Dutchman Beaten By Thai Teens For No Apparent Reason

[katana]

There is more to this story , I dont believe teenagers just start beating a foreigner without a reason.

He must have done something wrong in the past....

yes I have doubts on the "no reason". But who knows.....

According to the Daily News article referenced in the Coconutsbangkok story, he was staying at the Manhattan Hotel and had been there for three days. On the evening of the assault he'd been to visit some entertainment venues at the end of Soi Manhattan and he was assaulted on walking back to his hotel by the teens who pulled up on their bikes.

So it looks like the cause of the attack could be something that happened at the entertainment venues he visited.

Trying to pick up on one of their girlfriends?

Yeah, I was thinking something possibly along those lines.

[rubl]

According to the Daily News article referenced in the Coconutsbangkok story, he was staying at the Manhattan Hotel and had been there for three days. On the evening of the assault he'd been to visit some entertainment venues at the end of Soi Manhattan and he was assaulted on walking back to his hotel by the teens who pulled up on their bikes.

So it looks like the cause of the attack could be something that happened at the entertainment venues he visited.

Trying to pick up on one of their girlfriends?

Yeah, I was thinking something possibly along those lines.

Like in some 'working' girls have Thai boyfriends who every once in a while might get jealous seeing their source of income having fun with a foreigner?

[rubl]

In the absence of any verified facts in respect to the motive, I shall weigh in with my own theory;

The assault was motivated by size envy. Everyone wants to be tall like the Dutch. For those that are short, particularly insecure adolescents, the envy can result in uncontrollable outbursts. These Dutch people can reach for items on the supermarket shelf with no problem, change lightbulbs easily, see above the crowds and can successfully look down girls blouses unnoticed allowing them to view boobies. Adolescent boys are obsessed with boobies. Knowing that some hansum tall Dutchman can get a free peak drives Thai teens batty.

I call this theory, Resentment of The Tall Dutch Syndrome and will submit it to the Journal of Pseudoscience next month.

I believe my theory has more validity than the nonsensical explanations offered thus far.

Damn !!!!! I am two meters tall, so according to your interesting theory, I face future years of being lumped with the Dutch and will be subject to random attacks?????? :-)

I would have thought that as American you'd already get used to that. No offence, but many seem to think American Bashing is like good fun

PS I'm older generation, only 1.79m and shrinking. All three younger brothers taller though. Might be because they're from past the last items on ration coupons. Life ain't fair

Edited March 18, 2013 by rubl

[tardelli]

He might make some goof definitely.

actually Dutch people are most tactkless & out of turn ( worse than Brits ))

Thai guys never attact without reason.

In your opinion.

certainly. i live in bettween Thai people since 25 years.. and i know also very well dutch and uk mentality and behavior too )

[wackysleet]

He might make some goof definitely.

actually Dutch people are most tactkless & out of turn ( worse than Brits ))

Thai guys never attact without reason.

In your opinion.

certainly. i live in bettween Thai people since 25 years.. and i know also very well dutch and uk mentality and behavior too )

You say that you have lived among thais for 25 yrs and your also an expert on the character of the Dutch and the Brits but your statement about Thais never attacking without reason shows how little you really know about thai youth.

[rubl]

He might make some goof definitely.

actually Dutch people are most tactkless & out of turn ( worse than Brits ))

Thai guys never attact without reason.

In your opinion.

certainly. i live in bettween Thai people since 25 years.. and i know also very well dutch and uk mentality and behavior too )

Having lived in Thailand (and actually Bangkok only) for merely 19 years, I of course bow to your superior knowledge

EDIT: only correcting my Dutch English

Edited March 18, 2013 by rubl

[Patron]

Reading this story makes me feel Thais are really behind the times.

This has been going on in the states for a few years now.

Gangs of inner-city thugs beating up people of different race's.

Just for the fun of it.

This went on in my hometown for about 2 months until one guy

was hurt really bad.Then came the police crackdown.

The thugs put these beatings on you-tube,they were so proud.

Just google...flash mob attacks...

