why so much negativity about Thailand and its ppl?

[boone57]

_{There is a lot of negativity towards Thailand and it's people because there are a lot of negative people that choose to live here and it makes them feel better about themselves.}

[hellodolly]

we all read here about so many negative points about Thailand,the scams,rip off's,traffic...etc.and many of us get frustrated and start generelazing and bashing.

but how we got brought up?we get tought to ask: WHY?

i think it is comparable with parents and their kids.( and no i don't think we are superior or in any parental status here i just want to use this as a example as a comparison because many of us have learnt out of mistakes in the past and try to pass the knowledge on).

usually parents love their kid so as we love our host country but if we see that the same mistakes get done over and over again- ppl get frustrated and start to geting angry or even bashing or giving up.

can you guys remember how patient your parents have been?

unfortunately we are not asked,allowed or welcomed to give any ( positive?)) advise we are just what we are- guests.

sure many things are looking / are just wrong from our perception and it seems they don't learn from the past but before to get frustrated remember the old saying.never try to change a running? system.

just take it as it is and don't get used to do the same silly things( like riding without helmet or under influence) rest up to them,isn'it?

preach over!

With all due respect could the problem be we expect the values we learned in are home land to be the same here.

Are ego tells us we are better than them so there for they should do as we do.

Yes you are right there is some things like no helmet but the drinking and driving and other such things we tend to look down on them for are present in the country we came from. Lord knows I have done my share of them in Canada and the States. That does not make it right for them or me but it tells me that down deep we re all human and subject to differences.

I try to maintain the attitude that they are neither right or wrong just different.

Well they do drive on the wrong side of the road most of the time.

This attitude has worked very well for me for 7 years.

Admittedly some times puzzled.

[FarangKino]

It's all about perception. Newspapers the world over, concentrate mainly on the negative news - it sells their papers. Thaivias [although obviously not a news paper] is no different and the sheeple [in the mean range of IQ]see it as the whole picture. If Thaivisa started more threads on the good news items of Thailand - the usual trolls would have nervous breakdowns.

PS - I'm as guilty as the rest on occasion!

Look beyond the negativity and enjoy all the real advantages that Thailand has to offer. And like anywhere else in the world, just be careful where you go; what you say and who you deal with. If it's too good to be true, then the chances are it isn't.

[Gil]

why so much negativity about Thailand and its ppl?

It's a bit like a restaurant with photos on the menu. What comes out of the kitchen doesn't live up to the promise.

And you won't even get served if you don't pay in advance, this meal and the next one, with promise to come back every 90 days.

Wait! Wait! Put your fork back there: You need photocopies of your passport each time you eat, fill a form, go to your consulate every 4 meals, pretend the coffee is not stale and make sure you don't point anybody... with your feet...

Get up, walk out and find another restaurant that suits you better.

Nope, I won't walk out! I already paid for the next meal and I invested enough to be allowed to voice my feelings to the chef (which I'm not: Mai Pen Rai).

But don't worry, my stay will not be eternal since the owner's abusive income behaviors will not change. He is obviously relying on the line-up of millions of innocent falang victims lured and afterward deceited by the "amazing oriental taste" of this restaurant.

If you like to sit here and eat these spices, be happy!

[hellodolly]

Thailand bashing eh ?

Do they not deserve a little of that. They scam people out of thier life savings, and walk away without a care in the world, even the Police dont want to know. And its often thier parents who, as you say, love thier children that tell them how to go about it.

Lets face it the Thais do not want us here, but we are needed, and the quicker they get used to that the better, before they get such a reputaion, (which is spreading by the way ) that people will stop coming here.

The people in Thailand look after Thais, they will smile at you when you are giving them money or buying something. But when your not they will stab you in the back.

I was once told by a Thai lady that all Thais hate foreigners, and only tolerate them for thier money.

So is it Thai bashing, its tell it as it is.

Wow, every Thai scams every foreigner out of their life savings? They must have missed me.

If they do indeed scam every person out of their life savings then are probably very few foreigners left in Thailand who can afford to meet the financial requirements for the extension of stay..

I think what you should have said is that gullible people can be scammed easily, whether by people from Thailand, Nigeria or former Eastern Bloc countries and many other countries including the US the UK and Australia.

I wonder if the above post comes under the Forum rule covering generalisations of the Thai people.

I have to agree with both of you. For the most part you are rite.

But the foreigners that make the bar scene there life and are looking for a way to make a quick baht illigaly fit right into stopthegreed's post.

