Why So Nationalistic?

[kevozman1]

Does anybody find Thailand's very nationalistic views and ways strange considering

they do rely quite heavily upon foriegn tourists entering their county?

Now I will agree that Thailand does have many attractive points but I really think

their over national ways seems all wrong with the level of torisits and foriegners

supplementing their economy.

Now I read posts on TV saying that tourism only supplements a small percentage

of Thailand's economy. I know they do have some industires but I think tourism

is No1 earner for Thailand, more so than rice and rubber. What can be better than

people coming from wealthier countries and blowing an average Thai's annual wages

in a few weeks.

It would be like the BNP being the leading government for the UK, coming out

with such national views such as "UK is for white people," "Only white people

born in UK can own land" etc. Then after these rigid laws and views still accepting

forign tourists and actually becoming quite reliant upon them.

It seems like Thailand is basically playing visitors and expats for mugs. Its like they

are saying "come to our country, spend lots of money, but you will never be accepted

or have any rights no matter what you do for us or how long you stay".

I do not live i Thailand but have been there many times and my girlfriend is Thai

but she is not as nationally proud as most citizens of Thailand.

So I was wondering if you guys (farangs) in Thailand genuinely feel accepted in society

or just feel a required evil upon their society?

[PhilHarries]

Don't quote me on these figures but I think tourism contributes between 6 and 9% of Thailand's GDP.

That's how important it is.

Of course these are official figures, nobody know what the real worth is when all the "black economy" is taken into account.

I currently don't live in Thailand but when I did I felt neither wanter nor not wanted and quite frankly I didn't care. I just got on with life and if the Thais wanted to ne nationalistic that was up to them. Just like any nation of Earth really.

<edit: typo N to D)

Edited June 23, 2010 by PhilHarries

[Garry9999]

Does anybody find Thailand's very nationalistic views and ways strange considering

they do rely quite heavily upon foriegn tourists entering their county.

Tourism accounts for around 6% of Thailand's GDP, so maybe not relying on tourism as heavily as you might think.

Edited June 23, 2010 by Garry9999

[Heng]

Wealthy foreigners have far fewer problems settling here and often find out they have 'more rights' than their less well off tourist counterparts. Such is life anywhere.

[StreetCowboy]

Same Same.

You'll struggle to find a Scot that says they like the English, regardless of how many English friends he has, and how long he's worked there.

SC

[phomsanuk]

Pride in your country is patriotic in Thailand it boarders on being hubrisB)

[richard_smith237]

I'm currently watching TV streamed from the UK.

I'm not sure that there is much more evidence of nationalism in Thailand than the UK.

After watching the UK news, TV adverts, football pundits etc it would appear that England is a more nationalistic country than Thailand.

Visa restrictions and regulations are more stringent for Thai's entering the UK than for British Entering Thailand.

[angiud]

Tourism accounts for around 6% of Thailand's GDP, so maybe not relying on tourism as heavily as you might think.

The percent should be for sure doubled due to the huge underground economy fueled by tourists (prostitution, tax evasion, etc). I can see here in KPG that most of the small, medium and some of the big tourist-related business pay peanuts as tax

[DP25]

I know they do have some industires but I think tourism

is No1 earner for Thailand, more so than rice and rubber.

Thailand has enormous amounts of industry and exports nearly 200 billion dollars per year. The automobile industry is by far the largest. Tourism is only around 6% of gdp and agriculture only slightly more. Industry is nearly 50%.

[isanbirder]

Thais are nationalistic because they've never been colonised. And why shouldn't they be? The old European nations such as Britain and France are just as nationalistic.

[Garry9999]

I'm currently watching TV streamed from the UK.

I'm not sure that there is much more evidence of nationalism in Thailand than the UK.

After watching the UK news, TV adverts, football pundits etc it would appear that England is a more nationalistic country than Thailand.

Visa restrictions and regulations are more stringent for Thai's entering the UK than for British Entering Thailand.

Yes, and the lyrics to "Land of Hope and Glory" & "You'll never walk alone" Now there's Nationalism.

[Heng]

Tourism accounts for around 6% of Thailand's GDP, so maybe not relying on tourism as heavily as you might think.

The percent should be for sure doubled due to the huge underground economy fueled by tourists (prostitution, tax evasion, etc). I can see here in KPG that most of the small, medium and some of the big tourist-related business pay peanuts as tax

Should be doubled for just about every single industry there is.

[Garry9999]

The phrase "The pot calling the kettle black" is an idiom used to accuse a person or thing of being marked with or guilty of the very thing they are pointing out. This may or may not be hypocritical or a contradiction.

[bonobo]

First, I don't see that Thais are that nationalistic when compared to other nations.  I am from the US, and we tend to be very, very nationalistic.

Second, what is the problem with being nationalistic?  Is national pride such a bad thing?

[GuestHouse]

There's a world of a difference between being patriotic and nationalist.

Despite the OP's assertions, most Thais I know are what I would call Patriotic, I know a few nationalist Thais but only a very few. This may seem surprising given the influence the military have on the Thai school curriculum but I think the truth is most Thais see their family as the center of the world and Thailand something secondary.

The OP alludes to land/property/business rights and confuses this with Nationalism. Yes the Thailand's business and political elite call to nationalism when arguing for Thai only ownership of land and property - but that is the argument they, the elite, make to justify the restrictions which do nothing other than serve their own interests.

Many of Thailand's richest families have got to be so on the back of laws restricting foreign ownership of land/property/businesses - Owning the land and controlling shares in franchises they control access to the market and reap in the benefits. Fair enough you might argue, but when you look at the detail it is a very very small group of people controlling huge swathes of foreign business access - The same names over and over again.

