Is It Just Sheer Ignorance?

[mraitchison]

Last night some pratt sat just over the road from my house with his friends at a really dirty little klong having a Korean BBQ and drinking.

Now this wouldn't be so bad but he insisted on having his truck stereo on. He didn't have the treble upi very hight but the bass was wacked right up. Now I live in a wooden house so those sound pressure waves make it shake rattle and roll (maybe it is my fault for living in an old house)

The missus and I went out to ask him if he could turn the bass down a bit. He didn't understand he told us his music was queit. It was just the bloody bass was up loud.

We did our best to explain to him that the whole house was shaking. He wasn't having it and was adiment that it wasn't his music. I even offered him a beer inside the house so that he can hear and feel what was happening.

THe stupid ###### sat there until about 1am when they decided to eventually go.

I hate hearing how foreigners think Thai's are stupid and/or ignorant but that is all I could think last night. The missus did her best but all she could think was that maybe he had a bit of a low IQ.

Rant over.

Edited February 21, 2006 by mraitchison

[Kerryd]

I think a lot of people just don't think about the results of their actions.

Once in awhile, some of the people in the building will decide to party it up and set up a TV and speakers to do some karaoke. For some reason, it has to be at a deafening volume and can go until they run out of booze or people.

They don't seem to think about how this affects the rest of the people in the building and in the neighbourhood. I don't know if lodging a noise complaint with the police would do any good, which is perhaps why none of the neighbours try.

I was having a conversation with my landlady in my apartment the other day, (in the afternoon)discussing the rather large electricity bill I just received. Normal voice levels, no shouting or stress involved. One of the people in an adjacent apartment opened her door and said something to the landlady.

She told me that the girl was complaining that she needed to sleep and had asked us to be quiet (or quieter).

Of course, this doesn't apply to her when she comes in at some weird hour of the morning and starts arguing (loudly) with her boyfriend/husband/cousin while leaving the door wide open.

[lopburi3]

I know how you feel (I also feel it and it is not pleasant at all). But don't believe it is a Thai thing as my first taste of this was in South Florida 15 years ago. Of course we blamed the Cubans but it could well have been the rednecks, or the trailer park trash, or x x x x x (anybody but us). Perhaps it is just our age; and the fact some of us are actually made nauseous by the thumping?

At any rate I do understand your frustrations. I hate it!

[Donz]

maybe your just getting old?? jk...

[Soph]

I hate hearing how foreigners think Thai's are stupid and/or ignorant but that is all I could think last night.

I do understand - but that one man (probably with low IQ) didnt represent all Thai's did he?

And you can get this kind of behaviour in any country. Look at the boy racers in UK, they are just as bad.

[gurkle]

I hate hearing how foreigners think Thai's are stupid and/or ignorant but that is all I could think last night. The missus did her best but all she could think was that maybe he had a bit of a low IQ.

Yes you are right, all Thais are stupid. Every single one of us loves blasting the speakers in our pick-up trucks to ear-shattering levels. Even the hi-sos love to do this, but you may not live near enough to any to realize it.

Of course, this would never happen in the US. All teenagers there are respectful citizens that would never trick out their car to play loud music - imagine the horror!

Edited February 21, 2006 by gurkle

[pnustedt]

If there's a bbq or party near our house I take a few beers and join in - my IQ would soon match his

[Ulysses G.]

I hate hearing how foreigners think Thai's are stupid and/or ignorant but that is all I could think last night. The missus did her best but all she could think was that maybe he had a bit of a low IQ.

Yes you are right, all Thais are stupid. Every single one of us loves blasting the speakers in our pick-up trucks to ear-shattering levels. Even the hi-sos love to do this, but you may not live near enough to any to realize it.

Maybe, but still - in general - I love them!

[Donz]

who knows, maybe the music wasnt even loud, maybe you were complaining about nothing.

If i was playing music and someone told me to keep it down and i thought it werent load i would tell you to get lost.

But im young and arrogant, nothing to do with IQ

[h90]

I hate hearing how foreigners think Thai's are stupid and/or ignorant but that is all I could think last night. The missus did her best but all she could think was that maybe he had a bit of a low IQ.

Yes you are right, all Thais are stupid. Every single one of us loves blasting the speakers in our pick-up trucks to ear-shattering levels. Even the hi-sos love to do this, but you may not live near enough to any to realize it.

Of course, this would never happen in the US. All teenagers there are respectful citizens that would never trick out their car to play loud music - imagine the horror!

[chuchok]

who knows, maybe the music wasnt even loud, maybe you were complaining about nothing.

If i was playing music and someone told me to keep it down and i thought it werent load i would tell you to get lost.

But im young and arrogant, nothing to do with IQ

and stupid.