How ever he/she talks against them selves saying we are not wanted. The people doing those things to us very much want us. They probably amount to less than 1% of the population. Yes there are Thais who do not want us for one reason or another. Some justified some not they just don't want us. Then there is the majority of the population who never even think about weather they want us or not. They except us with no reservations. Then there are the ones who definatly want us like my wife.

[HardenedSoul]

To be fair Beetlejuice, the amount of time you spend on here whining about other expats being unhappy and bitter would maybe suggest that maybe things ain't so green in your own garden...?

What you mean is that I keep interrupting all the Thai bashing and Thailand whiners with some home truths about themselves.

How about some threads themed on the positive sides of the ex-pats stays and lifestyles in Thailand? I am beginning to think that they don`t have any as far as they`re concerned, it`s all become very mundane for them.

No that's not it.

There's a holier-than-thou air of smug self-satisfaction about your posting style.

It's probably not intentional but you do seem to revel in telling everyone just how swimmingly things have gone for you. That, in and of itself, is great - if you're happy, shout it from the rooftops - but you tend to insinuate that if others haven't got things as sweet as you, it's their own stupidity/laziness/ineptitude/poor choices/irresponsibility that's the culprit.

Sure there may be truth in that assertion a lot of the time but often, there isn't. Some folks just catch a shitty break

[FiftyTwo]

There are quite a lot of negative things about Thailand (and Thai people)

Now that I think about it .......

There are quite a lot of negative things about England (and English people, including me)

America .... American people.

Australia ...... Australian people.

In fact, the only countries I can't find negative things to talk about, are countries to which I have never been.

And the only nationality I can't find negative things to say about, are nationalities I have never met.

Chile, looks great in the travel brochures, and the people look so colourful in their traditional costumes!

I could certainly never say anything good about a country that would let people like me live there.

Edited October 21, 2013 by FiftyTwo

[ggt]

There is sadly...a propensity in Thai culture of using foreigners...for financial gain...by any and every means possible...lying to foreigners is epidemic...

Regulations...Visas...banking...purchasing a home...and so on...do not favor the foreigner...

The press...TV sitcoms...Thai soap operas...movies and other forms of media...portray foreigners as stupid...uncultured...abusive to Thais...drunkards...and just plain evil...

You are welcome to stay in Thailand...so long as you keep the money coming...should you falter...good bye Charlie...

The reason that Thais get so much negative press in this forum...is...they deserve it!

[JoeThePoster]

It's a bit like a restaurant with photos on the menu. What comes out of the kitchen doesn't live up to the promise.

And you won't even get served if you don't pay in advance, this meal and the next one, with promise to come back every 90 days.

Wait! Wait! Put your fork back there: You need photocopies of your passport each time you eat, fill a form, go to your consulate every 4 meals, pretend the coffee is not stale and make sure you don't point anybody... with your feet...

Get up, walk out and find another restaurant that suits you better.

Nope, I won't walk out! I already paid for the next meal and I invested enough to be allowed to voice my feelings to the chef (which I'm not: Mai Pen Rai).

But don't worry, my stay will not be eternal since the owner's abusive income behaviors will not change. He is obviously relying on the line-up of millions of innocent falang victims lured and afterward deceited by the "amazing oriental taste" of this restaurant.

If you like to sit here and eat these spices, be happy!

I've found that bonking the waitresses until their eyeballs pop, drastically improves the quality of food and service.

[Mitker]

The last thing I feel here is being "a guest"

I will never make any of my guests understand that dropping the presents and leave as quickly as possible is the best scenario I expect from him

[rijb]

Now come the generalized attack posts from "you know who", the sword attack on the American tourist, and the famous "rose colored glasses" response.

Such attacks do not happen in the U.S.. A Black man in Texas was not chained to the bumper of a truck and dragged a couple of miles that left parts of his body littered all over the road a few years ago, his only crime was being a Black man in Texas!

Those senseless attacks happen all over the world, the bombing in Boston, the senseless mass murders in the US simply because a person has a death wish and shoots any one on sight, in schools, colleges and on the street, also happened in Norway.

You are simply very selective in your pointing a finger at Thailand.

Cheers: alt=wai2.gif width=20 height=20>

Given that this forum is Thailand related, and indeed non Thailand related posts are frequently removed, it is not surprising the participants many of whom are living in Thailand, all of whom have some connection to Thailand (or they would not be here) discuss Thailand, and that discussion will include problems relating to Thailand.

