Utter Idiocy

[farang000999]

But this was in a civilized country, the UK.

If you say so. I mean, as soon as I started reading your post I knew that you were going to be from the UK. The only people who seem to be able to describe "life back home" this way on Thai Visa are from the UK. It seems to be a really shitty place to live I gather from reading Thai Visa. Can't recall anyone from Canada or USA or Holland or New Zealand describing life back home this way.

Edited July 25, 2012 by farang000999

[TommoPhysicist]

But this was in a civilized country, the UK.

If you say so. I mean, as soon as I started reading your post I knew that you were going to be from the UK. The only people who seem to be able to describe "life back home" this way on Thai Visa are from the UK. It seems to be a really shitty place to live I gather from reading Thai Visa. Can't recall anyone from Canada or USA or Holland or New Zealand describing life back home this way.

New Zealand and the USA are getting pretty bad these days.

[GreenSnapper]

This morning it was raining heavily where I live. Rather than have my wife be an utter idiot and take my kids to their school 1 km away on her motorbike - (yes two kids on a motorbike) – the insanity. I’m enlightened now thanks to this thread. I drove them there in my car.

I sat outside their private school, the second best in the city, I counted 7 mothers arriving with their daughters on motorcycles with umbrellas up. I was so outraged I wanted to go out and take photos and show the world how utterly idiotic they were. I thought of taking vdos and posting on youtube but then realized it was a waste of my precious time. I also realized that this is not the country I grew up in and has a totally different culture, laws and beliefs

Spot on, you have realized the essence of this thread.

But let's face it: the photos from the OP show indeed very thoughtless behaviour. I think this we agree on. And it is not so much the lack of education in Thailand, but more a lack of common sense.

If you live here, you will see thousands of examples of thoughtless behaviour. It is part of their culture. The accident rate is high, and it is part of live and die in Thailand.

Maybe a newbie would be shocked and outraged when he sees scenes like that for the first time.

But the OP is working in Pattaya for 12 years. He has never come over the culture shock every foreigner experiences. He is still at day one. He comes from a Nanny state and the Nanny is part of his brain structure. That's why he is so furious and outraged.

He had better have his guest house - or whatever his business is - in Brighton. Brighton is a nice town, much nicer than a dump like Pattaya. And people bring their kids to school with a car. Brighton is civilized and has common sense. And the Nanny is not far.

[mistitikimikis]

Front and head-protection......................

[TommoPhysicist]

I wouldn't describe it as thoughtless, or lack of common sense.

I like to view it as more to do with religion (Buddha will protect) and personal freedom, not to mention that life is cheaper here.

[mistitikimikis]

I wouldn't describe it as thoughtless, or lack of common sense.

I like to view it as more to do with religion (Buddha will protect) and personal freedom, not to mention that life is cheaper here.

spot on

[NBD]

I wouldn't describe it as thoughtless, or lack of common sense.

I like to view it as more to do with religion (Buddha will protect) and personal freedom, not to mention that life is cheaper here.

Except when Buddha doesn't protect, and people die on Thai roads at several times the rate they do in comparable European countries. I would guess mostly due to this kind of stupidity.

I agree that life is cheaper here, and I'm a big fan of personal freedom, but I would like to see it go hand in hand with people taking some responsibility for themselves and those in their care. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that sooner or later will mean a crackdown that means those personal freedoms and liberties we enjoy coming here from the west will be taken away by a government who genuinely do know better than the moron in the original picture.

It's also, in my view, pretty arrogant to say this is a Buddhist thing. Buddhists in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and elsewhere don't carry on like this. nor do middle class Thais or Chinese. Christians in Africa do. It's a dumb, unthinking, moron "it'll probably be fine" attitude that stupid people have everywhere, regardless of race or religion. If he was English he'd end up suing Honda when his kid ended up paralyzed, then going and telling Jeremy Kyle about it.

[TommoPhysicist]

It's also, in my view, pretty arrogant to say this is a Buddhist thing. Buddhists in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and elsewhere don't carry on like this. nor do middle class Thais or Chinese. Christians in Africa do. It's a dumb, unthinking, moron "it'll probably be fine" attitude that stupid people have everywhere, regardless of race or religion. If he was English he'd end up suing Honda when his kid ended up paralyzed, then going and telling Jeremy Kyle about it.

You aren't really comparing the same religion, Buddhism in Thailand is vastly different.

[NBD]

It's also, in my view, pretty arrogant to say this is a Buddhist thing. Buddhists in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and elsewhere don't carry on like this. nor do middle class Thais or Chinese. Christians in Africa do. It's a dumb, unthinking, moron "it'll probably be fine" attitude that stupid people have everywhere, regardless of race or religion. If he was English he'd end up suing Honda when his kid ended up paralyzed, then going and telling Jeremy Kyle about it.

You aren't really comparing the same religion, Buddhism in Thailand is vastly different.

All religions are different everywhere, and at every time depending what folly some nut job wants to justify by appealing to them. It's a socially imposed facade to keep poor people happy with their lot.