Why are TV members so anti Hi-So Thais?

[jocko]

It always amazes me through the various TV topics that most members appear to be critical of Hi-So Thais. I don't understand this? This is their Country and most of them or the ancestors have contributed some way into making Thailand the strong Asian economy that it is.

I realise that a great deal of these Hi-So Thais have Chinese heritage and judging by my business dealings with suppliers, control the majority of businesses here in Thailand. However without this contribution I doubt that Thailand would be in its current position and probably still an agricultural based economy. I agree that foreign investment has been a major contributing factor but without the Hi-So Thai "component" it would not have happened. The low unemployment and growing middle class, also would not have happened.

The culture here is too flaunt your wealth which can be a little "annoying" to a lot of westerners but this is not a Western Country and even the poorest Thais look at this exhibition of wealth and aspire to achieve the same thing isn't this a good thing for a country?

Happy to take comments and rebuttals on this but thought I would just express an opinion.

Most of the foreigners on this forum would be considered Lo So in their own country.

Here in Thailand these foreigners get a feeling of superiority because their meager revenues (by western standard) allow them to consider themselves part of a "Higher" So, but only in their own little environment.

Funnily, these foreigners even side with the Thai "Elites" in politics, while they would vote for the exact opposite side in their own country.

Most foreigners on this forum don't like the Thai Hi So because it reminds them of who they really are and what position they really have in society in general.

And, of course, the fact that the members of the Thai Hi So look down at them (If they happen to look) reinforce that feeling.

It's just a question of jealousy. I don't think members of this forum don't like the Thai Hi So, ... They simply don't like any HI So.

However, there are lovely people in every level of the Thai society... Including many people in the Thai Hi So. But how would the vast majority of the members of this forum know that whey are stuck in there own little world...

I'm lucky I can pass for Hi So or Lo-So at least I think so.

[Bcgardener]

Have to agree with that last post.. Well phrased

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[gerry1011]

I think a lot of the people responding don't fully understand the difference between the Thais that have been serving the country and the Monarchy for generations who live a low key life style in homes that are not huge gaudy monstrosities, but in regular homes around 250 SQM with regular cars in the driveway. They don't flaunt their position, and definitely don't talk about what they do to serve. Then you have the Govt officials, corrupt politicians and businessmen ( who are successful here, but their business practices wouldn't be tolerated anywhere else) , bragging and flaunting their wealth and connections. The first are in my opinion the real Hi-So's but would never admit it. The second are a bunch of uneducated ( even though they posses Phd's not earned) braggarts that think it's fine to stomp on anyone lower than them. These are the ones that bring the country down, and to be called hi-so is the only a figment of their underdeveloped immagination. My opinion only!

Yes... Your opinion only.

The way you see the "real" Thai Hi So is a bit rosy though...

The families that have been "serving" the country and the monarchy for generations are not as low key as you want to think.

All the Hi So families close to the monarchy are also in business and/or politics. All these families have members that are government officials (you are a government official when you work at the royal palace).

Some low key members of these families, who, as you say, may have served the country and the monarchy all their life without self serving interest (this is another debate of course) deserve respect.

Now, if you open any Hi So magazine you will see highly respected figures of the Thai high society regularly attending parties or events. Where do you put these ones? In your "real" Hi So, or in what you describe as the "uneducated braggarts" group?

I do not agree at all with your over simplistic opinion of all the other ones that are part of the Thai Hi So. And of course not with the (Lo So) vocabulary you use to describe them.

Your rosy vision of the "real" Hi So is far from the reality, as much as your way to describe all the other ones who, according to you, only harm the country.

But you certainly never met any of them anyway. So, how could you have a more balanced opinion...

[jbrain]

It always amazes me through the various TV topics that most members appear to be critical of Hi-So Thais. I don't understand this? This is their Country and most of them or the ancestors have contributed some way into making Thailand the strong Asian economy that it is.

I realise that a great deal of these Hi-So Thais have Chinese heritage and judging by my business dealings with suppliers, control the majority of businesses here in Thailand. However without this contribution I doubt that Thailand would be in its current position and probably still an agricultural based economy. I agree that foreign investment has been a major contributing factor but without the Hi-So Thai "component" it would not have happened. The low unemployment and growing middle class, also would not have happened.

The culture here is too flaunt your wealth which can be a little "annoying" to a lot of westerners but this is not a Western Country and even the poorest Thais look at this exhibition of wealth and aspire to achieve the same thing isn't this a good thing for a country?

