Thai Govt Wants Youtube Sex Spoof Removed

[brianP]

Man, i am so lucky to bail from the USA. in my youth, humor was fresh and well, funny and the creeks weren't cemented and had fish in them too. Not so many wanna be ganstas and even the beaches were clean. As for television and movies, why are the 1950-1970s reruns so popular now and the sitcoms are still going around the world, was it the end of the true golden age of entertainment?, now shock and stupidity are the average crap and soooo boring too!

They should do comedies on the little Mexican girls being pimped all over in America, or the immigrant newbies who are sucking the welfare dry and can't speak any English?

[Loptr]

The government plans to ask YouTube to remove a video clip mocking the sex industry in Thailand.

If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck. Oh never mind, you get the picture.

[crazydrummerpauly]

Far from wanting this particular cultural item removed or apologised for - lets have MORE Los-relevant satire please !

Update.

27 Thai GOGO dancers that where Bar Fined, burn the Old Glory in protest, over SNL skit.

Wow - any link for that ?

[lungmi]

The oldest organised business of mankind is

1: Prostitution

2: Secret Service (spies, DSI etc.)

3: Drugs

Why?

For 1 and 3 I have an answer.

1: where are punters you have prostitution.

3. where you have consumers of drugs you have drug business.

Bertolt Brecht: Prostitutes sell their body for punters . Different reasons:

1. My pimp makes pression to do it.

2. I want to survive in my daily live.

3. I have family in Eesarn. I want that my family (son, daughter) doesn't have to do what I do.

4. I want to meet a good customer to take me out of my jail.

You can add other reasons. My ranking is open.

Never speak bad about Thai prostution. It's human tradition.

But check out yourself:

1. Your are punter

2. You are pimp

[Terry Newman]

I hope that Youtube put it on their home page so it becomes a featured video, will be great for tourism.

[crazydrummerpauly]

They are offended, these Thais. They make a living off the backs of the girls for 70 years, they become the house of ill repute of the world, it is never discussed in Thai society as if it doesn't exist, the money circulates by magic, and then they expect that everyone , including comedy parody shows should respect the "silent" "unspoken" sex tourism trade that everyone knows about. Thais can expect to see and hear more of this. Thai look ridiculous stating that they are going to ask the embassy for help.

"The house of ill repute of the world" - now that is a great phrase. And as it is all actually about FACE, you have hit it right on the head by using the word Repute. Face / reputation - always of much more concern than any plain old facts.

[Loptr]

And the very next article in this mornings email notices from ThaiVisa is this little tidbit. You can't make this stuff up.

[starkey_rich]

I wonder why the upstanding person of pure virtue didn't ban this you tube video?

Probably owns half the bars in Pattaya and is not earning anything from that video.

[a99az]

I came here for the high quality schooling for my kids, cheap pop, clean air, the good up standing boys in brown, and the fare and honest and incorruptible way Thai people do the day to day business.

[MILT]

Firstly I've watched it and found it very funny. I've never had any contact with sex workers so I have no experience of it. It seems to also poke fun at foreigners (Americans in this case but it applies to all) who have such shallow views and have to pay for sex so maybe they should complain as well.

Prostitution is illegal in Thailand so the only reason there is anything to make fun of is because Thai authorities fail to enforce their own laws. Why don't they enforce the law? Well I can only guess based on what I've heard as I'm not close enough to know but maybe someone else can correct me if I'm wrong. There are influential people who make money out of the sex workers. That might be the police, politicians and others of high standing. Thailand seems to have this reputation as an easy place to buy sex which presumably is why some come here. If that number is substantial then the lack of enforcement helps bring in those tourists which the kingdom would lose and have to replace. Does Thailand want and can it afford to lose them or not?

Making a fuss about this isn't going to help when Thailand is so hypocritical as it seems to be about many things. This isn't about Thai culture as this was done in the USA. Thais can complain if they wish as that's the idea behind free speech but they can't force their views on people in other countries. Remember I only found out about this because Thai officials decided to complain. If you can't stop it just let it go and don't worry about it. I think that's some sort of Buddhist teaching isn't it? Odd that Thais are Buddhist but forget this when it suits them, as is often the case from what I've seen.

