anon7867763 Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 I´ve been around red shirts and most of them were freindly , i just smiled and that does the trick here. Red shirts are not anti falang but there are allways a very small minority who are if they are red or yellow or whatever. Having said that I find Thais very freindly in general up country or in city Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrandedBusinessPerson Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 I will offer a suggestion and it may or may not be true.In my employment, I work with over 250 Thais. I have a great relationship with them, without exception, although differing personalities make for variations in the amount of friendship and warmth received. However, a few years ago when I first came to Thailand to work in this place, after a few weeks I decided that they were sullen and unfriendly people. Guess what the problem was? ME! I am not a morning person. After having an argument with a motorbike driver about the fee, nearly getting knocked over walking into work, trying to dodge people wandering aimlessly in uncertain directions, I glared at each Thai fellow-worker as I came to them because they did not wai me, smile, or even greet me. What I thought about LATER, was that this culture is one of vocal thriftiness. The most economical way of saying something is the correct way, even if it misses communication necessary to the Westerner. The rest is done with facial expression and body language. The next morning, I smiled at everyone I came to. I waied them. I spoke to them in my most warm and friendly voice, in my feeble Thai at the time, "Sawatdee krup!" I made a lot of friends and I learnt a lesson. The rest is history. Your experience may or may not be about politics - I suspect it is not. I suggest that it may have been more about your wife than you: "my wife refused to even go near these people and was also clearly uncomfortable about the whole thing". They would recognise this immediately. I visited a Red Rally twice out of interest. On each occasion, I could feel the people watching me and checking to see whether I was friend or foe. As soon as I smiled at them, or spoke to them, the friendship was returned. This is Thailand. It is not the Land of the Stiff Upper Lip. But anyone who finds Thai generally cold needs to know that it is an equal and opposite reaction to the behaviour that they perceive you are displaying yourself. I have met many nice conservative Western tourists who say that they didn't find Thais particularly friendly. They just didn't know how to reach them. Interesting topic, but keen to see what others have to say. I am a kuire (farang in Nepali) and have lived in Nepal for many years and totally agree with what you say. Asians are very aware of body language and facial expressions in ways that westerners are probably not, even though all of this is subconscious and very difficult to describe. I have a goofy way of smiling and saying Namaste, which I have done in the face of angry Maoists, and they have had to just forget politics for a moment and laugh - thinking what a dick! In short, i think that visitors need to learn to "bow" in ancient terms, using whatever grace you can muster in any way manageable. People will receive that message and return the grace, as it's hardwired down deep somewhere in the human animal psyche. Anyway, good post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPI Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Well Mr Lineinger I guess that you've been a little spooked! Phrae has a group of farang that regularly get together with the local senyai's and try to thrash out any percieved difficulties that may have arisen! I don't want to appear pompos, but, Phrae people have a reputation for being open and very friendly. Many times people have helped me out with no expectation of payment and have refused any offered (always with what appears a genuine smile). I have visited the red shirt site outside the Tambon office on a couple of occasions, of course everybody is curious to see you, they don't seem to mind a couple of farangs sitting on the gutter watching the movies and listening to the speakers! Time to lighten up my friend! In eleven years in this country I've never heard or seen a bad word...and if I did, I'd ignore it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPI Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 They'd write one-line posts like 'Just cut off their pla ra supply and they'll scurry back to Issan", or "don't send in the dogs, they'll eat them", and actually think that's funny, or smart. That's the funniest thing I've read for weeks, kwai. I'm glad to see that you've finally lightened up...and I thought it was only Vietnamese and Koreans that liked dogs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barky Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Probably heard how many of the Bangkok rif raf talk about them.They know that farangs in Bangkok are very racist towards working class people If anyone is racist it is absolutely the Thai who are racist towards westeners. I have never ever witnessed in the many years here, a westener being openly/publicly racist towards a Thai, BUT on countless, countless, occassions I have seen and heard racist remarks and behaviour towards weteners by Thais. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crushdepth Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 No, at least not more than is normal for anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilgore Trout Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 I will offer a suggestion and it may or may not be true.In my employment, I work with over 250 Thais. I have a great relationship with them, without exception, although differing personalities make for variations in the amount of friendship and warmth received. However, a few years ago when I first came to Thailand to work in this place, after a few weeks I decided that they were sullen and unfriendly people. Guess what the problem was? ME! I am not a morning person. After having an argument with a motorbike driver about the fee, nearly getting knocked over walking into work, trying to dodge people wandering aimlessly in uncertain directions, I glared at each Thai fellow-worker as I came to them because they did not wai me, smile, or even greet me. What I thought about LATER, was that this culture is one of vocal thriftiness. The most economical way of saying something is the correct way, even if it misses communication necessary to the Westerner. The rest is done with facial expression and body language. The next morning, I smiled at everyone I came to. I waied them. I spoke to them in my most warm and friendly voice, in my feeble Thai at the time, "Sawatdee krup!" I made a lot of friends and I learnt a lesson. The rest is history. Your experience may or may not be about politics - I suspect it is not. I suggest that it may have been more about your wife than you: "my wife refused to even go near these people and was also clearly uncomfortable about the whole thing". They would recognise this immediately. I visited a Red Rally twice out of interest. On each occasion, I could feel the people watching me and checking to see whether I was friend or foe. As soon as I smiled at them, or spoke to them, the friendship was returned. This is Thailand. It is not the Land of the Stiff Upper Lip. But anyone who finds Thai generally cold needs to know that it is an equal and opposite reaction to the behaviour that they perceive you are displaying yourself. I have met many nice conservative Western tourists who say that they didn't find Thais particularly friendly. They just didn't know how to reach them. Interesting topic, but keen to see what others have to say. Very insightful post. I think this is a lesson we can all take to heart. I think Thais don't understand or respect sarcasm or the sullen loner personality as we do in the west. I can definitely relate to the "not a morning person" idea too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atyclb Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Many of those red shirt protesters are decent people. For them, the bkk protest is like a big party with 24/7 free food, drink, and music, plus a salary to boot. If I had to guess if red shirt people don't like farang, I'd say they like farang. Just think about all of the income, direct and indirect from the farang oriented entertainment industry ("you young handsum slim man" welcome, one drink please) Pattaya is a satellite city belonging to Isaan filled with "handsum men" supporting red shirt in some way or another. Distance and respect are part of thai culture and thus thai's may be perceived as unfriendly, when in fact they are normal for their society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ijustwannateach Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 The political diatribe begins, and so the thread ends... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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