[Curt]

Nothing screams lowlife quite as proudly as a righteous subwoofer!

The pin heads don't realize that it really has little to do with volume.

The frequency resonates and penetrates.

It's also a level that is particularly annoying.

Here, in the States, subwoofers are the craze; have been for years.

There are many $1000 vehicles with $2000 sound systems cruising around.

Fortunately, most Thais don't have the baht to throw around on something so senseless.

But, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the stereo salesmen convince them that they have to have it.

Edited February 21, 2006 by Curt

[Donz]

who knows, maybe the music wasnt even loud, maybe you were complaining about nothing.

If i was playing music and someone told me to keep it down and i thought it werent load i would tell you to get lost.

But im young and arrogant, nothing to do with IQ

and stupid.

stop being a smart ass

[zzap]

I also found the best solution is to join'em for a beer. Might even get lucky and they'll turn the vol down to please their new friend...

[Jai Dee]

I also found the best solution is to join'em for a beer. Might even get lucky and they'll turn the vol down to please their new friend...

It may be frustrating, but a "jai yen" attitude like this will get you further than a "jai dum" one...

[autonomous_unit]

Aside from all the possibilities raised above about someone being young, drunk, or arrogant, it might not be ignorance that sound propogates, but an attempt to cover up the embarrassment of being told you are bothering someone? In practice, I don't think people consider every possible ramification of their actions, but mostly those things that we have been socially conditioned to worry about.

I remember having a neigbor knock on my door and complain in the first week after I had moved into a new apartment complex for a new job in a new city... prior to that, my experiences were in single family dwellings and university neighborhoods where you could listen to music at a good level on a hifi. Suddenly, I found that the threshold was so much lower that I could not enjoy my music in the evenings without bothering the old neighbor! I could have done a study to determine the sound propogation into the next room, but I of course just went by my experiences to date where I had never had a complaint for my listening habits. I do recall feeling upset by the encounter, because I hadn't considered I was doing anything troublesome right up until this bleary-eyed guy in his bathrobe knocked on my door.

I imagine that the social conditioning of the average Thai is much different with regards to sound than many westerners, so it is likely people will be in awkward encounters such as you described. You'd find similar things moving to different areas in the west w/ wildly different demographics.

On the other hand, I did have a neighbor in the US who was totally unresponsive to my complaints about their subwoofer, to the point that they stopped answering the door when I came knocking. To this day, we are not sure if they were being arrogant or if maybe their cat had discovered how to operate the remote control while they were out.

[Donz]

Aside from all the possibilities raised above about someone being young, drunk, or arrogant, it might not be ignorance that sound propogates, but an attempt to cover up the embarrassment of being told you are bothering someone? In practice, I don't think people consider every possible ramification of their actions, but mostly those things that we have been socially conditioned to worry about.

I remember having a neigbor knock on my door and complain in the first week after I had moved into a new apartment complex for a new job in a new city... prior to that, my experiences were in single family dwellings and university neighborhoods where you could listen to music at a good level on a hifi. Suddenly, I found that the threshold was so much lower that I could not enjoy my music in the evenings without bothering the old neighbor! I could have done a study to determine the sound propogation into the next room, but I of course just went by my experiences to date where I had never had a complaint for my listening habits. I do recall feeling upset by the encounter, because I hadn't considered I was doing anything troublesome right up until this bleary-eyed guy in his bathrobe knocked on my door.

I imagine that the social conditioning of the average Thai is much different with regards to sound than many westerners, so it is likely people will be in awkward encounters such as you described. You'd find similar things moving to different areas in the west w/ wildly different demographics.

On the other hand, I did have a neighbor in the US who was totally unresponsive to my complaints about their subwoofer, to the point that they stopped answering the door when I came knocking. To this day, we are not sure if they were being arrogant or if maybe their cat had discovered how to operate the remote control while they were out.

Maybe you should of knocked with an axe, that would usually work. Or just start tearing it down with the axe and im sure they will never ignore you ever again

[mraitchison]

It wasn't just me the missus was annoyed which is a sure sign that somebody is taking the piss (other than me) she has the cool heart, I have the kick ignorant car drivers wing mirrors off when they cut me up on my bike heart.

Edited February 21, 2006 by mraitchison

[steveromagnino]

It wasn't just me the missus was annoyed which is a sure sign that somebody is taking the piss (other than me) she has the cool heart, I have the kick ignorant car drivers wing mirrors off when they cut me up on my bike heart.

Can you write that last sentence in easier to read english again?

I would NOT be happy if anyone damaged my car again, so I am curious to understand what you do and what provokes it on a bike....

[Wolfie]

who knows, maybe the music wasnt even loud, maybe you were complaining about nothing.

If i was playing music and someone told me to keep it down and i thought it werent load i would tell you to get lost.

