionally knocked of their bikes by the buckets of water thrown on them at point-blank range. She would drop her head and say, Thai culture. And when she learned what songkran meant 25 years ago and for probably centuries before that, that it was the ritual of pouring a bit of scented water over the hands of the elders to show respect...I think that was the turning point. She's almost 40, and remembers how as a child that's what they did in the village. It might be nice to go back to that - but we prefer to take a little holiday in a hotel somewhere now.

[sanmiguellight]

When we get robbed by someone from our town we seldom blame it on our culture. I got robbed in Bristol and I didnt blame it on English traditions. Idiots here get robbed in Bangkok and suddenly its Thai culture to blame. They are, plain and simple, complete morons. Normally, too old to be taught differently either.

OxfordWill you seem to be from the land of Ivory Towers, where no one is pigeon holed ... well except for and i quote "Idiots who get robbed in Bangkok" (what a truly astonishing thing to write)

I cant believe for one moment you got mugged by some horrid scumbag and just passed it off as an unfortunate incident without thought of why it happened. Bristol has many areas most notably (St Pauls) that is full of scumbags raised in single parent families and has a huge immigrant population where similar kinds of activity is a part of life for many, you must be aware of this and realise whilst not accepted by many in these areas is unfortunately part of culture (term used loosely) in which they're raised and live.

Stabbings unfortunately are part or Scottish culture (term used loosely) in certain areas, and gun crime is part of culture (term used loosely) for young black males in areas of London, Manchester and Nottingham.

But back to your point on Thai robberies, if a wealthy Chinese Thai is mugged by a young hooligan from Isaan he will definitely blame it on what he perceives as his upbringing and therefore culture (term used loosely).

PS Trooping the Colour and Yorkshire Puddings are English tradition, i dont believe any nation on earth openly claims mugging as one of its traditions!

Edited August 18, 2009 by sanmiguellight

[ukrules]

There's a certain amount of 'sheep' in any society, these people take on the same mannerisms, habits and mindset (collectively what I regard to be culture) of those around them.

[sunholidaysun1]

There is good and bad in all societies , the culture of a nation is taught but that doesnt mean that the bad people have been taught to be bad because of a culture.

Those that do bad maybe need education but even those who are educated are no different , so where do you draw the line. Good and bad in all walks of life and nothing to do with the culture of a nation but a society within a nation ?

[Heng]

Sometimes you can.

But yeah, I think blaming the culture or country as a whole can often be a cop out for not being able to blame your girlfriend, wife, business partner, etc. and the fact that you weren't able to screen out a few bad apples from your life.

[jasreeve17]

I see too many threads on here making excuses for someone's actions because this person was supposedly taught to think a certain way. Um... there is this thing called free will and no one is forced to follow a specific doctrine, they choose to do so. And, amazingly, there are heaps who are able to shake off the less logical aspects of their behavioral living environment. The individual in question simply lacks or is too lazy to fire up the required brain cells to think rationally.

I believe that many of you are whipped by your Thai partner and rationalize your pandering as a compassionate gesture of adopting to Thai culture.

Out to make friends again today Don?

Never heard of being a product of your environment? It's ok, I suggest you give it sometime for it to sink in.

It's the old nature / nurture argument again. When you look at the big problems here they're nurture related in my opinion; and yes, they do spread down to the individual level.

(Ahhh, I'd like to add that this does not detract from an individuals responsibilities and choices.)

We know that critical thinking skills are a problem here, but are Thais stupid? No they are not, they're as smart as you and I - it's nurture.

Thailand's bigest problems are cultural / social / taught / learnt : nurture.

Edited August 18, 2009 by jasreeve17

[elkangorito]

I see too many threads on here making excuses for someone's actions because this person was supposedly taught to think a certain way. Um... there is this thing called free will and no one is forced to follow a specific doctrine, they choose to do so. And, amazingly, there are heaps who are able to shake off the less logical aspects of their behavioral living environment. The individual in question simply lacks or is too lazy to fire up the required brain cells to think rationally.

I believe that many of you are whipped by your Thai partner and rationalize your pandering as a compassionate gesture of adopting to Thai culture.

I totally agree with this. It's all too easy to blindly follow rules etc, whereas it takes energy & braincells to be an individual.

I would never blame an "unenforced" culture...only the "enforced" ones.

[mahtin]

A stool culture helps doctors determine if there's a bacterial infection in the intestines.

Just an outside-the-box analogy.

[F1fanatic]

Its so difficult to be positive in this case.

Yes, its down to education (or lack of), but there seems to be no attempt to use the brain at all! We all look for excuses but at the end of the day people either think, or don't.

We choose our friends accordingly.

[OxfordWill]

<<<, bristol born and bred.

[oldsparrow]

Sometimes you can. But yeah, I think blaming the culture or country as a whole can often be a cop out for not being able to blame your girlfriend, wife, business partner, etc. and the fact that you weren't able to screen out a few bad apples from your life.

Very well said. When it is generalised as Thai GF, Thai in law etc. instead of Somsri, Somchai etc. The answer/explanation is generalised at the same level and it's the Thai culture.

Finally, person who ask such generalised question get no practical answer/explanation at all except "It's a package deal, like it or leave it."

[oldsparrow]

.

Edited August 19, 2009 by oldsparrow

[Geekfreaklover]

When we get robbed by someone from our town we seldom blame it on our culture. I got robbed in Bristol and I didnt blame it on English traditions. Idiots here get robbed in Bangkok and suddenly its Thai culture to blame. They are, plain and simple, complete morons. Normally, too old to be taught differently either.

Good point. One of the best things that anyone ever told me (it was a guy from Oxford by the way) was 'some people are just shits, theres nothing you can do about it.'

It's true. Good and bad everywhere. The moment you try and dress someones wrong doings in cultural clothing is the moment you loose grip on whatever you are trying to do.

There is that 10 percent bad element everywhere. Every country. Every city. Every town. The rest of us are just trying to get along.

Edited August 19, 2009 by Geekfreaklover

[dondraper]

To the apologists, I don't buy it. You always hear, "Well my wife and my sister-in-law are just the sweetest people on the planet but their brother is complete scum". He was the only one not paying attention during bedtime storytelling?

Edited August 19, 2009 by dondraper

[Heng]

To the apologists, I don't buy it. You always hear, "Well my wife and my sister-in-law are just the sweetest people on the planet but their brother is complete scum". He was the only one not paying attention during bedtime storytelling?

Girls and boys are often raised very differently here (gals: must be quiet and proper; boys: do whatever you want) as you know, so it's quite possible that he's scum because of some societal norms AND his own personal choice.

At the same time though, IMO there is going to be some bias if the speaker is a foreign male with some insecurity issues; as it's almost automatic to try to devalue what he feels are his gal's former and sometimes current partners, especially common if he's raising other people's children as well.