[rubl]

Reading this story makes me feel Thais are really behind the times.

This has been going on in the states for a few years now.

Gangs of inner-city thugs beating up people of different race's.

Just for the fun of it.

This went on in my hometown for about 2 months until one guy

was hurt really bad.Then came the police crackdown.

The thugs put these beatings on you-tube,they were so proud.

Just google...flash mob attacks...

Reminds me of the Larry Niven SF short story called Flash Crowd. It describes the negative effects of instant displacement booths and an eager reporter network on situations which would excalate only by attention and people coming to look, participate or just use the opportunity to do harm

Edited March 18, 2013 by rubl

[xenophon]

Pathumtani is usually quiet I have been living here for 20 years .... Thai teens dont fight without reason , either he did or said something wrong as apparently he was intoxicated. sometime those teen group don't need much to start a fight.

With no investigation supplied, this seems very odd. The only problem I have ever had has been with ladyboys trying to steal my phone and northern englishmen, with indecipherable accents (that's how I knew where they came from), looking for someone to fight. Crossing the road avoided that.

Probably more to this story

[rubl]

Pathumtani is usually quiet I have been living here for 20 years .... Thai teens dont fight without reason , either he did or said something wrong as apparently he was intoxicated. sometime those teen group don't need much to start a fight.

With no investigation supplied, this seems very odd. The only problem I have ever had has been with ladyboys trying to steal my phone and northern englishmen, with indecipherable accents (that's how I knew where they came from), looking for someone to fight. Crossing the road avoided that.

Probably more to this story

I once told a Liverpudlean to start learn English, but I also bought him a beer while saying so

[cornishcarlos]

When I was on my 3rd tour of Nam, I was attacked by 17 youths. Lucky I have a 6 Dan in Junkendo, that showed them..

Just kidding, never been to Nam and won my last fight by 300 yards.

Guess this guy should have worn his Nikes !!

[GentlemanJim]

had a good friend of mine who served two tours in Vietnam. He told me if you are up against one guy, just stick to Queensberry rules for fighting.

If six guys are coming at you, you are now in a fight for your life. So act accordingly. Hint.....no rules,where teeth make a great weapon, and an eye gouge takes the fight right out of a attacker..

I knew a guy who was a fair expert in Krav Maga the Israeli martial art/street fighting technique and he said teeth were a primary weapon. If up close and being attacked/pinned down he said that a savage biting to the neck area/jugular would kill an attacker! Got to admit that the guy in the photo seems of the physique where he could take care of himself, but if drunk, then no chance. Who was the witness that said he was attacked for no reason? The man himself?

[Loptr]

Pathumtani is usually quiet I have been living here for 20 years .... Thai teens dont fight without reason , either he did or said something wrong as apparently he was intoxicated. sometime those teen group don't need much to start a fight.

"Thai teens don't fight without a reason, but they don't need to be much of a reason to fight?" Oh the irony. Did you actually read your post before clicking on submit?

How about a group of drunk or drugged up teens out looking for trouble and found a single farang appearing to be an easy target. Seems reason enough to me unless you have a better explanation.

Perhaps you don't realize it, but the line in bold above has more truth in it than you obviously could imagine.

And my point of contention is that Lauren is wrong. Spoken by someone that was attacked by a Thai male for no earthly reason whatsoever. So you believe your logic and I will believe my anecdotal experience. Ok?

So much speculation, so few facts. Business as usual on TV.

[rametindallas]

On the video I watched, the Dutchman was steady on his feet and his speaking was not slurred. The part of the reporting saying he was intoxicated seems 'off' to me. He is not any taller than the Thai EMT or interpreter. It takes very little to insult a Thai, IMO, but almost every Thai I have met is forgiving of the Farang because the Farang is ignorant of Thai customs. On the other hand, it the Thai is: teenaged, on drugs/alcohol, in a group, etc., anything is possible. Gasoline waiting for a spark. In a city of 12 million people, every combination of Human behavior is possible. Sadly for the Dutchman, he was in the wrong place(s) at the wrong time(s). I don't believe Thai teen gangs attack Farang more often than they attack other Thais (I have no proof/statistics); I believe they dispense violence whenever or wherever they feel like or think they can get away with it. I hope they grow out of it. In the meantime, since I am old/out of shape and crazy people can pop up in unexpected places, I carry a substantial knife and hope I am never in a situation where I need it.

