Do You Hate Your Own Country?

[Birdman]

I don't, and never will, hate the country of my birth for I know that no matter how much the world goes pear shaped it's the only place I have a right to be.

I still very much enjoy going back there for visits seeing friends and family even though two out of the last three have seen me up to my knees in snow.

I also very much like my education, the likes of which stands me in good stead just about anywhere in the world.

The only thing I hate is the use of the word "hate". Isn't the world full enough of hatred that we have to hate everything we, in reality, merely dislike? Try cutting back on the negative outlook and you'll find yourself liking a lot more than you do now.

The best post I've read on ThaiVisa is a long time.

There's nothing new about malcontents getting on a plane and coming to Thailand, ranting about their old life in their old country, only to find they brought their mindset with them and wind up griping about Thailand before they quietly sneak back to the old country.

Very good post indeed, PhilHarries, and so true, GuestHouse.

I lived now almost my half life in Thailand and I never had any negative feelings about my home country in Europe, always enjoyed it, never miss any other place when being there every year. And I don't miss any other place when in Thailand.

[Will27]

I don't have Oz. In fact, IMHO Perth is one

of the best cities in the world.

The only reason I'm here is because

of the lifestyle.

Regards

Will

[dumball]

YES , Philharris , you took the words out of my mouth almost to a 'T' , hate is far to strong a word and grossly over-used in many applications . I have had the pleasure of living in several countries , all of which had their own nuances , but most gave memories I have fondled over the years , all of my life I have tried to only recall the "Happy times" , I have gone through periods of strife that are difficult at times not to recall , but as a rule , these only enhance my rearward vision .

Life is not truly as hard as many make it out to be , it is more a dissatisfaction at how you may or may not have lived it , it takes far fewer muscles to smile than to grimace , and smiles cause ripples in the crowd , "Don';t worry , be happy"

[dsprtliving]

I don't, and never will, hate the country of my birth for I know that no matter how much the world goes pear shaped it's the only place I have a right to be.

I still very much enjoy going back there for visits seeing friends and family even though two out of the last three have seen me up to my knees in snow.

I also very much like my education, the likes of which stands me in good stead just about anywhere in the world.

The only thing I hate is the use of the word "hate". Isn't the world full enough of hatred that we have to hate everything we, in reality, merely dislike? Try cutting back on the negative outlook and you'll find yourself liking a lot more than you do now.

The best post I've read on ThaiVisa is a long time.

There's nothing new about malcontents getting on a plane and coming to Thailand, ranting about their old life in their old country, only to find they brought their mindset with them and wind up griping about Thailand before they quietly sneak back to the old country.

Very good post indeed, PhilHarries, and so true, GuestHouse.

I lived now almost my half life in Thailand and I never had any negative feelings about my home country in Europe, always enjoyed it, never miss any other place when being there every year. And I don't miss any other place when in Thailand.

Absolutely and spot on! I wonder what the statistics would be like if you compared the number of miserable complaining expats to the folks that have fled their home countries out of disdain and/or contempt for society. Methinks the numbers might just match up quiet closely.

[dumball]

You have a good point there , problem is that few would "Fess-up" to being a malcontent in their original country , they most likely did not see it then , so how can they see it here ? .

[samuibeachcomber]

Is n't it just that living in a foreign culture makes life more interesting than back home?

[NanaFoods]

they most likely did not see it then , so how can they see it here ? .

Answer: Not seeing the forest through the trees.

I believe I am able see things about my home country (US) more clearly abroad than when I lived there.

Getting differing perspectives from different nationals, etc.

No, I don't hate it.

I love my country and the spirit of its people.

But I strongly disagree with where the government is heading, both internal policies and foreign policy. The trouncing over the Constitution (unconstitutional expansion of gov't into the private sector - bailouts), suspending the Bill of Rights (the mis-named "Patriot Act"), useless wars, "wars" against inanimate objects (that are intended to never end - war on drugs, war on terrorism), a corrupt Federal Reserve, trying to solve a debt problem by creating huge amounts of more debt (so much that even our great grandchildren will be paying for it), etc.

[neverdie]

I cant stand doo gooders, can I jack?

There are things that I like about Australia & there are things that I like about Thailand. Nowhere is perfect. In due course, I would probably be located offshore on a yacht drifting from place to place, as god knows life is too short to sit in the one place trying to convince oneself that they have found the ultimate spot, but knowing full well they havent.

