Time To Call A Spade A Spade

[rgs2001uk]

I usually see others, through a window, in the street and sometimes in a drunken state.

The only time I see myself is in the morning as I shave, others usually see me as a hansum man.

[theblether]

If you walked about calling people spades in London you would get either battered to a pulp or jailed.

[BookMan]

Expat? Immigrant? Does it affect my Hansum Man status?

Certainly not in any bars!

[Jingthing]

Expat is a good fit except for permanent residents and the rare new citizens.

[BookMan]

Apologies for the off topic but while we're at it can we dispense with the "Next" at the end of a post which, in my humble opinion, rather than make the poster appear to have presented an irrefutable argument or point, merely makes them appear to be a pretentious <deleted>.

You have a point.

this one could also be added to that list...

[marstons]

i like the term alein just in case i start to think me and my million baht a year pension are welcome here.

having said that if a load of forieners turned upto to the UK cashed up, living a lavish life style and nicking all the chicks, i think they would be made less welcome than i see myself here.

[farang000999]

Expatriate sounds dignified. I picture a Graham Greene character being chauffeured around town by a tiny polite assistant who smiles often and being chatted up by educated well dressed women at sophisticated tea parties.

The word migrant or immigrant implies that one has some kind of solid legal footing in the country. Immigrants have left their home country to build a better life in a new country for future generations, obviously something that is probably not happening in Thailand considering the business regulations placed upon farang and the constant fear of standing in an immigration queue and being told, despite personal investments made in Thailand, to go home.

The best word to describe farang in Thailand? It is probably farang.

[whybother]

I always call a spade a shovel.

[JurgenG]

^{I have always assumed that the term "expatriate" is used to define employees who were posted away from their home country, and who received special benefits, in cash or in kind, as recompense.}

^{The first time I ever heard the term was when I was posted to Hong Kong, and my letter of appointment included the term "expatriate benefits". By this definition, I doubt that very many posters would actually be expatriates.}

Agree with you, "expat terms" by opposition to "local terms". Actually people were defined according to their activity : merchants, civil servants, retiree, tourist, gentleman of fortune .... But more generally I think they were called foreigners.

[moe666]

I think colonist may be appropriate, as most expats what to make the place a warm reflection of their home lands. Jim

Maybe the Daily Mail can come over and do a story about immigrants/foreigners to Thailand who don't bother to learn the language, don't pay enough tax, spend all their time drinking beer and hanging around each other in their own 'ethnic' bars, harrassing the local women, threaten the local culture and don't bother to get proper visa's.

The only part I agree with is the proper visa,and if you donot have one donot complain when they change the rules

[norrona]

i like the term alein just in case i start to think me and my million baht a year pension are welcome here.

having said that if a load of forieners turned upto to the UK cashed up, living a lavish life style and nicking all the chicks, i think they would be made less welcome than i see myself here.

message from the U.K....they kind of have

[KeyserSoze01]

Hmm, I was publicly vilified on another forum for using the exact same words for the title of a thread. Seems I was a racist pig for uttering the term, "calling a spade a spade".

As far as the "expat" moniker, the term refers to any person that currently resides in a country not of their citizenship, i.e.; resident in Thailand per say while still being a citizen of their home country.

[rgs2001uk]

Hmm, I was publicly vilified on another forum for using the exact same words for the title of a thread. Seems I was a racist pig for uttering the term, "calling a spade a spade".

As far as the "expat" moniker, the term refers to any person that currently resides in a country not of their citizenship, i.e.; resident in Thailand per say while still being a citizen of their home country.

Thankfully this is Thailand and western facist PC BS hasnt yet reared its ugly head.

Its still accepatable here to call a "visitor" a "visitor".

[zzaa09]

Strangers.

Most remain that way without conscious nor strain.

Strangers.

[daoyai]

Hmm, I was publicly vilified on another forum for using the exact same words for the title of a thread. Seems I was a racist pig for uttering the term, "calling a spade a spade".

As far as the "expat" moniker, the term refers to any person that currently resides in a country not of their citizenship, i.e.; resident in Thailand per say while still being a citizen of their home country.

Those that object to the expression, "calling a spade a spade" as racist, are only showing their ignorence, the expression refers to having enough knowlege of a subject to be specific, using the example of farm or garden tools, a shovel has a straight edge and a spade has a point. (as depicted on playing cards). So the expression refers to knowing enough to not call a spade a shovel. Edited January 4, 2012 by daoyai

[StreetCowboy]

Hmm, I was publicly vilified on another forum for using the exact same words for the title of a thread. Seems I was a racist pig for uttering the term, "calling a spade a spade".

As far as the "expat" moniker, the term refers to any person that currently resides in a country not of their citizenship, i.e.; resident in Thailand per say while still being a citizen of their home country.

Those that object to the expression, "calling a spade a spade" as racist, are only showing their ignorence, the expression refers to having enough knowlege of a subject to be specific, using the example of farm or garden tools, a shovel has a straight edge and a spade has a point. (as depicted on playing cards). So the expression refers to knowing enough to not call a spade a shovel.

That's contrary to my understanding.

A spade is a gardening tool for digging, with a rectangular blade

http://www.garden4less.co.uk/garden-spade.asp

while a shovel is for moving material and generally has a rounded or pointed blade

http://www.spearandjackson.com.au/categories/GARD/SHOVELS

so, confusingly for card-sharps everywhere, the ace of spades is in fact a fookin' shovel.

But you are quite right, the expression has actually got nothing to do with darkies or card-sharping, and it's general usage is

"he calls a spade a spade" meaning that he is blunt and out-spoken, and says exactly what he means, regardless of risk of offence to others.