[nzvic]

I walk Auckland NZ streets, as is my right after paying over half-a-century tax here, where I've been abused daily or "knocked about so as to be covered in bruises". I'm told not to walk around so much LOL! So I think the reaction to this incident is out of all proportion in a population of about 67 milln. In my case, it's seldom youngsters but thugs or "sick in the head" malcontents of all ages: but the popln is just 4.4 milln. Guess it's what comes of so many generous taxpayer handouts for people to do nothing so they have to fill in their time somehow.

However, this time back from Bangkok a whole month and only abused twice - amazing; it's the good weather! But there are some very nice kiwis too.

It's heartening to note that some people are rational/decent enough to see an incident in context like poster quoted below and prepared to say so.

"I live in Thailand, speak and understand Thai fluently, interact with a number of Thais on a daily basis..... From office workers, stall owners, big businesses, govt officials, cleaners, guards,

And in my experience no one has shown a dislike let alone expressed hatred for farangs. The most I've heard is some of the women may not be keen to date farangs......for different reasons.

I hear comments about not liking Indians more than anything. Years ago maybe some disrespect to Burmese, but more recently even that seems to have died down. Anyway, that's getting a bit sidetracked.

Point is, stop assuming there is a hate campaign against farang, cos there isn't.

As others have said, a group of teen's. Some of them do stupid, senseless, and cruel things.

I personally know a Thai teen who was attacked by more than 10 other teens, simply cos their shoulder touched (lightly) when their paths crossed. The incident shocked me, and to this day I still struggle to come to terms with it.....as is the case with any violence.

Not saying any of it is right, but I give you the example to clarify that it is not simply about a race/ethnic / nationality divide."

Edited March 18, 2013 by nzvic

[FritsSikkink]

He might make some goof definitely.

actually Dutch people are most tactkless & out of turn ( worse than Brits ))

Thai guys never attact without reason.

In your opinion.

certainly. i live in bettween Thai people since 25 years.. and i know also very well dutch and uk mentality and behavior too )

So the people from England,Wales and Schotland have the same mentality?

[Ron19]

Pathumtani is usually quiet I have been living here for 20 years .... Thai teens dont fight without reason , either he did or said something wrong as apparently he was intoxicated. sometime those teen group don't need much to start a fight.

Have walked through this area many times ( allthough not at night ) and have never had a problem with the locals in fact have found them very friendly.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Ron19

[noitom]

They probably thought it was a fair fight.... 6 against 1.

They do gang fight. They never go alone. "For no apparent reason," a laughable quote. A drunk is a great target - even more defenseless. Right up their alley.All the more obvious the reason - he couldn't fight back.

[boisian]

Sounds like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, not much of a beating looking at the pic, my wife beats me worse than that, 6 teens on one guy, lucky no knives involved. The injuries could of been alot more severe.

Thai Wife...? lucky no knives involved

[SteeleJoe]

There has been an anti farang movement in Thailand for eons.

If farang didn't have money they wouldn't be welcome at all....

Wow. In a thread with a plethora of really dumb comments, that one stands out as one of the dumbest.

Classic.

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[Locationthailand]

Thug/pack mentality. By and large Thai's do not fight alone - but I can also say my Thai brother in law was set upon by a pack on bikes, took a few hits before he was able to explain he was not who they were looking for. He did not get a 'khortort' but they did leave. This happens regularly in Nonthaburi. It also happened for no reason to a friend who was walking in Pattaya. A Thai guy approached him for money and when he refused, ended up with about five guys in Muay Thai kicks to the head etc. He is a big guy and just smiled, remembered their faces and where they worked (bouncers at a Walking Street Bar, and exacted his own justice two days later one by one. This story has not unfolded as yet and this guy looks like he could handle himself. But I doubt this will come to light. Moving along, happens in cities globally daily in every country.