[doggie888888]

Retiring to Thailand does not automatically mean we hate our home country! I don't hate my own country but have not lived there for over 10 years due to work and latterly a decision to retire in Thailand as the Thai lifestyle is less of a "rat-race". Surely people retire to another country due to marriage, weather, costs, relationships, lifestyle etc? Hating your own country and retiring elsewhere must surely be the reason for very few people being here. Or, are there that many retiree expats here seething with hate/anger at their own countries that they have to run away to a foreign land? Surely the hate and anger will follow wherever they go, because such resentment can't possibley disappear after a flight.

[dumball]

neverdie' date='2010-06-12 12:11' timestamp='1276319483' post='3681451']

I cant stand doo gooders, can I jack?

There are things that I like about Australia & there are things that I like about Thailand. Nowhere is perfect. In due course, I would probably be located offshore on a yacht drifting from place to place, as god knows life is too short to sit in the one place trying to convince oneself that they have found the ultimate spot, but knowing full well they havent.

Exactly as I got to feel whilst living in Thailand , so I moved over a country , east that is LOL .

So far I have no regrets , even though on occasion I miss some of what Thailand has to offer , but in all honesty , I have come to realise that things considered as essentials are not really of that much importance , most of us tend to accumulate far too much 'Stuff' in our lives , that once without we rarely miss them at all .

Looking back , I am aware I could have become a millionaire had I not bothered with the so called essentials , you know , wife , children , cars etc__________________OOPS sorry , wrong thread LOL

[IanForbes]

I don't hate my country, I hate the actual government.

Yes, that would be my thoughts also, but I look around and I don't see any country's government that ISN'T corrupt. It is just that some are worse than others. I live in Canada for 7 months of the year and Thailand for the remainder. I wouldn't have it any other way. I can see faults everywhere, but none that I have any power to change. So, I just go about my business and do whatever I feel like doing and don't pay much attention to rules or regulations. I know the difference between right and wrong and don't follow any religious imposed restrictions. I don't trust the police or the government in any country so I just try to avoid them.

Maybe I just walk around with rose coloured glasses, but life is pretty good in general and I can usually turn a negative into a positive if I think hard enough. Right now my back has been bothering me for the past few weeks (on-going problem for years), but I figure that gives me a good excuse to stay inside and work on my writing and art... and watch the sports playoffs on TV: hockey, basketball and now the world cup of soccer.

Maybe I'm just lucky living where I do. I can certainly see many places that are far, far worse. You couldn't pay me enough to live anywhere in the Middle East. Despite its problems I like Thailand because it has a reasonably stable economy and corruption isn't as rampant as say the Philippines or some South American countries. If you are at least a little bit sensible you can stay out of trouble in Thailand.

[Jimi007]

I like my home country, I still have a house there. (Santa Cruz, California, USA) I like Thailand(Rawai, Phuket) most of the time too. Sometimes I get fed up with some of the hoops I go through to stay here, but it's just part of living here, so I deal with it. When I'm in CA , I miss mostly my GF , my dog, being warm, warm ocean water. When I'm in Thailand I miss my daughter, some friends, the food, better satellite TV and skiing. So, I go to CA, make some money, see everyone, eat my favorite foods and sometimes go skiing then come back. I get the best of both... Next year if my GF and I are still as happy as we are now(about a year and a half), I'm thinking about getting a fiance visa, so she can come and go too. I don't know how my dog would like riding in a pen in the plane that long though.

[frankman]

This is a hard question to answer.  And that's primarily because I don't come from a real country.  I come from the United States of America.  And the United States doesn't have a common tradition, a common heritage, a common language, or common values--all the things that actually characterize a nation.  It had those things, once, but no longer.  Now, it has become the United States of *Freedom*.  Freedom for anyone to crash the borders and set up a narcotrafficking gang armed with more heavy duty weaponry than the National Guard.  Freedom for corporations, banksters, and businesses to loot, pillage, pollute, and destroy and then get the $35,000/year taxpayer to pay the looters' multi-million dollar bonuses.  Freedom to create some international job hiring bazaar on American soil, so as to destroy wages, elminate American jobs, and evade workplace safety standards.  Freedom for BosWash elites to assign themselves sinecures in government, business, or the military that are more solidly entrenched than the old Soviet Union's Politburo.  And, increasingly, an unnamed (and unmentioned) political aristocracy in which certain families establish and enforce dynastic rule over the populace.  And, finally, the freedom for a lot of very wealthy plutocrats to send the sons and daughters of poor, mainly rural, working Americans to godforesaken countries across the world, in order to protect the wealth and privilege of those plutocrats and their vampire-like offspring.

Do I hate my country?  How could anyone hate the sort of place I just described?