When a member states 'I had this negative experience in Thailand' or this 'Negative thing happened in Thailand' - it is Thailand related and therefore fits within the context of this forum. Specifically it fits in the forum rules of being 'Thailand related'.

To repost the statement with 'well such things or worse things happen elshwere, you are simply being very selective pointing the fingure at Thailand' is hollow argument on two fronts.

1. It ignores the fact that this forum is Thailand related.

2. It is the argument that if we can find something wrong here but can find something worse happening elsewhere then the wrong here is of no significance.

Where you rightly take issue with generalised attacks on the origins of a poster, you then make the exact mistake by generalising problems in Thailand into a world context and in doing so make mistake No 2 above.

And all because you dislike someone telling a negative story which invariably is based in a real experience.

Far better I think to spend some time asking yourself why exactly you personally get upset about other people's negative views. If you are indeed happy with your own life choices, if your life in Thailand is indeed as happy and faultless as you claim, then the simple act of comparing the negative view against your own life experience in Thailand will enable you to conclude 'that person's experience is nothing like my own'.

A balanced view would then allow for that person's experience to be different - they are after all a different person living their own different life.

I'm not singling you out, you are not unique.

But read through TVF and take note of the special vitriol reserved by a small minortity for anyone who expresses any negative view of Thailand.

I find your post Re: Forum rules as being selective as Forum rule clearly state:

#7 "Not to post slurs or degrading comments directed towards any group on the bases of race, nationality, religion. gender, or sexual orientation.".

#8 Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed at all Thai's.

I will leave it at that, if your comments were made solely in an impartial and informative way I would better understand your concern. but as written the post in it self is not impartial!

Many posters involve their home countries in the complaints about Thailand IE "In my home country a Thai will be treated the same as anyone under our laws" or discrimination does not exist in our home countries".

Which I know is not the true facts. Sure post get deleted mostly because some one complains about the content. as I know as a fact all the negative comments about all Thai's, clear violation of forum rules do not get deleted!

Again what you consider a small minority of TV posters, negative comment's, I view as a large group of TV posters express negative views of Thailand.

To be fair one must be impartial, if one is not fair and impartial. they are not a part of the solution, they are part of the problem.

Again only my opinion.

Cheers: alt=wai2.gif width=20 height=20>

Let's examine this - The forum rules you have stated are correct, and rules which I agree with - indeed I have in the past used the post button too report gratutuous breaches of those rules. The rules are there and they are enforced - So it follows that if a post is allowed to remain on the board it doesn't break the rules.

So we are not discussing posts that break the forum rules. If you feel they do - use the report button.

You have stated my response above is not impartial - can you please hightlight - in context - where my post above is not impartial. I'm keen to improve my impartialality and would be pleased to see where you think my post is not impartial.

I'm impartial says the poster child for casuistic reasoning.

[kikoman]

Guesthouse,

I was not agreeing to your points.

Just my attempts at sarcasm related to his post #62, in which he posted that the discussion was about attacks on tourist by Thai's and my examples of the very thing happens in the US. Where he stated that my examples were not Thailand based thus being totally irrelevant.

Then he post about Asians Thai's Japanese, and Koreans and states examples of the great inventions that came out of the US and Europe!

I simple restated his points about the relevance of out of Thailand issues the (Sounds Familiar), was his posted point in his prior post he made a 180 degree change in his opinion!

Which I considered hypocritical, posting one point of view on one post and a completely opposite one on his next post.

Cheers:

Edited October 21, 2013 by kikoman

[razer]

Many of us have chosen to live in Thailand ... some with a Thai wife ... some are working ... some chose to retire here ... ... we contribute to the economy, many pay taxes ... but we chose to live here. I think it is natural that people want to be proud of the place they choose to live and when we see so much criminal behaviour directed at foreigners and so much corruption and so much injustice brought about by corruption, it brings shame to us as well as the Thai people. The difference is, we know it and the Thais don't.

Edited October 21, 2013 by razer

[oldsailor35]

Because the average Thai man walks around with his head up his Axx. The rich look down on the poor and the poor just wei and accept it. How can anyone really have respect for that. Then just look at the stupid ignorant rantings of so many Hi-So male officials, so immature and childlike.

[kikoman]

Because the average Thai man walks around with his head up his Axx. The rich look down on the poor and the poor just wei and accept it. How can anyone really have respect for that. Then just look at the stupid ignorant rantings of so many Hi-So male officials, so immature and childlike.

