Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World"

[lionmeetstiger]

That line plus more stuff here:

http://www.prosperity.com/country.aspx?id=TH

[Englander]

And 60.3% of people believe Thai society is meritocratic.

[sirineou]

Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?

Me! I would argue.

[Ulysses G.]

Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?

Me! I would argue.

Me too. Just compare it to most Muslim countries.

[Felt 35]

Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?

I would not.

[bermondburi]

They put up with idiot foreigners so IMO they are pretty tolerant.

[KarenBravo]

Thai with foreigners = tolerant.

Thai with Thai = intolerant.

[geriatrickid]

Does it really matter? Foreigners are still falling over themselves to have a chance at the balcony freefall in Pattaya.

[Kilgore Trout]

Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?

Me! I would argue.

I believe then that is an argument you would lose. The statement is in the context of immigrants coming to Thailand, not how regular people live their daily lives.

And as one poster said, muslim countries are more intolerant, if I moved to any of these muslim countries as a devout muslim and lived my life as they do I would be totally accepted.

In Thailand you can come here and do what ever you want as long as you dont bother Thais and keep their wallets flush with cash.

The point is that even if you live your life as a Thai, speak fluent Thai you will never, ever, ever EVER be accepted as a real Thai and niether will your children, their children etc.

In that context I could see Thailand as the most intolerant society on earth, easily.

[Loz]

One man's tollerance is another man's nightmare.

Thais tollerate somethings like a kid sniffing. In England a sniffing kid would be given a hanky and then told its not polite to sniff. I sat in a car with a kid sniffing (right in my ear!) at 1-3 second intervals. We stopped at a garage and like an IDIOT I didn't buy the kid some tissues thinking that the 20 minutes his mum spent in the shop, she MUST have got some. No.... She didn't think it mattered.

Ironically this Thai family had blown me away with how well raised their kids were and how they spoke so much English to them as babies that they were years ahead. The girl in Prathom 2 could breeze her way through Matayom 1, I am sure! But the son age 5 drove me nutz (owing to the fact I had a migraine at the time, in fairness) with the sniffing.

Just a little thing but relates to personal space which is something I think Thais have an insane degree of tollerance for. if you knock my chair everytime walk past in decent sized room where there is no need and I am clearly concentrating on writing, then don't be surprised if I have a quiet word about it that will leave you in no doubt about its appropriacy. Do the same to a Thai and they won't even know you are there. I think their tollerance is huge, to the point of being unhealthy.

My tollerance? I have none. It's a problem.

[dansat]

Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?

Me! I would argue.

I believe then that is an argument you would lose. The statement is in the context of immigrants coming to Thailand, not how regular people live their daily lives.

And as one poster said, muslim countries are more intolerant, if I moved to any of these muslim countries as a devout muslim and lived my life as they do I would be totally accepted.

In Thailand you can come here and do what ever you want as long as you dont bother Thais and keep their wallets flush with cash.

The point is that even if you live your life as a Thai, speak fluent Thai you will never, ever, ever EVER be accepted as a real Thai and niether will your children, their children etc.

In that context I could see Thailand as the most intolerant society on earth, easily.

I live here in Thailand. But i would never wanted to be accepted as a ' real Thai ' I cant see why any westerner living here would want to be a Accepted as a real Thai. There is no point. Even if they did give passports to Farangs who lived here so long i wouldnt want a Thai passport if someone paid me to have one. Just because you live in a country soesnt mean you have to start behaving and acting like the people of that country. I have lived in 5 different countrys for quite long periods of time and i can say that only in Thailand to the local's keep on going on about how westerns should act more Thai and eat more thai food and things like that. Now it is important to rescpect The local Culture. But thats it just rescpect it. People from other countrys dont have to act like the people of the country they live in. The other 4 countrys i have lived in the local people there didnt seemed bothered as to where people where from. Just got judged on how you carried yourself in public. For e.g in a car crash, if it was someone fault then it was that persons fault. Not suddenly Every local coming out to see what happened and then starting to srceam at a foreigner just because they look different.

I enjoy living here in Thailand, I dont try to act like Thai people. I dont know many thai people well. The ones i do know well, i wouldnt call them great friends becuase i am pretty sure they would not help me out alot if i had problems. Most of my friends are fellow expats.

