Are Thais Racist?

[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?

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

Thanks for the sincere reply.

I really hope you can understand(as this is what I understand, hope Thais here will correct me if I'm wrong) that if a Thai person you know actually comes up to you and say to you "hey farang, let's bai gin kow(have some food)" This Thai person in fact thinks that he knows you good enough that you won't be offended by the word "farang" and also showing closeness to you.

And for the "Indians at work" part, I won't argue. I have no experience with that.

[toastwars]

My reaction to being called farang is usually played down too a reply of pom mai farang, pom poo dii angrit. It usually works without anyone losing face or being offended again

[meemiathai]

Wow, shouldn't you be having sweet dreams in bed at this time?

[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.

Acceptable IMHO!

Khop khun na khup.

[Glauka]

Are thai racist? I think this question is too broad. Do you mean all the population in Thailand? I think there are many people living in Thailand. Can anyone make a generalization of that sort? I lived 8 years in U.K and I came across to xenophobic people that in my opinion they were just ignorant and scared and I will never said that british are xenophobic, because they are too many pople living in England and I have not meet them all. Sometimes I think you can take the things too far when you get annoyed because someone has call someone else "black", indeed they are black but is nothing wrong with that. I will not get angry if someone call me white because I am white. I will get angry depending on the people attitude towards me. Also I think that big things become less important when you laugh at them and maybe that is what they tried to do in the film ( i am not sure because I have not watched).

I have been in thailand few times and some people treated me with respect and some people did not. So I will say if somebody ask me there are some respectful people living in thailand and there is some unrespectful.

I speak...

[Glauka]

ups!!! I have spoken...

[aughie]

Some of what is discussed here is preference or prejudice not racism. If a woman says she prefers not to get any sun because "dark no good". It can be interpreted in many ways. Perhaps she could explain it better in Thai but I don't understand spoken or written Thai. A preference cannot always be explained either. Sometimes it is just the way we are wired. We see something that causes a switch to turn on in our heads. Some people like big tits instead of breasts. Desiring white or light skin is a preference unless otherwise explained in detail. Woe the day when a person can't have their preferences. When one class of people looks down on another because their line of work or family life is indicated in the color of their skin then that is prejudice and bigotry. It's not racist.

Can people of the same race be racist toward each other? Does the oppression of the caste system reflect racism or prejudice? Does the caste system involve distinct tribes of people?

edited: added a couple of sentences

Edited November 8, 2005 by aughie

[Glauka]

Hi aughie

How will you define racism...

[aughie]

Hi Glauka,

There has been much discussion of racism. I think it is a very strong word and should be used sparingly. Preference, prejudice and discrimination is not racism. Racism seems to create a great distance between us. It separates us into categories. So why use the word so often in situations where is does not apply? (Why create a distance where one need not be?) It distinguishes us by our physical differences which shouldn't be important. Our actions should define us.

edited many times. Last time the sentence between ( ) added.

Edited November 9, 2005 by aughie

[Glauka]

AGREE

Could i just say that i think that racism comes from ignorance...

[chuchok]

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...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can't help a world wide trend mate.

[SiamOne]

I agree that racism comes from ignorance.

In my own small experience, all countries contain a lot of racists. It can be direct, or, more often, indirect. Thailand is no exception, and there is a lot of ignorance also.

Racism is something that is learnt from childhood, from parents and other family, then from contemporaries. It can be reinforced by later experience or diminished by education. In the worst case, racism can be institutional and approved by the government.

So, yes, you can say that racism exists in Thailand, but a statement that Thais are racist is meaningless and too broad (even racist itself!).

[aughie]

although she sometimes has a dislike for Tasmanians

Can't help a world wide trend mate.

Are they selling fashion accessories for this? The gf likes to be modern.

[thaibebop]

Respnse to OP. It depends on how you define rasism. They may not like someone for a skin color or what have you butu they don't beat them up or drag them behind pick trucks or lynch 'em.

Edited November 9, 2005 by thaibebop

[terdsak_12]

Nothing to do with liberalism. Thais really are racists!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They ain't racist, they're just good old IGNORANT!!!!