So your opinion is based solely on your opinion! "How can anyone have respect for that" not perceived discrimination against Farang's?

Cheers:

[MickGC]

Don't care what any other poster on here thinks. I love Thailand and I love Thai people just as much as I love my home country. Over the last couple of decades I've had my ups and downs here, but no more so than where I was raised and educated. Good and bad everywhere. Some people put more emphasis on the good while others do the opposite. Invariably the others are the Thai basher's. Again I don't really care as everyone has a right to their own opinion, but it would be an interesting exercise to graph and compare the country of origin of the "basher's" on TV. Bet most of us can guess already. 555

[hellodolly]

Because the average Thai man walks around with his head up his Axx. The rich look down on the poor and the poor just wei and accept it. How can anyone really have respect for that. Then just look at the stupid ignorant rantings of so many Hi-So male officials, so immature and childlike.

So your opinion is based solely on your opinion! "How can anyone have respect for that" not perceived discrimination against Farang's?

Cheers:

I think what he really meant was the average Thai will live his life his own way not the way oldsilor35 knows they should.

In my opinion there is a lot of posters who just don't give a darn about Thai culture. For them it is my way or the highway but I will stay in your country because it is cheap and there are lots of women, drugs and alcohol easy to get.

These posters in no way represent the majority of ex pats or over stayers.

Work related that is a different story. If all they are doing is teaching English there has to be a lot of other things holding them here as most English teachers don't make that much. Many of them have to take on students for tutoring. For business owners there must be more to it than just the money or they could have stayed in there own country and started a business there.

[JackieMager]

Boy this is a toughy without having to sound like a bitch from hell. The only reason I am here in Thailand is because i have grandchildren here....or else there would be no way in hell Id stay here. Yes there are beautiful parts of thailand, like anywhere else. But on the whole communication is zilch even if they speak a good english, I have nothing at all in common with Thais. I do not understand there customs, their filth. Ive lived all over the world and in third world countries but ive never seen such filth in the streets as I have here.....yes Im bickering. and we as expats have a right to bicker and get it of our chests in OUR expat site.....

each expat is here for individual reasons.....that doesnt mean we have to like the country. I LOVE Thailand when I used to visit....but living here is another kettle of fish. it aint all its cracked up to be...the land of smiles is not so true as tourists would have to believe.

[thailiketoo]

Boy this is a toughy without having to sound like a bitch from hell. The only reason I am here in Thailand is because i have grandchildren here....or else there would be no way in hell Id stay here. Yes there are beautiful parts of thailand, like anywhere else. But on the whole communication is zilch even if they speak a good english, I have nothing at all in common with Thais. I do not understand there customs, their filth. Ive lived all over the world and in third world countries but ive never seen such filth in the streets as I have here.....yes Im bickering. and we as expats have a right to bicker and get it of our chests in OUR expat site.....

each expat is here for individual reasons.....that doesnt mean we have to like the country. I LOVE Thailand when I used to visit....but living here is another kettle of fish. it aint all its cracked up to be...the land of smiles is not so true as tourists would have to believe.

Bicker is to argue about petty and trivial matters.

"couples who bicker over who gets what from the divorce"

synonyms:

squabble, argue.

What you are doing is called whinging, Whinge (hwnj, wnj)intr.v. whinged, whing·ing, whing·es Chiefly British To complain or protest, especially in an annoying or persistent manner.

[Jackson86]

I've been to thailand many times but ever since my recent trip there last month, I've been trying to learn thai language.

[JackieMager]

To the OP:

There are a lot of wonderful things about Thailand and Thai people. I began spending long summers in Thailand back in the mid-1980s, and then lived there for the 2 years before the Red Shirt riots. I don't think I wore rose colored glasses because I always saw the negatives. But when I would see a negative (and there were many), it seemed as if some of the positives always made up for it. But, after a while, with the steady stream of negatives, you run out of positives to balance things out. The list is endles -- pickpockets, scam artists galore, salespeople who don't know shit about what they are selling and will lie to your face to sell the product, cheating taxi and tuk tuk drivers, selling food that is beyond being fresh by days, total insincerity to be polite, endless whores when you walk around certain areas, offers for sex with men women and children, being treated like a walking ATM by Thai "friends"...need I go on? Yes, all these things happen elsewhere...but rarely are they so common. And then there's Thai politics and Red Shirts. For me, the Red Shirts broke the camel's back. Think of the scales of justice...but instead replace it with a set of scales balancing out the good and the bad in Thailand. Sorry, but after a while one side slams down, and if you're realistic, it ain't the good side.