SC

[daoyai]

St.Cowboy.... you got me on the googles .... I had to look and aparently it is a regional thang, wiki says spades get points, I think in the U.S. (where many things are backward?) this is the case, U.K, and Aus. have the shovel with the point. But we are still all Farang Expats, sexpats, Lovepats, or migrant dreamers and drunks. with a few missionaries thrown in for good (or bad) measure.

[mca]

All I've got is a mental image of Lemmy growling into a mic " THE ACE OF SHOVELS, THE ACE OF SHOVELS"

[StreetCowboy]

St.Cowboy.... you got me on the googles .... I had to look and aparently it is a regional thang, wiki says spades get points, I think in the U.S. (where many things are backward?) this is the case, U.K, and Aus. have the shovel with the point. But we are still all Farang Expats, sexpats, Lovepats, or migrant dreamers and drunks. with a few missionaries thrown in for good (or bad) measure.

The spades I referenced are common or garden spades, and they have a square blade so that you can turn the soil to a specific depth.

I think shovels are used for moving material and sometimes do not have a flat blade - for example, our fire shovel had a square blade to get the ash out right to the back of the fireplace, and a lip on the sides to stop ash cascading off and creating a dreadful mess. Like a coal scuttle, my kids wouldn't know a fire shovel if they tripped over it. They don't even know what stair-rods are, for crying out loud!

SC

[StreetCowboy]

Drifting back on topic...

In my experience, ex-patriate staff are normally expected to leave the country at the completion of their job / project, though not necessarily leave the company. Their "ex-patriate" terms generally include specific provisions to compensate for them not being employed in their home country, and to reflect the additional costs of a transient lifestyle.

However, I am not sure about e.g. ex-patriate farmers in Africa, who endeavour to maintain their original nationality for themselves and their descendents.

SC

[klikster]

Time To Call A Spade A Spade

Unless it is not a spade.

[nong38]

Dont call a spade a spade, I have a Spear and Jackson number 3 with brass handle, now thats a spade!

Am I an ex pat, well, I have never been known as pat before, the Messiah yes but never pat!

[scotinsiam]

Can we dispense with Orwell style PC speech control and call us what we actually are: foreigners.

Lower than a Soi Dogs belly is what we are - lol

[kerryk]

Apologies for the off topic but while we're at it can we dispense with the "Next" at the end of a post which, in my humble opinion, rather than make the poster appear to have presented an irrefutable argument or point, merely makes them appear to be a pretentious <deleted>.

Not gonna happen.

Next.

OMG MCA got nexted! I wonder if the wording should be changed from pretentious <deleted> to petulant child? Good meat for a poll there. Are people who end posts with the word "next" pretentious <deleted> or petulant children? Or are they just rude? Maybe even discourteous?

[StreetCowboy]

Dont call a spade a spade, I have a Spear and Jackson number 3 with brass handle, now thats a spade!

Am I an ex pat, well, I have never been known as pat before, the Messiah yes but never pat!

Where can I buy forkhandles?

The old ones are the best

SC

[mca]

Apologies for the off topic but while we're at it can we dispense with the "Next" at the end of a post which, in my humble opinion, rather than make the poster appear to have presented an irrefutable argument or point, merely makes them appear to be a pretentious <deleted>.

Not gonna happen.

Next.

OMG MCA got nexted!

Bah humbug!

Next.

[thaihome]

Expatriate sounds dignified. I picture a Graham Greene character being chauffeured around town by a tiny polite assistant who smiles often and being chatted up by educated well dressed women at sophisticated tea parties.

The word migrant or immigrant implies that one has some kind of solid legal footing in the country. Immigrants have left their home country to build a better life in a new country for future generations,

I agree and certainly I consider myself an expat in Thailand, just like I have been an expat in several other countries and may likely continue to do so if sent someplace else. I guess I could be considered a migrant worker as well though expatriate is the common term for skilled professionals working in another country.

An immigrant to me is as you say somebody that has no intention of returning to home country or keeping any legal connection to it. They have moved to the new country to start a new life and have established a permanent residence and are at least working towards the legal part of that.

When I retire in few years, I will likely do so in Thailand, but will do so on yearly retirement extensions and continue to maintain my financial and emotional ties to my home country. That still makes me an expat, not an immigrant.

obviously something that is probably not happening in Thailand considering the business regulations placed upon farang and the constant fear of standing in an immigration queue and being told, despite personal investments made in Thailand, to go home.

The best word to describe farang in Thailand? It is probably farang.

This just sounds the bitter rant of somebody that cannot qualify for any sort of stable visa status and has failed in a business venture and is indulging in projection bias to place the blame on Thais.

There are way too many people that have successfully started business, many that have got PR and some that even got Thai citizenship for your tirade to have any validity.

TH

[Jingthing]

Apologies for the off topic but while we're at it can we dispense with the "Next" at the end of a post which, in my humble opinion, rather than make the poster appear to have presented an irrefutable argument or point, merely makes them appear to be a pretentious <deleted>.

Not gonna happen.

Next.

OMG MCA got nexted!

Bah humbug!

Next.

I own next. Send royalties.

Next ...

[mca]

If the Thais were to truly address me as how I view myself then my annual extension would say Non-Sexual Chocolate Pimp Daddy Lurv Machine Playa Walrus Mackadocious Orgasmotron or words to that effect

Edited January 5, 2012 by mca

[mca]

. Send royalties.

Will one of the Queen's Corgis do?