Happy to take comments and rebuttals on this but thought I would just express an opinion.

Most of the foreigners on this forum would be considered Lo So in their own country.

Here in Thailand these foreigners get a feeling of superiority because their meager revenues (by western standard) allow them to consider themselves part of a "Higher" So, but only in their own little environment.

Funnily, these foreigners even side with the Thai "Elites" in politics, while they would vote for the exact opposite side in their own country.

Most foreigners on this forum don't like the Thai Hi So because it reminds them of who they really are and what position they really have in society in general.

And, of course, the fact that the members of the Thai Hi So look down at them (If they happen to look) reinforce that feeling.

It's just a question of jealousy. I don't think members of this forum don't like the Thai Hi So, ... They simply don't like any HI So.

However, there are lovely people in every level of the Thai society... Including many people in the Thai Hi So. But how would the vast majority of the members of this forum know that whey are stuck in there own little world...

Gerry, I have "followed" you on the Elite thread and now I stumble on your posts in this thread.

I know you are well off, at least if you really are who you pretend to be, but you should do something about your attitude of looking down on the majority of other members.

I suggest the next time you go to the poo house you take a deep, breath, and you will be surprised that it also smells.

[gerry1011]

It always amazes me through the various TV topics that most members appear to be critical of Hi-So Thais. I don't understand this? This is their Country and most of them or the ancestors have contributed some way into making Thailand the strong Asian economy that it is.

I realise that a great deal of these Hi-So Thais have Chinese heritage and judging by my business dealings with suppliers, control the majority of businesses here in Thailand. However without this contribution I doubt that Thailand would be in its current position and probably still an agricultural based economy. I agree that foreign investment has been a major contributing factor but without the Hi-So Thai "component" it would not have happened. The low unemployment and growing middle class, also would not have happened.

The culture here is too flaunt your wealth which can be a little "annoying" to a lot of westerners but this is not a Western Country and even the poorest Thais look at this exhibition of wealth and aspire to achieve the same thing isn't this a good thing for a country?

Happy to take comments and rebuttals on this but thought I would just express an opinion.

Most of the foreigners on this forum would be considered Lo So in their own country.

Here in Thailand these foreigners get a feeling of superiority because their meager revenues (by western standard) allow them to consider themselves part of a "Higher" So, but only in their own little environment.

Funnily, these foreigners even side with the Thai "Elites" in politics, while they would vote for the exact opposite side in their own country.

Most foreigners on this forum don't like the Thai Hi So because it reminds them of who they really are and what position they really have in society in general.

And, of course, the fact that the members of the Thai Hi So look down at them (If they happen to look) reinforce that feeling.

It's just a question of jealousy. I don't think members of this forum don't like the Thai Hi So, ... They simply don't like any HI So.

However, there are lovely people in every level of the Thai society... Including many people in the Thai Hi So. But how would the vast majority of the members of this forum know that whey are stuck in there own little world...

Gerry, I have "followed" you on the Elite thread and now I stumble on your posts in this thread.

I know you are well off, at least if you really are who you pretend to be, but you should do something about your attitude of looking down on the majority of other members.

I suggest the next time you go to the poo house you take a deep, breath, and you will be surprised that it also smells.

Hello jbrain.

You are my friend

I don't remember having pretended to be anyone or anything on this forum. It would be a great mistake to do so, I am aware of that.

Now, jbrain, even if we have developed a kind of nice "relationship" (not the one some might think about), we still have to learn more about each other

I do not look down at anyone when there is no reason. I am quite nice in fact, I think I told you before

However, I find it difficult not to react when reading disrespectful and insulting comments about... well about anyone. This includes comments coming from people looking down at other people that are, compared to them, in fact much higher up...

Many on this forum give themselves the right to not only judge but also write any type of insults about people they never met.

I am not sure how I should look at these people? Should I think highly of them?

Concerning the "toilet thing", you are right

[Thai at Heart]

I doubt anyone posting on Thai Visa has ever met or talked with a hi-so person.

Most posters here seem to be confused by greedy money grubbing peasants.

Most hi-sos wouldn't even talk to a white foreigner.

The idea any obese romance travellers could mix with them is just laughable.

Do you define "hi-so" as old-money only?

I once conducted private English lessons with the CFO of a major financial organization. She was fluent already, but admitted to being xenophobic and wanted to increase her comfort level with young westerners; she said they were very quick witted, and so she didn't feel entirely comfortable engaging them at meetings which were held in English.