I know Farang people here who seem to go out of there way to prove how Thai they have become and how many Thai Friends they have. But yet it always seems to be these people who do the most moaning about Thailand and Thai People.

[Soutpeel]

Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?

Me! I would argue.

I believe then that is an argument you would lose. The statement is in the context of immigrants coming to Thailand, not how regular people live their daily lives.

And as one poster said, muslim countries are more intolerant, if I moved to any of these muslim countries as a devout muslim and lived my life as they do I would be totally accepted.

In Thailand you can come here and do what ever you want as long as you dont bother Thais and keep their wallets flush with cash.

The point is that even if you live your life as a Thai, speak fluent Thai you will never, ever, ever EVER be accepted as a real Thai and niether will your children, their children etc.

In that context I could see Thailand as the most intolerant society on earth, easily.

I live here in Thailand. But i would never wanted to be accepted as a ' real Thai ' I cant see why any westerner living here would want to be a Accepted as a real Thai. There is no point. Even if they did give passports to Farangs who lived here so long i wouldnt want a Thai passport if someone paid me to have one. Just because you live in a country soesnt mean you have to start behaving and acting like the people of that country. I have lived in 5 different countrys for quite long periods of time and i can say that only in Thailand to the local's keep on going on about how westerns should act more Thai and eat more thai food and things like that. Now it is important to rescpect The local Culture. But thats it just rescpect it. People from other countrys dont have to act like the people of the country they live in. The other 4 countrys i have lived in the local people there didnt seemed bothered as to where people where from. Just got judged on how you carried yourself in public. For e.g in a car crash, if it was someone fault then it was that persons fault. Not suddenly Every local coming out to see what happened and then starting to srceam at a foreigner just because they look different.

I enjoy living here in Thailand, I dont try to act like Thai people. I dont know many thai people well. The ones i do know well, i wouldnt call them great friends becuase i am pretty sure they would not help me out alot if i had problems. Most of my friends are fellow expats.

I know Farang people here who seem to go out of there way to prove how Thai they have become and how many Thai Friends they have. But yet it always seems to be these people who do the most moaning about Thailand and Thai People.

Cue the pseudo-Thai's.......

Interestingly enough I know a few farangs who actually have Thai passports and their perspective/opinion is very similar to yours..

..so it actually makes me wonder who exactly are these people who say you have to embrace Thai culture and be one with your "Thainess" ?

Edited October 28, 2010 by Soutpeel

[Kilgore Trout]

Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?

Me! I would argue.

I believe then that is an argument you would lose. The statement is in the context of immigrants coming to Thailand, not how regular people live their daily lives.

And as one poster said, muslim countries are more intolerant, if I moved to any of these muslim countries as a devout muslim and lived my life as they do I would be totally accepted.

In Thailand you can come here and do what ever you want as long as you dont bother Thais and keep their wallets flush with cash.

The point is that even if you live your life as a Thai, speak fluent Thai you will never, ever, ever EVER be accepted as a real Thai and niether will your children, their children etc.

In that context I could see Thailand as the most intolerant society on earth, easily.

I live here in Thailand. But i would never wanted to be accepted as a ' real Thai ' I cant see why any westerner living here would want to be a Accepted as a real Thai. There is no point. Even if they did give passports to Farangs who lived here so long i wouldnt want a Thai passport if someone paid me to have one. Just because you live in a country soesnt mean you have to start behaving and acting like the people of that country. I have lived in 5 different countrys for quite long periods of time and i can say that only in Thailand to the local's keep on going on about how westerns should act more Thai and eat more thai food and things like that. Now it is important to rescpect The local Culture. But thats it just rescpect it. People from other countrys dont have to act like the people of the country they live in. The other 4 countrys i have lived in the local people there didnt seemed bothered as to where people where from. Just got judged on how you carried yourself in public. For e.g in a car crash, if it was someone fault then it was that persons fault. Not suddenly Every local coming out to see what happened and then starting to srceam at a foreigner just because they look different.

I enjoy living here in Thailand, I dont try to act like Thai people. I dont know many thai people well. The ones i do know well, i wouldnt call them great friends becuase i am pretty sure they would not help me out alot if i had problems. Most of my friends are fellow expats.

