Why Thailand’s Sexpat Community Hates Thaksin

[george]

OPINION

Why Thailand’s sexpat community hates Thaksin Shinawatra

By Dan Waites

The Thailand-based Western expat. We all know the stereotype, and it ain’t pretty. A man – it’s always a man – of modest means and even more modest talents fails to make a success of himself in his home country. He moves to Thailand.

Here, he avails himself of the affordable pleasures of the sex industry, sleeping with women younger and better looking than any he could hope to sleep with at home. He drinks himself stupid on a regular basis.

Perhaps, literally intoxicated by the lifestyle, he opens a beer bar of his own, complete with a coterie of prostitutes, in Bangkok or Pattaya or Phuket. Effectively, he becomes a pimp. Perhaps he lands a job as an English teacher, a position he is manifestly unqualified for, but this being Thailand he enjoys a level of respect he could only have dreamed of in his home country, for he is now an ajarn.

Perhaps he tries to screw his students. Perhaps, dreaming of the license for debauchery issued only to artists, he becomes a “writer”, imagining himself a Bukowski or Hunter S. Thompson. He is not a Bukowski, nor a Hunter S. Thompson, and his books, which invariably detail his lurid exploits, are filed in a special section of Thai bookshops labelled “Expat Writing”. Perhaps he finds work in a boiler room or sells drugs or runs scams.

Perhaps he is a criminal hiding on Koh Samui. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Whatever – he is addicted to a lifestyle of sex and booze and endless sunshine. He has vowed never to leave Thailand. And why would he?

It’s an ugly stereotype. Or, rather, it’s several ugly stereotypes rolled into one. And it’s also wildly inaccurate in the case of many expats, who are decent people living in Thailand for any number of decent reasons. But like all stereotypes, it has a basis in reality. There are people like those I’ve described above living in this country. In fact, there are lots. And interestingly, most of the worst seem to hate Thaksin Shinawatra.

A good place to find these shining examples of manhood is the Thai Visa Forum. Many of the people who post on the site seem to dislike almost everything about the country and yet, for some reason, they remain here (I suspect it must be the temples). The consensus on the Thai Visa Forum is that Thaksin is evil incarnate and must never, ever be permitted to return. (You will gain brownie points on Thai Visa by wittily referring to Thaksin as “Toxin” and to the red shirts as “red shits”). Here, tales of Thaksin’s return circulate like horror stories. Feelings for the exiled billionaire go beyond hatred and into the realms of outright terror.

Thai Visa recently did a survey of its members – 4,434 of them to be precise. Among the areas they were quizzed on was politics. They were asked: “Should Thaksin be forgiven and allowed to return?” Of those who answered, 73.3% said “No”.

They were also asked: “If you were allowed to vote in the next Thai election, who would you vote for?” Of those who proffered an answer, 41.2% said they would vote for Abhisit Vejjajiva’s Democrat Party, while just 14.8% would vote for Thaksin’s Pheu Thai Party (39.3% said they would abstain and 4.7% would vote for another party).

Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of valid reasons to disdain Thaksin. The war on drugs. The dreadful mishandling of the conflict in the Deep South. The intolerance of independent media. The autocratic style, the wild pronouncements, the arrogance – I get it. But the kind of expat I’m talking about – let’s call him “Bob Sexer” – is not what you’d call a “humanitarian”. He is not a “political junkie”. Bob Sexer doesn’t care about good governance or the functioning of Thailand’s democratic institutions. All Bob Sexer wants to do is have fun. So why does he quiver in fear at the prospect of Thaksin’s return?

In 2001, shortly after Thai Rak Thai took power following a sweeping election victory, Thaksin and his interior minister Purachai Piemsombun launched what was to become one of the party’s most popular policies: the “social order” campaign. Writing at the time, here was Shawn Crispin (via Bangkok Pundit):

Story continues here: http://asiancorrespondent.com/54730/why-does-thailands-expat-community-hate-thaksin-guest-post/

-- asiancorrespondent.com 2011-05-19

[ricardofel]

An incompetent article by an incompetent writer. All expats are sex deviates and here for only one thing.....insipid beyond belief. Go back to where you left Dan and dig a hole.....and do your research rather than putting all your apples in one barrel.

[alexth]

Maybe after writing this article he can expect to receive his check so he can go for a short time. Hate these guys who judge people by hangin out in Pattaya or Nana or Soi Cowboy in Bangkok or Patong in Phuket and then come up with all this crap...darn wanke_rs

[ezzra]

An incompetent article by an incompetent writer. All expats are sex deviates and here for only one thing.....insipid beyond belief. Go back to where you left Dan and dig a hole.....and do your research rather than putting all your apples in one barrel.

Hey you,,I'm not a "sex deviate" and i hate Thaksin, so shut your pie hole

and open your eyes...

[brianlg]

Thaksin might have abused his position somewhat and "lined his own nest" ...

BUT AT LEAST HE HELPED THE "LITTLE" THAI PEOPLE !!!

The hard-working Thai people in the villages LOVE him !!