Judging by her story, she is self made person, educated exclusively in Thailand. Would she still be considered hi-so?

Hi so is Japanese marketing term that was applied to young successful people, and then came to encompass young rich people.

Here it has become a catch all for anyone with pots of cash. All very naff, and had little in reality to do with the really wealthy powerful of the country.

Steven Gerard or Robbie Williams in the UK could be his,fair enough, but they would never want or claim to be upper class or possessing power.

Edited June 29, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[GrantSmith]

So are you trying to say Thai at Heart that those members of High Society would never stoop to such levels as abbreviating themselves to HiSo, as it cheapens the whole thing?

I'm surprised it wasn't first coined by us Australians, we love to shorten terminology

[jbrain]

It always amazes me through the various TV topics that most members appear to be critical of Hi-So Thais. I don't understand this? This is their Country and most of them or the ancestors have contributed some way into making Thailand the strong Asian economy that it is.

I realise that a great deal of these Hi-So Thais have Chinese heritage and judging by my business dealings with suppliers, control the majority of businesses here in Thailand. However without this contribution I doubt that Thailand would be in its current position and probably still an agricultural based economy. I agree that foreign investment has been a major contributing factor but without the Hi-So Thai "component" it would not have happened. The low unemployment and growing middle class, also would not have happened.

The culture here is too flaunt your wealth which can be a little "annoying" to a lot of westerners but this is not a Western Country and even the poorest Thais look at this exhibition of wealth and aspire to achieve the same thing isn't this a good thing for a country?

Happy to take comments and rebuttals on this but thought I would just express an opinion.

Most of the foreigners on this forum would be considered Lo So in their own country.

Here in Thailand these foreigners get a feeling of superiority because their meager revenues (by western standard) allow them to consider themselves part of a "Higher" So, but only in their own little environment.

Funnily, these foreigners even side with the Thai "Elites" in politics, while they would vote for the exact opposite side in their own country.

Most foreigners on this forum don't like the Thai Hi So because it reminds them of who they really are and what position they really have in society in general.

And, of course, the fact that the members of the Thai Hi So look down at them (If they happen to look) reinforce that feeling.

It's just a question of jealousy. I don't think members of this forum don't like the Thai Hi So, ... They simply don't like any HI So.

However, there are lovely people in every level of the Thai society... Including many people in the Thai Hi So. But how would the vast majority of the members of this forum know that whey are stuck in there own little world...

Gerry, I have "followed" you on the Elite thread and now I stumble on your posts in this thread.

I know you are well off, at least if you really are who you pretend to be, but you should do something about your attitude of looking down on the majority of other members.

I suggest the next time you go to the poo house you take a deep, breath, and you will be surprised that it also smells.

Hello jbrain.

You are my friend

I don't remember having pretended to be anyone or anything on this forum. It would be a great mistake to do so, I am aware of that.

Now, jbrain, even if we have developed a kind of nice "relationship" (not the one some might think about), we still have to learn more about each other

I do not look down at anyone when there is no reason. I am quite nice in fact, I think I told you before

However, I find it difficult not to react when reading disrespectful and insulting comments about... well about anyone. This includes comments coming from people looking down at other people that are, compared to them, in fact much higher up...

Many on this forum give themselves the right to not only judge but also write any type of insults about people they never met.

I am not sure how I should look at these people? Should I think highly of them?

Concerning the "toilet thing", you are right

Most of the foreigners on this forum would be considered Lo So in their own country.

Most foreigners on this forum don't like the Thai Hi So because it reminds them of who they really are and what position they really have in society in general.

Didn't you say you don't look down on anyone without a reason? So you must know most foreigners on this forum then, or is it just a generalisation, which is something nice persons don't make.

[Thai at Heart]

So are you trying to say Thai at Heart that those members of High Society would never stoop to such levels as abbreviating themselves to HiSo, as it cheapens the whole thing?

I'm surprised it wasn't first coined by us Australians, we love to shorten terminology

I will never forget where they got a bunch of hiso celebs to go to isaan to grow rice. They embarrassed themselves so badly and insulted their hosts so horrendously I couldn't watch. But that's the point, how could a TV celebrity be "upper class". They are hiso, not upper class.

Not to say where I socialise but I have met a few. Upper class is extremely different from hiso in my eyes and is extremely obvious to see. Often the separation is generational also.

When people claim Thaksin is hiso, that is exactly what he is. The real upper class power in Bangkok look down on him like a nouveau riche wannabe.