Why I love this country

[tominbkk]

Why don't they enforce the law? Well I can only guess based on what I've heard as I'm not close enough to know but maybe someone else can correct me if I'm wrong. There are influential people who make money out of the sex workers. That might be the police, politicians and others of high standing.

Bingo. It's a trickle up pyramid scheme that benefits many hungry corrupt pockets!

[tominbkk]

]Well, well, well I finally found someone else living in thailand other than me that has never had contact with a sex worker . We are few and far between my friend.

Morally I have nothing against them - do as ye shall, hurt nobody, and have fun. Personally though, the thought of poking one of those skags freaks me out a bit.

Edited February 4, 2013 by tominbkk

[Westaurel]

Don't bite the hand that feeds you !

What do they expect ? They can easily get "dirty" money from Farangs but Farangs couldn't make fun about it !!

Everybody in Europe, who don't know well about Thailand know Thailand is the sex industry, the bloody protestations of 2010 and the catastrophical tsunami of 2004 ! And that people are so kind there...

Edited February 4, 2013 by Westaurel

[mikemellow]

Wow that skit was nothing (it was a little hard to see though as the Thai Government has already banned it from most sites)...just a couple of small laughs but I think if SNL hears about the Thai's outrage they could really start to dig in and do some major Thai jokes. Its hard to understand why Thai people can not laugh at all about themselves.

[lineofentry]

From what I have seen, mainstream American humour is stone age and still has to be telegraphed in advance otherwise it would go right over their heads.

[Markaew]

This is a weak and futile effort for the Thai government to display morals to the world where none exist. Same, same.

[Payboy]

I came here for the high quality schooling for my kids, cheap pop, clean air, the good up standing boys in brown, and the fare and honest and incorruptible way Thai people do the day to day business.

You had me at "high".

[starkey_rich]

Another classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAWtS9wguak

[jaideeguy]

CTRL + Q to Enable/Disable GoPhoto.it

The same reaction as the Muslim video a few months ago. I wouldn't have bothered watching it until the Thai govmt brought it to my attention. It's a sad culture or population that can't laugh at it's self. It's not that serious guys.....just a SNL joke!!

[Dazzletoad]

Yeah, wanting to violate the freedom of expression.

It isn't an advertisement for rape, sex with children, selling sex, or anything like that. It is parodying a very real phenomenon in Thailand and anyone who is here, or reads this forum will know that it is very accurate.

All I see everyday in Thailand is:

Farang arrested, underage sex, illegal sex, dead during sex, rape, assault, drugs, women, Pattaya, gangsters, shootings, knifings, muder etc etc.......

[robsamui]

Yeah, right.

In Thailand it's all about appearances and not ever about what things are really like.

What's the betting that these ministers and government spokesmen have over and over again used the local prostitutes?

But gotta keep a straight and serious face. Face is everything over here.

It's not hypocritical. It's just keeping face.

Love this place!

R

[bobl]

That was pretty funny. My thanks to the Minister of Culture for bringing it to my attention, 99.9% sure I wouldn't have heard of or seen it otherwise. Love the irony.

Someone REALLY needs to explain the Streisand effect to these people.

[toenail]

First, SNL offends all kinds of politicians in the USA. (Most Americans can handle it); As for the "stereotype" of Thailand, as a farang living here I get tired of the "label". I found Hangover 2 movie a bit overdone with the stereotypes of Thailand; yet, many Thais think Chicago is full of gangsters and that cowboys are still in the Wild West. Hollywood has a way of painting everything one color. BUT!!! I feel that the government should go deeper and take action to remove these kinds of "occupations" that exist in Thailand. If they offered an up to date education in Northern and North East Thailand offering real skills and being concerned about children dropping out at age 14, then maybe the young adults wouldn't have to turn to prostitution. There is prostitution in all countries, but Thailand has more than the norm and this is because of the GOVERNMENT neglecting its responsiblity to educated its youth for a skill.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lineofentry]

Everyone pays for sex one way or another, it's the honesty of prostitution that some people fake their indignation over. Thailands bar girls have a higher moral status than lawyers, accountants, bankers, politicians and umpteen other 'professions' in my book. If their work was genuinely acknowledged and appreciated by the self appointed 'guardians of moral standards' it would be a breath of fresh air.

[samjaidee]

Don't you just hate it when reality rears its ugly head from time-to-time?