[snamos]

well the fact that he stole about 2billion US dollars kinda makes him a bit inadequate for the job I think

[timekeeper]

just another down at heel would be journalist major, presenting another opportunist Thaksin sensationalized article using the expat population as cannon fodder for his own meanderings

if the Asian correspondent dot com will pay for such fiction and outright speculation then there's room for all of us to be budding commentators on ''Thai life through the eyes of an expat,'' and to get paid for our fumblings in Thailand

at least we are actually here in Thailand to be able to comment accurately and enjoy doing the research rather than exercising your wrists just dreaming about it.........

Edited May 19, 2011 by timekeeper

[lebelge]

I resent the comment "A good place to find these shining examples of manhood is the Thai Visa Forum." I own a business,(not a bar) employe over 30 Thai's, live in Thailand with my wife (not a Thai) and three kids, I mix with other expats, none in the bar business and one 1 has a Thai wife, what sort of idiot can make that type of blanket assertion, gutter misinformed press!

Guess it's good for readership

Edited May 19, 2011 by lebelge

[Gonsalviz]

What a moron. I am none of those.

I am competent in my own country. I do not come here for sex other than with my wife. Still not the reason I come here.

I have nothing to fear from Thaksin's reparation of "public order". I do not like him because he incited the people that have the least, to lose more for his personal gain. Everything he does is for his personal gain, that is why he is in the fix he is in.

I do not think he should be forgiven and allowed to return (probably an invalid question) because he broke the laws of the country and should be prosecuted and and serve his sentence(s) as required by law.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Gonsalviz

[NovaBlue05]

I don't believe he said all expats are sexpats. He said there are a lot of sexpats in Thailand .

[CHINWA]

An incompetent article by an incompetent writer. All expats are sex deviates and here for only one thing.....insipid beyond belief. Go back to where you left Dan and dig a hole.....and do your research rather than putting all your apples in one barrel.

How competent and respectful are you after making a comment like that about the expts??? follow the suggestion and go back to where you came from.

[Ulysses G.]

An incompetent article by an incompetent writer.

His premise is laughable. This fellow just wants to bash ThaiVisa.com and fellow Westerners that he feels are not as "hi-so" as he is.

A lot of expats loathe Thaksin, but very few are concerned about his crackdown on bars. "Crackdowns" happen all the time here and never amount to much.

Initially, I was somewhat sympathetic to Thaksin, but my complaint is with the protests last year that ruined so many businesses, hurt tourism and the economy, caused so much violence and the eventual refusal of the peace deal that the government offered - that and the fact that the redshirts burned down and destroyed so much property when they finally were forced to stop holding the financial district hostage.

Causing so much hatred among the populace in order to take back power will not be soon forgotten. Thaksin has a lot to answer for and the bars have little to do with it.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[Langsuan Man]

Thaksin might have abused his position somewhat and "lined his own nest" ...

BUT AT LEAST HE HELPED THE "LITTLE" THAI PEOPLE !!!

The hard-working Thai people in the villages LOVE him !!

You must be a Republican and believe in the trickle down school of economics

[thunder30101]

The truth hurts dont it ? lol

[alfalfa19]

This has to be really one of the most asinine posts I have ever seen on this forum. Let's see: I am a farang. I detest Thaksin. Therefore, I must be not only a sexual degenerate and alcoholic, but perhaps a criminal as well. Well, I am none of these, and while not a "sexpat", since I live in America, I do like Thailand for many reasons. Women are probably number one, but there are many other attractions, such as food, snorkeling, scuba, the friendliness of Thai people, once away from tourist towns, shopping, tropical climate, etc, etc. Yet, I do hate Thaksin for several reasons:

1. He raped the Thai economy for billions of dollars

2. The drug war, which I saw a bit of, "cleansing" away drug dealers and users who were not affiliated with Thaksin's cronies.

3. His actions as puppeteer and financier of the fatal riots in bangkok last May, which I was present for.

There are many more reasons, I am sure, but I'm not aware of any but the most obvious.

The ass clown who wrote this article seems to imply that if you don't like Thaksin, then you are a pervert, alcoholic, loser, etc etc. How did this piece of nonsense even make it onto this forum?

PS: I don't drink, and don't go to bars, so any crackdown on bars has absolutely no effect on me.

Edited May 19, 2011 by alfalfa19

[julemanden]

Thaksin might have abused his position somewhat and "lined his own nest" ...

BUT AT LEAST HE HELPED THE "LITTLE" THAI PEOPLE !!!

The hard-working Thai people in the villages LOVE him !!

Of course they do... He paid them to vote for him !

[tinom]

Maybe a bit of a "cliché" but so true...

So many sexpats are just Mobi Dicks!

Those don't even like the thai food, don't respect the people, just want to be there for fresh meat and american breakfast and a lot of beer!

I will be living in south east asia starting next october but as a perpetual traveler, and yes, even I'm just over 40, I admit I have tastier opportunity to mix myself there than here in $witzerland! (I am not a bargirl customer at all!)