The part ordinary Thais play in this is to rise with nationalist indignation anytime the suggestion that foreigners should be able to bypass the elite megga wealthy Thais.

[mahtin]

The 6% figure is rubbish.

The number of Thais depending on tourists for their income and who don't pay tax is quite high, it seems to me.

[bonobo]

There's a world of a difference between being patriotic and nationalist.

Point taken.

[kevozman1]

^I think you did not understand what I said. There is nothing wrong with

being proud of your country but I think most Thai people are quite

arrogant with it. As for the states being nationalistic.......................... well

lets not go there.

As for these statistics of tourism only accounting 6% of Thailand's

economy, I am very dubious about that figure. Most admit I have learn't

something today from a poster as I did not know Thailand actually makes

many automotive parts for Ford and Honda. Thought it was mostly

agricultural business with Thailand.

Actually I think it is also worth mentioning Isaan women as a major player

in contributing towards Thailand's economy.

Cheers for reply's but now I am getting ready to watch England...................

.....................not that I am nationalistic or anything.

Edited June 23, 2010 by kevozman1

[mahtin]

Actually I think it is also worth mentioning Isaan women as a major player

in contributing towards Thailand's economy.

But it's invisible; they don't pay tax.

[sarahsbloke]

As for these statistics of tourism only accounting 6% of Thailand's

economy, I am very dubious about that figure. Tourist's use cash mostly

where as international industry will be official figures but I must

admit I did not know Thailand produced many parts for Ford and Honda.

I spend about 40kbht a month, about 5000bht of that is traceable, so I assume that is the proportion that is included in official figures.

SO assuming other tourists/guests play the same game and only 1/8 is reported.... eeehhh 8 x 6 = 48 percent of GDP ....... no that can't be right!

Edited June 23, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[Tonto21]

Same Same.

You'll struggle to find a Scot that says they like the English, regardless of how many English friends he has, and how long he's worked there.

SC

Never trust a Jock with ginger eyebrows!

[mahtin]

Wouldn't be surprised if the official statistics come straight from the TAT joke factory.

[thaisomchai]

Part of the problem is the Thai education system. Having worked in the system at several different levels over the years, I can tell you that it is Thai-focused top to bottom. ( all Thai - all the time)They learn the entire real name for Bangkok, the names and dates of every king, the names of every Thai district and a VERY slanted version of Thai history. Thats IT! Thats ALL the geography and history your average Thai knows. They also know Burma ( the enemy) is close by and they may suspect that Malaysia is somewhere around here and oh yes, Vietnam cant be far off either.

The rest of the world is "far away" totally unimportant ( they are not lucky enough to be Thai after all !) and not worth learning about. Show a world map to any Thai and they will be hard pressed to find Thailand on it. I watched a student once when faced with a blank world map unable to tell oceans from continents. This was in university. Ask a Thai about WWII. Greeks, Romans, Japanese or Chinese history, communism .. .anything NOT strictly Thai and you will get blank looks.

Thais educated abroad of course . .know better. What a shock it must be to them when they first arrive in Europe to find out that Thailand is a backwater when it comes to the universal flow of the history of humankind. Yeah, you can make a case for or against English, American or European education but having been involved there too . ..I think a better job is generally done at teaching a world view and the place a specific country has in the big scheme of things.

Thai hubris? Yes indeed and lots of it . . .yet anyone here can list a multitude of reasons for cultivating a bit of Thai humility . . starting with our abysmal police force. Hey, its a wonderful country with wonderful people and I would not choose to be anywhere else . .but as with the police, you learn to live with the good and the bad. And you learn to live with the hope that someday the schools will teach about other countries and world history and maybe even some of the chapters of Thai history that show feet of clay.

Edited June 23, 2010 by thaisomchai

[ukrules]

Does anybody find Thailand's very nationalistic views and ways strange considering

they do rely quite heavily upon foriegn tourists entering their county?

You overestimate the value of the tourism industry. Like others say it's worth a small but significant pecentage but the country by no means relies on tourism to keep afloat.

[StreetCowboy]

Same Same.

You'll struggle to find a Scot that says they like the English, regardless of how many English friends he has, and how long he's worked there.

SC

Never trust a Jock with ginger eyebrows!

Or an Englishman with your wallet

[mahtin]

Or an Englishman with your wallet

Ow.

We are fastidious about that which was close to the posterior.

[Chonburiram]

What harm did Thai nationalism the last 200 years to the world compared to the nationalism of : Germany, England, France, America, Japan, China, Israel, Russia, Turkey, Belgium, Dutch, Spain, Portuguese, Arabia etc. ?

[yabaaaa]

What harm did Thai nationalism the last 200 years to the world compared to the nationalism of : Germany, England, France, America, Japan, China, Israel, Russia, Turkey, Belgium, Dutch, Spain, Portuguese, Arabia etc. ?

Dunno, what good did it do?

[Huey]

Truth is even if the 6% is off. And I see no reason why it should be, but for arguments sake lets say it was. Industry & Manufacturing is 44%. No contest.

[IanForbes]

There can be some very good reasons for being Nationalistic. If you aren't then there WILL be wealthy foreigners who WILL exploit the country to the country's detriment. I hear the old argument that foreign investment is good for a country... but only when tempered with some caution. There are always those that are willing to rape and pillage foreign lands. There is no need for war when the wealthy can bribe local politicians and basically steal whatever isn't tied down. I see examples of it at all levels and even within my own country. The big business comes in, bribes a few local politicians and sets up a short time company to remove the public's resources. A few years later the company shuts down and takes their profits off shore. Meanwhile, the public in whose land was raped is left with a big hole in the ground and no jobs. I've seen it happen within my own community in Canada, so don't tell me it doesn't happen on a larger scale in poorer countries where it's easier to bribe the locals in power.