Money isn't everything, but then was it ever?

Edited June 29, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[arthurwait]

So have we decided who are the plebs and who aren't ?

[gerry1011]

Most of the foreigners on this forum would be considered Lo So in their own country.

Here in Thailand these foreigners get a feeling of superiority because their meager revenues (by western standard) allow them to consider themselves part of a "Higher" So, but only in their own little environment.

Funnily, these foreigners even side with the Thai "Elites" in politics, while they would vote for the exact opposite side in their own country.

Most foreigners on this forum don't like the Thai Hi So because it reminds them of who they really are and what position they really have in society in general.

And, of course, the fact that the members of the Thai Hi So look down at them (If they happen to look) reinforce that feeling.

It's just a question of jealousy. I don't think members of this forum don't like the Thai Hi So, ... They simply don't like any HI So.

However, there are lovely people in every level of the Thai society... Including many people in the Thai Hi So. But how would the vast majority of the members of this forum know that whey are stuck in there own little world...

Gerry, I have "followed" you on the Elite thread and now I stumble on your posts in this thread.

I know you are well off, at least if you really are who you pretend to be, but you should do something about your attitude of looking down on the majority of other members.

I suggest the next time you go to the poo house you take a deep, breath, and you will be surprised that it also smells.

Hello jbrain.

You are my friend

I don't remember having pretended to be anyone or anything on this forum. It would be a great mistake to do so, I am aware of that.

Now, jbrain, even if we have developed a kind of nice "relationship" (not the one some might think about), we still have to learn more about each other

I do not look down at anyone when there is no reason. I am quite nice in fact, I think I told you before

However, I find it difficult not to react when reading disrespectful and insulting comments about... well about anyone. This includes comments coming from people looking down at other people that are, compared to them, in fact much higher up...

Many on this forum give themselves the right to not only judge but also write any type of insults about people they never met.

I am not sure how I should look at these people? Should I think highly of them?

Concerning the "toilet thing", you are right

Most of the foreigners on this forum would be considered Lo So in their own country.

Most foreigners on this forum don't like the Thai Hi So because it reminds them of who they really are and what position they really have in society in general.

Didn't you say you don't look down on anyone without a reason? So you must know most foreigners on this forum then, or is it just a generalisation, which is something nice persons don't make.

Yeah... you are right. That was not totally nice to say. Sorry

It could be the truth though...

[pigeonjake]

So have we decided who are the plebs and who aren't ?

i said in a post before,

me and my wife are plebs,

i grew up in a council house,, my wife is the daughter of a poor farmer,(not in issan,,lol,)

but we are happy with our life,

you cant help what you are born into,

i earn very very good money now, but it hasnt changed me, not at all, i still drive a second hand pickup, we have a second hand yamaha fino, we no the value of money,

there are snobs who are rich, but there is also snobs who arnt rich,

people are what they are, and money wont change the personality of some,

many people forget were there roots are, i for one havnt,

so if im a pleb, i might as well be a happy one,

just my thoughts jake

[theblether]

Anyway, me and Mercedes Girl are going out for dinner, oh, to a dinner party should I say. She flies back to London on Tuesday.

Group hug anyone?

You're hoping for a quick grope of the front bumpers aren't you ?

Done that.

[kristophon]

its the fake hi-sole rockin rollers I can`t be doing with... everything on credit, dripped up to the eyeballs... 'OH LOOK AT MEEEeee... look what we got...'

house, car, laptop, phone struggling to pay the monthly installments, no insurance etc etc...

probably 90% of so called hi-solers are fake....

if you can afford to pay cash then you deserve to have it and quidos to you... if not, you dont deserve it...

greed, credit man.. theyz got a lot to answer for...

Edited June 30, 2013 by kristophon

[Jasun]

Somewhere on hi-so Thai forum someone has probably just posted a thread titled 'why are we so anti-foreigner"?

[JimShortz]

Quite simply... SOME can be a pain in the ass to be with (and I don't mean in a relationship with - that could be much worse). They are often more concerned with outward appearance than anything else; that can be a pain to deal with...

Many, of course, are very nice...

[theblether]

Mercedes Girl is very nice, she is from a Thai-Chinese background but she's lived in the UK for 23 years. She switches from her Thai persona to her British persona on a whim. It can be quite confusing at times.

She wasn't happy about the standard of food at the dinner dance on Friday night so she announced " I'm away to complain about the food, because I'm British and the British are good at moaning ".