Girls are nice, yes, but they all think a farang can support them and pay for everything...

I had two true girlfriends who had respectable works, and I want to believe they loved me and not only my money, but still, I think most girls just abuse of their charms for lazy-easy-(dirty?)-money!

They are like karaoke-jukebox, they sweetly sing for you,but only as long as you put the coins!

But girls are not my reason to leave the cold chocolate country, I will move for an easier way of life, cheaper costs, smiling people, warm climat, delicious food and probably also buddhist thinking...

I would vote Thaksin as from the little I could learn during my frequent trips to the land of smile (and following news here and on lepetitjournal.com, he did develop the whole country, not only offer priviledges to the BKK's elite, he had a well balanced way to offer freedom and restrict abuses.

Abhisit and the other rulers since "the coup" of 2006 seem tome to have restricted many freedoms, and abused of their power, refrained people's voice with guns...

Economy has gone down, and I don't believe it would have been as bad if Thaskin had been the "vessel's captain" to navigate thru the world's economic crisis.

Sure I might be wrong on everything too!

Long Life The King anyway!

...and Thank You to thaivisa to deliver my dayly news

Edited May 19, 2011 by tinom

[marc11864]

Dear Dan,

I had never even heard the term sexpat until reading your article. Perhaps you need to look in your own backyard before so haphazardly throwing stones at others.

[Shurup]

What was his rant about? Someone please b*tch-slap him!

[Mosha]

Sexpats keeps his Issan supporters families fed

[cdnvic]

It's one thing to complain about the low quality of expat writers in Thailand, but putting on a demonstration to prove it was over the top.

[Ulysses G.]

Dear Dan,

I had never even heard the term sexpat until reading your article. Perhaps you need to look in your own backyard before so haphazardly throwing stones at others.

Agreed. It takes one to know one.

[ILOOKFORWORK]

Thaksin might have abused his position somewhat and "lined his own nest" ...

BUT AT LEAST HE HELPED THE "LITTLE" THAI PEOPLE !!!

The hard-working Thai people in the villages LOVE him !!

Of course they do... He paid them to vote for him !

I got news for you, most everybody gets paid to vote in Thailand. The Dems were giving out 500 baht per vote in my area last week. That's the oldest hypocritical excuse I've ever heard.

[johnh101]

Utter crap !

If he had used one of the Pattaya bar based forums as a basis for his Sexpat theories it might have been a little bit more believable.

Most Expats I know do not like Thaksin, most Thai's I know are in the same camp, why ? Because they are educated people who can read and understand that Thaksin and his "New Order" cronies took corruption to a totally stratospheric new level in Thailand, and it was the Thai people who suffered, while they funneled their illgotten billions into offshore bank accounts.

[kuffki]

Has it ever occurred to the writer and others who are of the same opinion that perhaps the so called "sexpats" simply have a brain and dislike being taken for fools ?!

All the moronic statements, hypocritical behavior I would imagine might be the reason for the dislikes of the man.

I also find it interesting that the writer chose to criticize the "users" of the service.

Has it not occurred that there people as described because Thailand provides the environment for it?!

Who should be punished and stopped the dealer or the user? Dah! I think the answer is pretty clear!

Who is to blame that many other industries are very restricted and rather limited to locals ?

Who is to blame for the extra efforts made to make foreigner business dealings as difficult as possible ?

Perhaps it's time for Thailand to look at itself and address the issues rather then scapegoat or try to point fingers at users of the product they have created, developed and nurtured .

[rwhoov]

Can anybody read? He was describing the stereotype farang and said it wasn't at all accurate for all of us. Actually, I think it's pretty accurate; about half of the farang here in Pattaya would fit that description!

[cdnvic]

Removed one post that deliberately misspelled names. Please refer to people by their proper names.

[Tagaa]

"It’s an ugly stereotype. Or, rather, it’s several ugly stereotypes rolled into one. And it’s also wildly inaccurate in the case of many expats, who are decent people living in Thailand for any number of decent reasons. But like all stereotypes, it has a basis in reality"

What's wrong people? The description come just a little to close to home?

Me thinks thou doth protest to much.

[jackr]

So which sad, banned TV member is it?

Thaksin might have abused his position somewhat and "lined his own nest" ...

BUT AT LEAST HE HELPED THE "LITTLE" THAI PEOPLE !!!

The hard-working Thai people in the villages LOVE him !!

That was his ruse, to suck in the dolts.

[Buchholz]

just another down at heel would be journalist major, presenting another opportunist Thaksin sensationalized article using the expat population as cannon fodder for his own meanderings

if the Asian correspondent dot com will pay for such fiction and outright speculation then there's room for all of us to be budding commentators on ''Thai life through the eyes of an expat,'' and to get paid for our fumblings in Thailand

at least we are actually here in Thailand to be able to comment accurately and enjoy doing the research rather than exercising your wrists just dreaming about it.........

The interesting photo of our occasional blogger from his Twitter page

Dan Waites

http://twitter.com/#!/danwaites

.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Buchholz