[SteeleJoe]

They probably thought it was a fair fight.... 6 against 1.

All this talk about bored teenagers and gangs attacking an individual seems to be projecting western thinking on Thais. European football hooligans traveling about causing pointless mayhem and the senseless gang mentality of the sort described is more a British or American phenomenon.

Beginning in at least the 1960s, the UK had a reputation worldwide for football hooliganism; the phenomenon was often dubbed the English Disease. However, since the 1980s and well into the 1990s the UK government has led a widescale crackdown on football related violence. ...reports of British football hooliganism still surface, the instances now tend to occur at pre-arranged locations rather than at the matches themselves.

A man had his face smashed in by a racist gang after he confronted them for throwing snowballs.

The 33-year-old man had been out walking with his wife when the youths aimed snowballs at the couple.

He asked them to stop, said police, but they started racially abusing him before repeatedly battering the man.

The man is in hospital with broken bones in his face following the attack around 2.30pm today.

Kent Police said he had been walking with his wife, 33, in Sheepfold Lane, Park Farm, Ashford, when the unprovoked attack happened.

He is awaiting facial surgery and police have today appealed for witnesses.

Four teenage boys aged between 16 and 17 have been arrested.

The victim's wife was also injured in the attack, but has since been discharged from hospital.

A deaf man in North Carolina, communicating to a friend via sign language, was stabbed multiple times after he was mistaken for flashing gang signs, police said.

Terrance Ervin Daniels, 45, was brutally attacked "in the upper body" with a kitchen knife on Jan. 9 in Burlington, N.C., while he and another deaf friend were signing to each other while walking down the street.

Another classic!

One of the finest examples I've seen of the type. One brief unsupported and unsupportable sentence dismissing - in contradiction with logic and fact - the possibility of bored Thai teens and/or gangs attacking an individual and then a whole load of C&P showing it's OTHER places/people who are bad.

And not to forget the claim of (evil) "western thinking".

Brilliant parody...oh, wait - it was serious...

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Edited March 19, 2013 by SteeleJoe

[Joe Mamma]

The Farang broke a golden rule of being drunk and alone. Safety in #'s, but at least one person has to keep sober. It's how i survived many a Mexico weekend.

I find that in a group attack, you must inflict hurt on the most aggressive threat, that one group attacker who is most enthusiastic.

[SteeleJoe]

@lavender

Spent about 25 years of the last last 31 in Thailand.

Been speaking Thai fluently and working, living with and socializing with Thais for decades.

Not only does my experience contradict this idea that Thais hate foreigners (and that one would know this by listening to Thais speak), but I don't know a single foreigner who speaks Thai well that would agree with this.

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Edited March 19, 2013 by SteeleJoe

[JO1973]

Although people usually don't get attacked for no reason, one only need to view this website regularly to see people -- Thai and foreign -- assualted for little to no reason. But what is also seen is that people -- again, Thai and foreign -- are quick to blame the victim, with the all too often comment that violence and losing one's cool aren't part of Thai culture, 'Thais aren't like that', or something equally unobservant.

This is a developing country. Developing countries have a lot of poverty and low education. These two factors often contribute to violence. And in a big city with millions of people living in high density areas, this violence can take a lot of different forms. Comments like 'I've been here for years and never seen such things', mean nothing when you consider the size of the city and all of the different people living in it.

If this happened in the countryside I would assume there was something more to it. But in a big city with a lot of teenagers having free reign to do what they want, coupled with the fact that foreigners (Western or otherwise) are often blamed for the ills of society and the reluctance by many to speak out against violence committed against them, there is a good chance this was an unprovoked attack.

But this raises another issue of why the term 'hate crime' is never used.

[Pimay1]

@lavender

Spent about 25 years of the last last 31 in Thailand.

Been speaking Thai fluently and working, living with and socializing with Thais for decades.