She's right.

[gerry1011]

its the fake hi-sole rockin rollers I can`t be doing with... everything on credit, dripped up to the eyeballs... 'OH LOOK AT MEEEeee... look what we got...'

house, car, laptop, phone struggling to pay the monthly installments, no insurance etc etc...

probably 90% of so called hi-solers are fake....

if you can afford to pay cash then you deserve to have it and quidos to you... if not, you dont deserve it...

greed, credit man.. theyz got a lot to answer for...

There are many wannabe Hi Soers indeed. Maybe not 90%, but you are right, a lot. And these ones need to flash money in order to be seen and considered as Hi So. Indeed.

But the Thai Hi So is not only about money (as ESDinBKK mentioned in his post).

You are also part of the Thai Hi So when you come from one of the important families whose names are highly respected in the society, some since generations. These are not all rich families, but when you have such name you are already considered part of the Hi So. A good family name is very important in this society. It gives credit since the beginning and opens doors.

Hi So is a mix of many different backgrounds. Sometimes it is about business or money, other times influence, history, power, achievements, politics, heritage, ... It's diverse and not only related to wealth.

Now, when members of the Thai Hi So do have the money and are driving Ferraris... this should not attract any criticism. It's their choice and nothing is wrong with it... In my own opinion, of course. The Thai Hi So needs this glamour, the same as the American jet set, or the European nobility... (It also gives a lot of jobs to the Hi So and gossip media . )

[MrWorldwide]

I'm not......I had a cracking night out with loads of Hi-So Thais last night and was extended every courtesy, as I always am when I'm in their company.

Mercedes Girl said yesterday that just about everyone in Thailand has Chinese blood, it's only a question of how far back you need to go to find the ancestor.

Is she right?

Sounds like a wild weekend, and yet your post count is as hyperactive as ever .....

[MrWorldwide]

Somewhere on hi-so Thai forum someone has probably just posted a thread titled 'why are we so anti-foreigner"?

I seriously hope they have better things to do with their time. Way, way better things.

[joeaverage]

I doubt anyone posting on Thai Visa has ever met or talked with a hi-so person.

Most posters here seem to be confused by greedy money grubbing peasants.

Most hi-sos wouldn't even talk to a white foreigner.

The idea any obese romance travellers could mix with them is just laughable.

Guess that's the beauty of the Internet, you can purport to be whomever you want to be..

But then you run the risk of being outted by astitute TV members such as theblether

asitiute?

[MrWorldwide]

asstute

[Payboy]

Dyslexic maybe, but autistic? Nah, I don't believe it.

Edited June 30, 2013 by Payboy

[AnotherOneAmerican]

asstute

'arse-toot' member I could agree with!

[joeaverage]

asstute

astute?

[StreetCowboy]

I doubt anyone posting on Thai Visa has ever met or talked with a hi-so person.

Most posters here seem to be confused by greedy money grubbing peasants.

Most hi-sos wouldn't even talk to a white foreigner.

The idea any obese romance travellers could mix with them is just laughable.

Guess that's the beauty of the Internet, you can purport to be whomever you want to be..

But then you run the risk of being outted by astitute TV members such as theblether

asitiute?

destitute

[arthurwait]

Somewhere on hi-so Thai forum someone has probably just posted a thread titled 'why are we so anti-foreigner"?

I seriously hope they have better things to do with their time. Way, way better things.

Yep. Facebook.

[arthurwait]

Anyway, me and Mercedes Girl are going out for dinner, oh, to a dinner party should I say. She flies back to London on Tuesday.

Group hug anyone?

You're hoping for a quick grope of the front bumpers aren't you ?

Done that.

And I thought you were a gentleman.

[Morakot]

1. "Hi-So" [noun]: vague concept of a fictitious entity of a higher unified social circle.

"Hi-So" [noun]: convenient generalisation: I am Higher Than Thou by virtue of membership of a fictitious social entity (see 1).

Edited June 30, 2013 by Morakot

[RabC]

I haven't read all the posts however ..... In my opinion it is the Hi So's that keep this country in the third world. Anything that they do and any laws that they allow to be passed are for their benefit only. As someone pointed out yes, exactly as the UK and Europe was in the 1800's but not any more. Just look at the school curriculum that is forced on the masses and you will see why Thailand is where it is in the world order, bet they don't send their kids to local schools though. Money to money....... No jealousy as I make a good wage and have no dealings with them, just watch the faces after the main news of an evening.