Are Thais Racist?

[chuchok]

I'd like to elaborate on what has been said thus far to the question are Thai(s) racist...the answer is "No".

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I have wittnessed a lot more racism in Thailand from Thais than at any time in England...I would say yes

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Toasty - hmmmm not so sure of that mate. I've seen some pretty harsh stuff in blighty, more so than Thailand. (whether it was deserved is another question )

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So Brit, you have never noticed the racist attitude of some light skinned Thais towards their darker skinned Issan brothers and sisters?

[toastwars]

Also, toastwars,

Thais are racist towards who?  Towards (oh how am I going to say it if I can't say the word "whites")?

answered in previous posts. Not particulally towards caucasions exept as generallising witht the word farang but certainly towards Afro/carabian and indians

[meemiathai]

I'd like to elaborate on what has been said thus far to the question are Thai(s) racist...the answer is "No".

I have wittnessed a lot more racism in Thailand from Thais than at any time in England...I would say yes

Do you find the word "farang" racist, toastwars?

We have had this discussion before on TV, I personally dislike the term along with Gaigin in Japanese. I explained this to my Thai friends and they do not use farang in my presence. I don't use racially offensive classifiers in my everyday language and I find it baffling that others annot seem to function without them.

I see why then.

You are not by chance the one who submitted an article named "Farang" to Stickman's?

[ThaiPauly]

I'd like to elaborate on what has been said thus far to the question are Thai(s) racist...the answer is "No".

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I have wittnessed a lot more racism in Thailand from Thais than at any time in England...I would say yes

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Toasty - hmmmm not so sure of that mate. I've seen some pretty harsh stuff in blighty, more so than Thailand. (whether it was deserved is another question )

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So Brit, you have never noticed the racist attitude of some light skinned Thais towards their darker skinned Issan brothers and sisters?

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Bloody good point mate.

PS. Tomorrow or Friday, PM me which is best 4 you

[toastwars]

Nope!

[meemiathai]

Also, toastwars,

Thais are racist towards who?  Towards (oh how am I going to say it if I can't say the word "whites")?

answered in previous posts. Not particulally towards caucasions exept as generallising witht the word farang but certainly towards Afro/carabian and indians

Good, at least we agree with something.....

[britmaveric]

I'd like to elaborate on what has been said thus far to the question are Thai(s) racist...the answer is "No".

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I have wittnessed a lot more racism in Thailand from Thais than at any time in England...I would say yes

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Toasty - hmmmm not so sure of that mate. I've seen some pretty harsh stuff in blighty, more so than Thailand. (whether it was deserved is another question )

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So Brit, you have never noticed the racist attitude of some light skinned Thais towards their darker skinned Issan brothers and sisters?

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Sure my gf doesnt even like getting sun because it will turn her "chocolate" and "chocolate no good". I blame that on mass media glamorizing euroasians as the ideal. However my gf doesnt seem to mind when I have dark skin - she says you are thai lao farang. Not exactly racism in my eyes - just different way of thinking than what we are used to in the west.

As far as arabs, indians, pakistani(s) - I think a few bad eggs have caused their entire ethnicity to get a bad reputation. I've witnessed this on many occassion and I understand why Thai(s) might have certain attitudes.

Let's forget this is cinema and we shouldn't imply anything apart from the humourous aspects it brings us.

Edited November 8, 2005 by britmaveric

[meemiathai]

And toastwars and all those who think the same,

You can't even accept if a person(a Thai) educating his own language (thai) to you that the term "farang" is BY NO MEANS racist? It's not even your own language?

How can you even know it is racist? It sounds really strange to me.

Also, can you give me some examples for Thais being racist?

And which western countries you think are less racist than Thailand?

[meemiathai]

I'd like to elaborate on what has been said thus far to the question are Thai(s) racist...the answer is "No".

I have wittnessed a lot more racism in Thailand from Thais than at any time in England...I would say yes

Toasty - hmmmm not so sure of that mate. I've seen some pretty harsh stuff in blighty, more so than Thailand. (whether it was deserved is another question )

So Brit, you have never noticed the racist attitude of some light skinned Thais towards their darker skinned Issan brothers and sisters?

I think we are talking about Thais in general. In every day life.

Who knows, there might be a &lt;removed&gt; Thai Hitler around!

[BambinA]

BTW there were 2 black American guys in the same cinema and they didn’t seem to be upset of offended so maybe this is something they had come across before?

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coz they got some Baht!!