Not only does my experience contradict this idea that Thais hate foreigners (and that one would know this by listening to Thais speak), but I don't know a single foreigner who speaks Thai well that would agree with this.

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Well I haven't been here quite that long and don't speak Thai fluently but do speak pretty decent Thai. I have to agree with you on this opinion. I have always found where ever I am if I treat people with respect I'll be treated in kind 99% of the time.

[ALFREDO]

I seem to recall another story where Thai teens attacked a farang with machetes. When interviewed by the police, they said they were simply out to attack a farang, so apparently in that case the farang was not a fault.

When we mean the same story, than that was a very sad and bad story!

The Falang was a strong bigger guy but helpless against Machetes. He got so bad cuts in his arms, that they first thought of amputating at least one arm.

Some "misunderstanding"? and wrong advice from his health insurer in his home country, was also a reason he died, weakened in a Mini bus to get his Passport to fly back home!

His Thai GF was pregnant at that time with his Baby, was left with it, to take care alone!

Edited March 19, 2013 by ALFREDO

[ALFREDO]

God.. he probably did nothing wrong and some kids attacked him..you guys are nasty sometimes

Sometimes?

[EyesWideOpen]

The Farang broke a golden rule of being drunk and alone. Safety in #'s, but at least one person has to keep sober. It's how i survived many a Mexico weekend.

I find that in a group attack, you must inflict hurt on the most aggressive threat, that one group attacker who is most enthusiastic.

Exactly correct.... I am not going to count upon the good hearted guys putting the boot to me on the ground to stop when I become unconscious...

I was attacked by three pit bulls while cycling in the country side in America. The only thing that saved my life was that I was able to put my back against a raised shoulder of the road I was on, and use my bicycle as a shield in front of me. So the same holds true here. If attacked by a pack of Thai guys, put your back against a wall first or you will have no chance...

Then put a instant serious hurt on the closest guy to you, and let the other 5 guys think it over.. Or.....just let them work you over and hope for the best. Your choice.

[balo]

There is more to this story , I dont believe teenagers just start beating a foreigner without a reason.

He must have done something wrong in the past....

"I dont believe teenagers just start beating a foreigner without a reason" - well it depends what you mean by 'a reason' doesn't it ? Random aggression, theft, or a score to settle have resulted in Farangs have been beaten, robbed, chased, half-killed, about 20 times to my knowledge in the space of 3 years in the small city in Isaan where i live. Attacks on long-term farangs are way more common than any official figures indicate - i am absolutely sure of that from local, personal knowledge. And yes, sometimes it is virtually 'without a reason'. One small anecdote : i was walking along a riverside promenade with my lady one evening, and a young Thai nearly crashed into us by riding a m'cycle too close at about 30 kph - also narrowly missing all the toddlers, parents and grannies who take the air every evening. I shouted OI ! in my best sarf lonun tone, and the Thai teen screeched to a halt and started posing up with all the signs he wanted a ruck. We carried on walking and he started his bike and joined a small gang of his mates at the middle of the promenade where there are some shops. We tried to ignore him but as we leaned on the railings looking at the river, he kept squaring up to us and doing a strange walking back and forth dance of aggression. I wouldn't have minded a one-on-one given the mood i was in, but of course if we'd made even the slightest move towards him, we'd have had the whole posse to deal with...so we took the more diplomatic option and walked into the shops and out the other side onto a main road. My lady was on edge for an hour afterwards. When i asked her why he reacted so badly to just being yelled at, she of course said : 'Loss of face'. Guess what ? My first thought - he deserves to lose some of it... So i'm afraid you don't know much about living in Thailand if you really believe that Thai teens wouldn't beat foreigners "for no reason" - depending of course on whether you mean a "justified reason", or some 'reason' created in their demented brains.

Yes I agree , in almost all cases like this there is a reason. But it could be just one word and a 'Loss of face' , its enough to start a big fight .

Someone compared thai teens with soi dogs, I agree, some thai teens behave in the same way .

Just try to ignore them and walk away , dont say a word and you will most probably survive....