Agreed !!!!! Most western countries are like this now. Only way> live somewhere else like here,

[carmine]

I don't, and never will, hate the country of my birth for I know that no matter how much the world goes pear shaped it's the only place I have a right to be.

I still very much enjoy going back there for visits seeing friends and family even though two out of the last three have seen me up to my knees in snow.

I also very much like my education, the likes of which stands me in good stead just about anywhere in the world.

The only thing I hate is the use of the word "hate". Isn't the world full enough of hatred that we have to hate everything we, in reality, merely dislike? Try cutting back on the negative outlook and you'll find yourself liking a lot more than you do now.

As said already, an excellent post.

I would add though that i am appalled at what the years of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown has done to the country of my birth.

Still they seem to have done very nicely for themselves have'nt they.

[neverdie]

Looking back , I am aware I could have become a millionaire had I not bothered with the so called essentials , you know , wife , children , cars etc__________________OOPS sorry , wrong thread LOL

Too funny dumball, so true. Originally I thought Thailand was going to be the place for me, then I realised, if I were a little bit savvy with ideas, I could move around the place & sample a few more things before laying down to die.

[hhgz]

"What a terrible place this Australia is becoming,I never want to come back here ,I hate this Country,the do gooders..."

Hating a country for the people who do volunteer work - I am appalled, but not really surprised. I worked with Habitat for Humanity for a decade, and I don't understand the hatred.

[richard_smith237]

I love my green and pleasant land, I have many friends and family there. I thoroughly enjoy traveling back there 2 times each year, visiting my friends and family and seeing the sights.

I enjoy the cosmopolitan culture, architecture and history.

I dislike the over PC culture of my home country. I dislike the fact that jobs are taken away and replaced with financial benefits.

I like the fact that those in need receive financial benefit, I dislike the fact that many not in need receive financial benefits and have thus created a culture where the system is there to be screwed.

I like the fact that most of the populous in my home country have consideration for those around them.

I hate the fact that for whatever reasons the alcohol culture in the UK has created somewhat of a culture of misbehavior and acting like right royal twit. Many over here can get extremely drunk and still manage to behave. In Bangkok at least there is certainly much less trouble than at home.

I'm always proud to be British, and English. I have a pang in my stomach when thinking about the football this evening.

Edited June 12, 2010 by richard_smith237

[mahtin]

I have a pang in my stomach when thinking about the football this evening.

Why are you thinking about a football?

[lazygourmet]

To the OP question: yes... I do!

Hopefully, I -nearly- never lived there... and the only thing that is relating me to Belgium: it's a burgundy book!

[richard_smith237]

'cos where I'm from there is no such game as soccer !

[yeesipha]

I wonder how many people hate their own country,but still keep investments their (property,money in bank etc,etc)surely if you hate something that much you cut all ties with it,ahhhhhhhhhh but no

they want the best of both worlds and STILL want to criticize their homeland

[Stjohnm]

I don't hate my home land, I'm actually quite patriotic but I love Thailand & the life I have out here.

[greytown]

I find it funny when people who choose to move to a foreign country bitch about all the foreigners in their own country...

[mahtin]

Still waiting for the great big melting pot.

[cdnvic]

I find it funny when people who choose to move to a foreign country bitch about all the foreigners in their own country...

You're gonna find this place to be hilarious then.

[zydeco]

I find it funny when people who choose to move to a foreign country bitch about all the foreigners in their own country...

It depends on just WHO the foreigners are who are moving in. Indians? Koreans? Japanese? Even Chinese? Yes, no problem. Filipinos? OK. And there is a shortage of Thais, albeit not Vietnamese. But when 400,000 mexicans move into your city over the course of about 15 years, then, it DOES become something to complain about. And when the State Dept. targets your area for Section 8 housing for Somali Bantu refugees who have never seen an electrical switch and who start cooking fires in their living rooms, that doesn't make you very happy, either.

[opebo]

I can't stand it there, for the obvious reason.

[AndyBlueEyes]

I still very much love my home country however IMO it is definitely in a downward spiral thanks to the growing abundance of self serving politicians, greedy lawyers, illegal Mexican immigrants and violent drug gangs. I like and enjoy LOS however it also has some very obvious problems which I have no right to voice political opinions about since I am a respectful guest of the country and not a Thai citizen.

[draggons]

Love my home country but as others have said, "wouldn't want to live there" , at this time.

[thaibkk]

maybe the small pension most people tend to get after 40 years of hard labour is worth something more here in this 3rd world country, than in their home country ?