[Guest endure]

Sure my gf doesnt even like getting sun because it will turn her "chocolate" and "chocolate no good". I blame that on mass media glamorizing euroasians as the ideal.

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I'm not sure I agree with that. It's probably more likely that dark skins are an indicator of 'low class' occupations - farm labourers etc. whereas a lighter skin indicates someone wealthy enough not to have to work in the sun.

[zaz]

As far as arabs, indians, pakistani(s) - I think a few bad eggs have caused their entire ethnicity to get a bad reputation. I've witnessed this on many occassion and I understand why Thai(s) might have certain attitudes.

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True and agreed - but again this is the case with bad eggs from all corners of the world - that's just how it is.

But the cinema/film thing I guess we shouldn't really take it too seriously.

I know Thais are conscious when it comes to their own skin colour but I think that is the case for dark skinned people in other countries. e.g. Indian/Pakistan people are sometimes obsessed with having or wanting to have fair skin, ahem...and not to mention Michael Jackson.....?

Personally I don't have any preference or hatred to skin colour, you are what you are and it doesn't count for anything.

[siamesekitty]

In the film in question the references are directed at other Thais, not at people from abroad, so it's not racism as such.

Also, humour differs. Even a person who would disagree with the terms used in real life could laugh at it on screen, because it's so obviously clear it's a made-up story. It's quite clever in some ways - the colour usage and hairdos, etc., are totally taking the mickey out of older Thai matinée movies, playing with the stereotypes, etc.

I have seen kathoeys laugh their heads off at movies like Satree lek. They accept that it's banter and dont take it so serious...

You have to remember that every language has its own boundaries for what is acceptable and not. In Thai the taboo zone differs from the Western one.

'Blackie' or 'darkie' sounds a lot worse in English than 'ai dum' does in Thai.

There is no organized racism here, no political parties who use it as a platform and suggest extermination of others - but all over the Western world we find such nutcases.

Everyday prejudice, low education levels and ignorance - sure.

Racism? Not really, I think. But considering how much foreign influence Thailand is experiencing at the moment, I dont think it's strange if it crops up sooner or later.

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Agree with meadish's comments. Dunno how to explain it without seeming too defensive of my country...

Racism does exist. There's no highly visible anti-racism movement here, and the concept of political correctness is not taught in the schools or promoted in the media.

However, what are perceived to be racist/discriminatory comments are not always made with malicious intentions. In my opinion, Thais are more willing to laugh at themselves than westerners, and might even make jokes themselves.

Other times, it's not so nice, but it's similar to when kids tease a classmate about being fat or having braces. Kinda mean, but not considered a crime.

[britmaveric]

Sure my gf doesnt even like getting sun because it will turn her "chocolate" and "chocolate no good". I blame that on mass media glamorizing euroasians as the ideal.

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I'm not sure I agree with that. It's probably more likely that dark skins are an indicator of 'low class' occupations - farm labourers etc. whereas a lighter skin indicates someone wealthy enough not to have to work in the sun.

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There might be some truth about rich/poor, but I know it's more a vanity issue for heaps of thai birds I know.

Edited November 8, 2005 by britmaveric

[Jai Dee]

Sure my gf doesnt even like getting sun because it will turn her "chocolate" and "chocolate no good". I blame that on mass media glamorizing euroasians as the ideal.

I'm not sure I agree with that. It's probably more likely that dark skins are an indicator of 'low class' occupations - farm labourers etc. whereas a lighter skin indicates someone wealthy enough not to have to work in the sun.

I'd concur with that... at least that's what my missus says too...

[meemiathai]

We simply call them "black people" in Chinese here in HK.(And it's not offensive)

Can someone teach me how to say it the right way in English?

It has been a problem for me for a long time, I have always worried that if refering to someone as "black" was offensive.

[britmaveric]

We simply call them "black people" in Chinese here in HK.(And it's not offensive)

Can someone teach me how to say it the right way in English?

It has been a problem for me for a long time, I have always worried that if refering to someone as "black" was offensive.

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Acceptable IMHO!

[toastwars]

And toastwars and all those who think the same,

You can't even accept if a person(a Thai) educating his own language (thai) to you that the term "farang" is BY NO MEANS racist?  It's not even your own language?

How can you even know it is racist?  It sounds really strange to me.

Also, can you give me some examples for Thais being racist?

And which western countries you think are less racist than Thailand?