Oh, I just remembered -- rampant bribery and the need to participate in it.

you have hit the jackpot on the head with everything u have said......politeness

,manners they have never heard of let alone been taught. if u walk through a door and hold it open for the person behind u as I have been taught, do I get a thanku....i dont think so.

[sadhukar]

The last thing I feel here is being "a guest"

I will never make any of my guests understand that dropping the presents and leave as quickly as possible is the best scenario I expect from him

Then why not get out?

[ggt]

Why not get out you ask?

Sold my condo...selling my car...gave away my bike and furniture...

Cleaned out my bank account...have about 3 weeks left...

I am more happy to be leaving...than I ever thought possible...

[JackieMager]

Why not get out you ask?

Sold my condo...selling my car...gave away my bike and furniture...

Cleaned out my bank account...have about 3 weeks left...

I am more happy to be leaving...than I ever thought possible...

at least you are honest. good for you...hope u will be happy where ever you are going to next.....

[zydeco]

I have lived in Thailand for 12 years, most of my interactions with Thai's have been very positive,

I had many negative experiences prior to coming to Thailand.

I have opted for most of my friends to be Thai, as they are very positive people.

God willing I will one day die in Thailand,

For Thailand is my home and a country I love.

My statement also conforms to forum rules and I state such based on my own Opinion!

No one else's!

Cheers:

These last 12 years you speak of have been years of relative prosperity for Thailand. Things can go sour and do so fast. Look at Cambodia in the 70s. Things are just now beginning to get a wee tight for some people in Thailand, with inflation starting to pinch the people at the bottom. They may become more and more desperate. And they'll look for the painted bird in their midst. Maybe it won't be you. But you will not know until the moment of crisis comes. And the fact that it is coming is something I'm sure of.

[MickGC]

Why not get out you ask?

Sold my condo...selling my car...gave away my bike and furniture...

Cleaned out my bank account...have about 3 weeks left...

I am more happy to be leaving...than I ever thought possible...

Bye bye. Don't forget to turn the lights off.

[Kudel]

Because the average Thai man walks around with his head up his Axx. The rich look down on the poor and the poor just wei and accept it. How can anyone really have respect for that. Then just look at the stupid ignorant rantings of so many Hi-So male officials, so immature and childlike.

So your opinion is based solely on your opinion! "How can anyone have respect for that" not perceived discrimination against Farang's?

Cheers:

I think what he really meant was the average Thai will live his life his own way not the way oldsilor35 knows they should.

In my opinion there is a lot of posters who just don't give a darn about Thai culture. For them it is my way or the highway but I will stay in your country because it is cheap and there are lots of women, drugs and alcohol easy to get.

These posters in no way represent the majority of ex pats or over stayers.

Work related that is a different story. If all they are doing is teaching English there has to be a lot of other things holding them here as most English teachers don't make that much. Many of them have to take on students for tutoring. For business owners there must be more to it than just the money or they could have stayed in there own country and started a business there.

Hellodolly after reading all the crap you and others post in the news section every day you and your'e friends might be very lucky no Thai politicians or other people of power and importance in Thailand never reads some of the comments on the news section of this website,ever read about libel and defamation laws in Thailand . Edited October 21, 2013 by Kudel

[fxe1200]

What's a ppl?

For this abbreviation I found 218 different meanings. Choose the one you like!

[fxe1200]

why so much negativity about Thailand and its ppl?

Forget about the ppl with 218 different meanings, but I do not think there is negativity about Thailand. We do speak about the country, do we?

[LomSak27]

It appears there are a lot of extremely disgruntled ex-pats living in Thailand and often wonder why they remain here? Although I am now beginning to find all these gripes about everything Thai quite entertaining

A lot of these "expats" if thats what you call them - expats back in the day, used to be people who had a job in the country, a long atatchment of some sort not I married Noi, and not retirees and pensioners - came for the sun, women and cheap living and then realized that the thai smiles mask a reality as unpleasant as any other country and in fact more umpleasant than a lot of countires. You are right in thinking they should leave but I imagine a lot of them have burned bridges and have no option but to stay.

It's not paradise, but then again it never was .... whoever came with that idea, or claims it are likely not the sharpest tools in the shed