I know Farang people here who seem to go out of there way to prove how Thai they have become and how many Thai Friends they have. But yet it always seems to be these people who do the most moaning about Thailand and Thai People.

I agree with most of what you say; the funny thing is that most countries are perfectly willing to accept you if you "fit in" with the society and get along with everyone, Thailand is not like this. In Thailand you can come hang out here but we [Thais] will always know what and who you are and what your status is and you will be constantly reminded of this. In that sense Thailand is very intolerant and I am actually surprised that according to the poll most Thais are willing to admit it, I guess I shouldn't be surprised really.

And btw, I don't care in most aspects if Thais accept me or not. I do however live here because of my wife and if I was not married to a Thai would definetely live somewhere else. That being said, we do have good jobs and a good life here and having a Thai passport would really be helpful to me in many ways (owning land etc, buying big things hassle free, opening a business etc.).

[Ijustwannateach]

Japanese are much better at being intolerant with outsiders (and with each other) than the Thais are.

[Loz]

does the UK get an award for being the most tolerant?

We drop our draws for anyone.

[bermondburi]

Just think of all the noise Thais tolerate on a daily basis and no one bats an eyelid. Pick ups with loudspeakers selling fish sauce or mangoes. Election campaigns. Noise in the supermarket. Motorbikes with some crazy exhaust. Dogs. Cats. Drunk people.The list could go on for ever. Thais seem to tolerate all that pretty well. Maybe they are not people people though and they can deal with stuff better. Maybe they're all deaf already . Who knows .

[SweeneyAgonistes]

I think the Rohingyan refugees beaten and then towed out to sea and left to die by the glorious Thai Navy would probably agree with the OP.

[mrbojangles]

And as one poster said, muslim countries are more intolerant, if I moved to any of these muslim countries as a devout muslim and lived my life as they do I would be totally accepted.

Not here in Saudi, you wouldn't. No matter how many years you have lived here, even if you were born here. If you ain't a Saudi national, you are considered a second class, third class or sh1t on my shoe class citizen that can be ejected from the country at the drop of a Guthra. And I would think the same can be said about many more Muslim countries too.

[phetaroi]

Funny thing is, lately my posts have been rather negative about Thailand. Here I'll stick up for the Thais to some extent. While I don't think they should get any awards in terms of tolerance, neither do I think they are -- overall -- an intolerant society. About average. Perhaps slightly above the average. In fact, I think internally they may be less tolerant than they appear to be...because they have manners and are courteous.

[Chunky1]

they were answering the question in terms of the Burmese, Laos and Cambodians coming to live and work here. Is life here good for them? Answer: No.

truth is, when you say "immigrant" Thais aren't thinking of Singaporeans, Farang and Japanese... just like the word immigrant in the USA means "Mexican, Cuban, etc" and not "Hong Kongian or Norwegian". The word "immigrant" has a connotation of "being poor".

Edited October 28, 2010 by Chunky1

[sirineou]

Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?

Me! I would argue.

I believe then that is an argument you would lose. The statement is in the context of immigrants coming to Thailand, not how regular people live their daily lives.

And as one poster said, muslim countries are more intolerant, if I moved to any of these muslim countries as a devout muslim and lived my life as they do I would be totally accepted.

In Thailand you can come here and do what ever you want as long as you dont bother Thais and keep their wallets flush with cash.

The point is that even if you live your life as a Thai, speak fluent Thai you will never, ever, ever EVER be accepted as a real Thai and niether will your children, their children etc.

In that context I could see Thailand as the most intolerant society on earth, easily.

You can view it in what ever context you like, the fact remains that the title of this post clearly stated and I quote:

"Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?"

a title clearly designed to elicit an emotional response,and is certainly inaccurate for the following reasons:

A) arguable others might consider Thais intolerant, but I am sure Thais dont conceder them selves as intolerant , if they did, it would be the first step toward changing their behavior.if indeed they engaged in such behavior.

"Most Intolerant Society In The World". that assumes that that Thais have appraised all societies in the world and have come to the conclusion that they are the most intolerant,and I guess, like it that way , because they take no steps to change their " negative"behavior .

come on now, there must be a society that is more intolerant in the whole world, maybe we have not looked hard enough.

as far as the following statement is concerned,"if I moved to any of these muslim countries as a devout muslim and lived my life as they do I would be totally accepted."