[chuchok]

Respnse to OP. It depends on how you define rasism. They may not like someone for a skin color or what have you butu they don't beat them up or drag them behind pick trucks or lynch 'em.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well if you talk to people(Who know) about some of the Thai polices attitude to some Burmese Hill Tribes.....there have been many reports of some of these people being shot and killed.

[Tarragona]

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

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the film, it was Issan people teasing other Issan people. The whole film was done in Issan dialect and had Thai subtitles. While the topic of Thais and racism is an interesting one, the film in question does not provide any basis for the discussion.

[skylar]

Actually you're right there toast, I've heard/read about the term "smelly farang" more so than any other

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We are smelly farang. We eat red meat and drink dairy products which gives us a characteristic smell which the Thais notice because they don't eat as much red meat or dairy. When they say we smell what they mean is that we smell different to them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thais aren't alone on this. Foreigners in Japan in the late 1800s were described as 'bata kusai' or 'stinking of butter' as Japanese at the time ate no meat or dairy products. I am guessing that by the translation that they found the odour offensive.

Anyone hear about the story of an African-American who guest lecturered at one of the main 2 unis in Bangkok (Thammasat or Chula, can't remember) for a semester whose students walked out on him when they realised he would be taking the lectures?

[chownah]

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

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the film, it was Issan people teasing other Issan people. The whole film was done in Issan dialect and had Thai subtitles. While the topic of Thais and racism is an interesting one, the film in question does not provide any basis for the discussion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps your method of evaluating the racism in the film is flawed. First...it is possible for someone to have negative racist attitudes towards their own race...it manifests as an inferiority complex. Many black Americans actually believed that they were inferior and actually persecuted other blacks who tried to assert their equality. This happens because whites controlled all media and education so some blacks were brought up in an environment where everything they saw proved that they were inferior. And second....there were television shows in the US in the 50's that contained only black characters speaking in 'black dialect' and teasing each other about racial characteristics and making jokes that validated false prejudices....and these shows were produced by all white entities....entities populated by white racists who were (perhaps unconsciously) promoting their agenda.....and this helped to convince blacks that they were inferior as described in my first point.

[solo siam]

But in the example they didnt have negative racist attitudes to their own race, they singled out one person because she was darker. Thats not racism, they could have equally singled her out for being fat, or spotty, giving her a nickname of fatty or spotty.

If someone in the west refers to someone as being ginger in a derogatory manner, as in the hair colour, is that then being racist to their own people?

I dont think Thais are any more racist than any other countrys inhabitants I just dont think they are more truthful about it.

[Tarragona]

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

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the film, it was Issan people teasing other Issan people. The whole film was done in Issan dialect and had Thai subtitles. While the topic of Thais and racism is an interesting one, the film in question does not provide any basis for the discussion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps your method of evaluating the racism in the film is flawed. First...it is possible for someone to have negative racist attitudes towards their own race...it manifests as an inferiority complex. Many black Americans actually believed that they were inferior and actually persecuted other blacks who tried to assert their equality. This happens because whites controlled all media and education so some blacks were brought up in an environment where everything they saw proved that they were inferior. And second....there were television shows in the US in the 50's that contained only black characters speaking in 'black dialect' and teasing each other about racial characteristics and making jokes that validated false prejudices....and these shows were produced by all white entities....entities populated by white racists who were (perhaps unconsciously) promoting their agenda.....and this helped to convince blacks that they were inferior as described in my first point.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

See the film.

But in the example they didnt have negative racist attitudes to their own race, they singled out one person because she was darker. Thats not racism, they could have equally singled her out for being fat, or spotty, giving her a nickname of fatty or spotty.

Eggsackerly.

[aughie]

Perhaps your method of evaluating the racism in the film is flawed.  First...it is possible for someone to have negative racist attitudes towards their own race...it manifests as an inferiority complex.  Many black Americans actually believed that they were inferior and actually persecuted other blacks who tried to assert their equality.  This happens because whites controlled all media and education so some blacks were brought up in an environment where everything they saw proved that they were inferior.  And second....there were television shows in the US in the 50's that contained only black characters speaking in 'black dialect' and teasing each other about racial characteristics and making jokes that validated false prejudices....and these shows were produced by all white entities....entities populated by white racists who were (perhaps unconsciously) promoting their agenda.....and this helped to convince blacks that they were inferior as described in my first point.