But im young and arrogant, nothing to do with IQ

and stupid.

stop being a smart ass

Both of you need to "stop being smart <deleted>" IMHO

[Tippaporn]

who knows, maybe the music wasnt even loud, maybe you were complaining about nothing.

If i was playing music and someone told me to keep it down and i thought it werent load i would tell you to get lost.

But im young and arrogant, nothing to do with IQ

and stupid.

stop being a smart ass

Both of you need to "stop being smart <deleted>" IMHO

Sorry, Wolfie. Couldn't resist!

Edited February 21, 2006 by Tippaporn

[Jai Dee]

Sorry, Wolfie. Couldn't resist!

I know you've been just waiting for an excuse to use that smiley hey Tippaporn?

[chuchok]

who knows, maybe the music wasnt even loud, maybe you were complaining about nothing.

If i was playing music and someone told me to keep it down and i thought it werent load i would tell you to get lost.

But im young and arrogant, nothing to do with IQ

and stupid.

stop being a smart ass

Both of you need to "stop being smart <deleted>" IMHO

Sir Wolfie

The posts were on page one and everything had moved on......

Edited February 21, 2006 by chuchok

[Donz]

who knows, maybe the music wasnt even loud, maybe you were complaining about nothing.

If i was playing music and someone told me to keep it down and i thought it werent load i would tell you to get lost.

But im young and arrogant, nothing to do with IQ

and stupid.

stop being a smart ass

Both of you need to "stop being smart <deleted>" IMHO

Your just lucky your a 'SUPER' moderator

[Jai Dee]

who knows, maybe the music wasnt even loud, maybe you were complaining about nothing.

If i was playing music and someone told me to keep it down and i thought it werent load i would tell you to get lost.

But im young and arrogant, nothing to do with IQ

and stupid.

stop being a smart ass

Both of you need to "stop being smart <deleted>" IMHO

Your just lucky your a 'SUPER' moderator

Careful Donz... your self-admitted youth and arrogance may contribute to your demise...

Back on topic please folks.

[PREM-R]

This 'ignorance' is not confined to music, have you ever been in a check-out queue at a mini-mart or 7-11 store and had some "I'm better than you" Thai walk straight up to the counter and push the item he/or she wishes to buy into the hand of the cashier ( they never speak, just offer the money for payment). This behavior is not bounded by age or sex, they all are capable of it.

I have also found a problem when alighting from a bus, as you make your way down the steps you will often be faced with a 'torrent' of Thais trying to force their way past you to get on. At first I would often 'yield' but now I just stand my ground (I am around 6 feet tall and 15 stones) they can't budge me and so they have to 'retreat'.

I have had many discusions with 'farrangs' about this phenomena, most consider the Thais to be the rudest people they have come accross, others say that it is a 'culture thing' and that Thailand is a hiarachical (is that a word?) society and if sombody thinks they are 'higher' than others then they show it by being 'ignorant' to those around them. If you notice when in a restaurant, the Thais never have any interaction with the staff serving, and even when paying the bill they will hand over the money and turn away, without speaking, again showing their superiority of a mere 'serving wench'.

I am sure some on TV will disagree vehamently with this but I am merely reporting what I have seen and what I have discussed with other farangs.

[a2396]

This is not unique to Thailand. I had plenty of cases like this in good old USA. I had one neighbor with a pit bull and a rottweiler that they let bark not-stop until 3 or 4 am, when they finall arrived home from a night of partying and probable drug dealing. Calling the police and animal control had limited effect. I am also sure that my complaints resulted in screw nails finding thier way into my cars tires on several occasions. Luckily, the idiots moved (actually were evicted) after a few months. Fortunately, this situation did not escalate into "shots fired" as is sometimes the case.

[Chopper]

I also found the best solution is to join'em for a beer. Might even get lucky and they'll turn the vol down to please their new friend...

Great answer. If you can't beat them, metaphorically speaking of course amble over and join the party. If you can't beat them join them...

[Neeranam]

""""""""I have also found a problem when alighting from a bus, as you make your way down the steps you will often be faced with a 'torrent' of Thais trying to force their way past you to get on. At first I would often 'yield' but now I just stand my ground (I am around 6 feet tall and 15 stones) they can't budge me and so they have to 'retreat'."""""""""""

I used to do that when coming off a bus - just stand there and wait til they backed off. I started hearing "who the <deleted> does that farang think he is?". Then I realised I was being a <deleted>.

You will never change the Thai society, accept it and try to change yourself.

All those Hi-So Thais thinking they are better than ME by rushing onto the green 97 bus.

[astral]

Not necessarily ignorance.

All bass and treble, with no mid range is the way they like their music.

I asked my neighbour to turn his set down, and he obliged by reducing the bass,

which was all I needed.