BANGKOK (Reuters, AP) - Thailand yesterday banned a dictionary published by the British company Longman after it provoked government and public protests by describing Bangkok as a city known for its prostitutes.

A police special branch officer told reporters that Longman's Dictionary of English Language and Culture was banned as its Bangkok entry eroded the good moral standards of Thais. He said copies of the dictionary would be removed from bookstores.

It described Bangkok as a city known for its Buddhist temples and as 'a place where there are a lot of prostitutes'.

The Thai Foreign Ministry has demanded that Longman delete the offending reference, and said yesterday the company had apologised for offending the country and its people.

Della Summers from Longman said that her company 'understands the concern expressed by the Thai government in connection with the (Bangkok) entry'. She said the edition aimed 'to set words in their cultural context, and the connotations attached to the word Bangkok and commonly understood by native-speakers of English are drawn from books and magazines in our wordbank'.

Although the statement fell short of promising that Longman would delete the offending reference, it said the company would revise the dictionary at least once a year.

Abhisit Vejajjiva, a government spokesman, said defining Bangkok by its prostitution problem was like defining London by soccer hooliganism and Irish Republican Army attacks.

'We do not deny the existence of the problem. But we do not believe it should be used as the definition of this city,' Mr Abhisit said.

But others want Thailand to attack the problem, not the dictionary. 'The government should take action instead of just being ashamed of the international image of the country,' said Chantawipa Apisuk, head of a prostitutes' rights group.

Officials say there are some 80,000 prostitutes in the country, but unofficial counts are far higher. Twenty per cent of the prostitutes are thought to be under 18.

Ms Chantawipa said some unemployed young women are lured from villages with offers of secretarial jobs in Bangkok. Others are sold to brothels by impoverished parents. Many end up in bars, entertaining the tens of thousands of foreign tourists who visit every year.

Source: http://www.independe...ur-1483226.html

thought to be 80,000 hookers in the country? <deleted> there is more than that on Sukhumvit alone... ( allegedly )

The article quoted from the Independent is from 1993. 20 years is a long time.

[Thai at Heart]

I think we can expect a suitably tongue in cheek apology.

Might tune into the next episode.

[Thaifever]

An internet user posted in Thai, "The Americans behave like this and this is why they're bombing their country."

He's referring to 911? On these grounds America, Thailands got you beat. The thai's might throw a grenade or two onto subway platforms etc, but they didn't blow up their own financial district.

[Jingthing]

SNL won't waste one second of airtime on any kind of response. They might send a BS PR letter from a lawyer. If that. It's remotely possible but still unlikely that the hilariously silly Thai reaction might be mentioned on another topical comedy show, like Daily Show or Real Time.

[Amras]

Agreed, as said it's about face, reputation and embarrassment about reality. As said from my girlfriend who also didn't find it funny.

Thai's can't laugh at themselves, admit they are wrong (publicly)or do anything which makes others think negative of them.

We westerners have learnt that you need to 'take the piss' out of yourselves so that you don't ever face the need for embarrassment (our coping mechanism).

We make a joke about it so that we don't look stupid or at least just make it look funny, Thai's just avoid it all together. Not a great way as it avoids the issue all together, but it's been like that for a long time. They need to chill out a bit.

They are ingrained to be overly proud about their country and I don't think it's that they are offended about the material, rather severely embarrassed that it's the truth.

They can't handle the truth and nothing we can say will change that. We can't tell them to chill out, don't worry about it, take the piss (as if they would ever understand that) or anything.

They are stuck with bad slap stick humour, bad, but maybe no worse than western 'humour' just different.

The governments the stupid ones in this, for bringing some small video to the light of millions.

Or they did it to just create more controversy and ingrain that Thai's vs Westerners (Us vs Them) mentality that Thai's can't seem to let go of. I think this wouldn't be fare fetched as we all know deep down they all have this inside.

[Thai at Heart]

SNL won't waste one second of airtime on any kind of response. They might send a BS PR letter from a lawyer. If that. It's remotely possible but still unlikely that the hilariously silly Thai reaction might be mentioned on another topical comedy show, like Daily Show or Real Time.

They should invite thaksin as a guest prime minister and send up the Thai political system. His pr team wouldn't be able to resist.

the netizens all might just implode.