It's not uncommon for jealous negative people to discourage others and seek to keep others from succeeding. It happens everywhere. It doesn't need racist brainwashing to initiate it.

[unforgiven]

It's the we've never been colonised,,, this is ours and we can treat all you forgiener anyway we want mentality

[chuchok]

It's the we've never been colonised,,, this is ours and we can treat all you forgiener anyway we want mentality

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

only cause you let the Japs in, otherwise they would have colonised you completly.

Have a nice day.

[SiamOne]

It's the we've never been colonised,,, this is ours and we can treat all you forgiener anyway we want mentality

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

only cause you let the Japs in, otherwise they would have colonised you completly.

Have a nice day.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Chuchok, I think that poster is not Thai, if you read carefully, just another angry western man

but what you say is true, we have always been sensible when it comes to foreign invaders!!

[cobra]

Are thais racist ? On a whole I think they're very tolerate and friendly and do not display much outward discrimination.

Albeit this one exception, I've noticed they have no reservations indicating their displeasure with Arabs, or any mid-easterners as far that goes.

They find them cheap and hygienically offensive is what I've been told both by male and female Thais.

Whether that's reflected by the population at large I don't know. But I've definitely seen how they're treated by merchants and there wasn't much smiling going on.

[Jim 50]

Are Thais Racist?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thais are obviously racist.

The surprise of it comes from Thais being racist toward prople who, outside Thailand, are generally considered socially a higher than Thais. Go figure.

[Neeranam]

Are thais racist ? On a whole I think they're very tolerate and friendly and do not display much outward discrimination.

Albeit this one exception, I've noticed they have no reservations indicating their displeasure with Arabs, or any mid-easterners as far that goes.

They find them cheap and hygienically offensive is what I've been told both by male and female Thais.

Whether that's reflected by the population at large I don't know. But I've definitely seen how they're treated by merchants and there wasn't much smiling going on.

I can't be bothered reading the whole thread.

Thais are very tolerant People in general.

There are some that are rascist and some that are not. No worse than my country, or any other country, 50 years ago.

Its amazing how some people see their hosts to be rascist whilst forgetting their own reaction to "guests" in their own country.

Amazing how many Thais don't like the "kaeks" or Indians when their Religious founder came from there. Then again many people in my country(Scotland) don't like arabs, where their religious leader came from.

[TokyoT]

Are Thai’s racists? IMHO – Yes.

All Thai’s – No, but in my experience many Thai’s – Yes. Then again in my experience there are plenty of racists all over the world.

The most disturbing thing for me about racism in Thailand is the lack of sufficient acknowledgement of its existence and pressure to reduce/remove racism. Some of the posters have indicated that what happens in Thailand is more ignorance than racism. Just because a person is not educated in regard to what racism is or what may be perceived as racist does not make their actions any less racist. Also the intent of the person or persons taking the action or making the remark does not absolve the act from being a racist act/remark – it has more to due with the results than with the intent.

Thailand generally speaking has a fairly homogenous racial structure, so the line between nationalist discrimination/prejudice, and racism can get pretty blurry. And using the term racism may be extreme in some instances, and maybe some would prefer to use the term discrimination or prejudice. So the total lack of respect that many “Bangkokians” give to their Issan brethren may not be racism. But the level of distain shown by many Thai’s towards people from Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, certainly is racism. To say nothing for how many Thai’s treat people from Africa, The Middle East, or India (See Guest House post #14).

As has been pointed out in earlier posts there may not be any political parties/ factions that are founded on, or have what would be considered racist ideas or platforms. IMHO this is because of the general racial homogeneity of the Thai voting population. Unlike France, Germany, or the UK there are not significant flows of immigrants that are given the rights and liberties of citizenship. Therefore in Thailand the volume of the racial minorities is insufficient for the development of such political entities.

[meadish_sweetball]

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.

The word farang in itself contains no such connotations. Farang is a descriptive word and as such not intended to cause any offense. You see this in that menus will have 'aahaan farang' (Western food), phleeng farang (Western music) etc.

You claim to speak Thai, but I think you need to work a bit harder if you seriously suggest placing 'farang' next to 'pakkie' or 'chink' in terms of offensiveness.

In all-Thai situations, nobody raises an eyebrow and there is no malice intended by just using the word farang.