I have taken the time to learn Thai, admittedly I am not the best but I am not unaproachable to Thais and if they want to know my name or where I come from they can just ask in their own language and I will answer in their own language. I would not dream of shouting "OI, FOREIGNER" at visitors from different countries. as for examples just watch Television or check out the way Thais act around Indians at work

[Heng]

Are Thais Racist?

Whilst in Pattaya this year I took my TG to the cinema, as you do, to see a very funny Thai movie called Yam Yasothon. If you have not seen this yet then I highly recommend it. I was literally doubled up with laughter at some points.

I stopped laughing and sat opened mouthed in surprise when there were several references to the ugly girl of the film being called “Blackie” and “Monkey”. The rest of the audience found this hilarious.

Now I’m not one of your liberal, jumps on the race band wagon, Guardian reading radicals but I must admit, as a westerner, I found it surprising that dark skinned people could still me referred to like this for comedy value. In the UK we haven’t seen stuff like this since Alf Garnett.

I understand that Thais do value white skin and there are several skin whitening products available as well as the powder all the girls seem to use but my question is are Thai people inherently racist or is it just a cultural naivety?

BTW there were 2 black American guys in the same cinema and they didn’t seem to be upset of offended so maybe this is something they had come across before?

Yeah, we certainly are. We'd be out rounding up h*mos and negr*es and dragging them from our Hiluxes too if only the traffic weren't so bad. And where would we buy lynch quality rope here anyway? Home Pro?

Thai power! Thai power!

Edited November 8, 2005 by Heng

[meemiathai]

However, what are perceived to be racist/discriminatory comments are not always made with malicious intentions. In my opinion, Thais are more willing to laugh at themselves than westerners, and might even make jokes themselves.

Sure.

Khon Isaan laughing at themselves as "baan nork".

And those joke shows that make fun of thais all the time.

[HowardJohnson]

Yeah, we certainly are. We'd be out rounding up h*mos and negr*es and dragging them from our Hiluxes too if only the traffic weren't so bad. And where would we buy lynch quality rope here anyway? Home Pro?

Thai power! Thai power!

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!!!!!!!!

[Heng]

We simply call them "black people" in Chinese here in HK.(And it's not offensive)

Can someone teach me how to say it the right way in English?

It has been a problem for me for a long time, I have always worried that if refering to someone as "black" was offensive.

I believe in Teochiu Chinese we say "o-gui" for the derogatory version of black people. Translation = black ghost. Don't really hear too many people using though.

[Jai Dee]

!!!!!!!!

Heng was joking Howard...

[Heng]

!!!!!!!!

Heng was joking Howard...

That's right. The point was that our version of racism is the "light beer" version of racism compared to a LOT of other examples of it in the world.

[zaz]

I'd agree. If Thai racism was heavy racism I'm sure so many foreigners wouldn't visit the country. Like I said before I have never experienced any form of racism when I've visited and I've found people to be nice and polite. Soon I will be living in Thailand who knows what new things I'll learn and experience...

[chuchok]

Most racist person that I have ever known, was an Indian bloke. He couldn't stand "low class" Indians.... and I'm not just talking about "untouchables' either.

[britmaveric]

Most racist person that I have ever known, was an Indian bloke. He couldn't stand "low class" Indians.... and I'm not just talking about "untouchables' either.

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Not surprising - caste society.

[Boon Mee]

I'd agree.  If Thai racism was heavy racism I'm sure so many foreigners wouldn't visit the country.  Like I said before I have never experienced any form of racism when I've visited and I've found people to be nice and polite.  Soon I will be living in Thailand who knows what new things I'll learn and experience...

It's more sophisticated than that.

You get to really have a 'heart-to-heart' with your everyday 'Joe-Six-Pack' Thai and they are pretty darn racist.

[350torana]

I'd agree.  If Thai racism was heavy racism I'm sure so many foreigners wouldn't visit the country.  Like I said before I have never experienced any form of racism when I've visited and I've found people to be nice and polite.  Soon I will be living in Thailand who knows what new things I'll learn and experience...

It's more sophisticated than that.

You get to really have a 'heart-to-heart' with your everyday 'Joe-Six-Pack' Thai and they are pretty darn racist.

Yup, get to know the locals. Ask a puu ying central Thai what they really think of the Cambo, Loation or Burmese construction worker., servant ect . I will not go into Africans or Arabs. My mother in law is very racist to these groups. Lucky the gene aint been passed on to my wife, although she sometimes has a dislike for Tasmanians :D

[RDN]

.... she  sometimes has a dislike for Tasmanians :D

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Nothing wrong with Tasmanians . They make Boags Export