I believe that is the definition of intolerance,

let me put it in simple terms, if some one does not tolerate you for who you are , that someone is intolerant, if you need to change and be just like them to be tolerated ,then................ have you heard the term "capitulate"or plainly put "bend over"?

I have lived among Thais for a while now and I have found them to be very excepting people ( at least towards me) and all of my family and friends,

every where I go,they treat me like family.

they are not more or less intolerant than most of the people in this world.

[Kilgore Trout]

I have lived among Thais for a while now and I have found them to be very excepting people ( at least towards me) and all of my family and friends,

every where I go,they treat me like family.

they are not more or less intolerant than most of the people in this world.

ex·cept·ing   /ɪkˈsɛptɪŋ/ Show Spelled

[ik-sep-ting] Show IPA

–preposition

1. excluding; barring; saving; with the exception of; except: Excepting the last chapter, the book is finished.

I guess you just contradicted yourself;

If you are going to try to psuedo-intellectualize please learn to spell correctly

Remember it is just an opinion at a particular time

[MSingh]

I perceive myself to be slim & handsome..

[MSingh]

I have lived among Thais for a while now and I have found them to be very excepting people ( at least towards me) and all of my family and friends,

every where I go,they treat me like family.

they are not more or less intolerant than most of the people in this world.

What in the name of the good English Language, does that mean ??

[longway]

Thai People " Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World" Who Would Argue?

Me! I would argue.

I believe then that is an argument you would lose. The statement is in the context of immigrants coming to Thailand, not how regular people live their daily lives.

And as one poster said, muslim countries are more intolerant, if I moved to any of these muslim countries as a devout muslim and lived my life as they do I would be totally accepted.

In Thailand you can come here and do what ever you want as long as you dont bother Thais and keep their wallets flush with cash.

The point is that even if you live your life as a Thai, speak fluent Thai you will never, ever, ever EVER be accepted as a real Thai and niether will your children, their children etc.

In that context I could see Thailand as the most intolerant society on earth, easily.

Before waffling on in this thread, it would be better if you worked out the difference between acceptance and tolerance.

Are thais tolerant? - Yes, very tolerant. Are they accepting? NO!

Edited October 29, 2010 by longway

[richieudon]

Funny thing is, lately my posts have been rather negative about Thailand. Here I'll stick up for the Thais to some extent. While I don't think they should get any awards in terms of tolerance, neither do I think they are -- overall -- an intolerant society. About average. Perhaps slightly above the average. In fact, I think internally they may be less tolerant than they appear to be...because they have manners and are courteous.

Not in the queue in 7-11 they're not!!!

[PattayaParent]

And as one poster said, muslim countries are more intolerant, if I moved to any of these muslim countries as a devout muslim and lived my life as they do I would be totally accepted.

Not here in Saudi, you wouldn't. No matter how many years you have lived here, even if you were born here. If you ain't a Saudi national, you are considered a second class, third class or sh1t on my shoe class citizen that can be ejected from the country at the drop of a Guthra. And I would think the same can be said about many more Muslim countries too.

What I ws going to say, you beat me to it.

[PattayaParent]

Funny thing is, lately my posts have been rather negative about Thailand. Here I'll stick up for the Thais to some extent. While I don't think they should get any awards in terms of tolerance, neither do I think they are -- overall -- an intolerant society. About average. Perhaps slightly above the average. In fact, I think internally they may be less tolerant than they appear to be...because they have manners and are courteous.

I could say the same about Koreans, but that is not how they are generally (mis) conceived.

[scorecard]

Where did this comment come from:

Thai people "Perceive Themselves As The Most Intolerant Society In The World"

Is there some reason why the quotation marks start at "perceive...... ?

[Samuian]

Japanese are much better at being intolerant with outsiders (and with each other) than the Thais are.

"Gaijin"!

But it's also a term for "stranger" not "a friend", it's much more subtle in jap.Culture, the first portugese and english arrivals where called nanbanjin "southern barbarians" or ikokujin "different country person" or ihōjin "different motherland people"!

Here it's "Farang" for all caucasians, end of the story!

I still wonder from time to time who told "them" that they are so "superior", or can anyone tell what it is, that makes them so superior...?

Edited October 29, 2010 by Samuian