stupid action by me

[robblok]

I was in nana to get some stuff from the pharmacy to send to a friend in the Netherlands. It was the first time in 2 weeks i could get out because of my broken toe. Anyway took my bike drove to mochit and parked it there BTS to nana.

In the pharmacy and bought the stuff and done ready to go home. Not many Thais mainly farang.. some protesters 2 older ladies and a young girl 10-13 not sure in full protest uniform walk near me. They pass a parked taxi and the guy gets out shouting at them threatening them I could follow part of it.

I look around nobody wants to help and i seriously think the guy was going to do something to those girls the guy was a red shirt that is for sure. I step in the middle and with my limited (but in most cases more then enough) Thai i tell him jai jen jen pee (staying polite) and mai tong pee.. making sure i stay between the older ladies and the child and the enraged taxi driver. This standoff lasts a bit (real short actually) and then he retreats.

The ladies thank me and quickly leave as do i (was close to the BTS). This was the best outcome it could have.

Afterwards i start thinking how stupid I am and how different this could have gone. I am sure i could have handled the taxi driver if no arms were involved but I would get the blame for sure you know who the police supports. Worse still the guy could have gotten a weapon and do me in. Not uncommon for a taxi driver to have a weapon. Even more stupid was that i had forgotten my phone at home and if the shit had hit the fan i could not have called anyone (if i even remembered the phone nrs).

I am just home can tell you the adrenalin was feel-able when i traveled back to mochit in the BTS. I never pull stunts like this i usually always stay out of the way of trouble.. last time i was in a fight I was 18. Still cant believe i was stupid enough to put myself there.

Has anyone ever been in a fight over here with the police involved ? I am real curious what could have happened ? I think it could get quite serious as i read here in Thai-visa they seem to deport foreigners that get involved in political stuff. Though this was never my intention just a reaction without thinking.

Just writing this to get rid of it. It bothers me quite a bit as it could have gone all wrong.

[impulse]

Yes, it could have gone wrong.

If you've read many of my posts, I advocate the "it's not worth getting killed" tactic 99% of the time.

But stepping between an unrelated guy and females he's abusing are one of the exceptions.

One thing if it's a guy with his wife or GF, or other woman he obviously knows. It's very different (IMO) if it's violence toward women the guys doesn't know.

Don't lose any sleep over it. Learn from it. Figure out what you want to do next time.

And live with the satisfaction that we all have those days. I was the kind of guy I cringe when I read about- just last weekend... Quite embarrassing to think back on it.

Edited February 9, 2014 by impulse

[robblok]

The thing is i always figured i would not do a thing and stay aside. There was no thinking involved that was the thing that shocked me. I just acted.

If i had thought id probably would not have done this.

And yes a cop friend from the Netherlands told me about never get between 2 people in a relation male / female.. good chance they both turn on you.

[whoisyourdaddy]

no point thinking could of, should of, would of, all in the past.

you did an honorable thing and should be proud of yourself.

[mauGR1]

Not a stupid action, as nobody got hurt.

Inside every person with good moral values, there is a knight in shining armour, ready to fight on the side of justice.

Now, i don't really think that us foreigners should get involved in fights between Thais, but sometimes you can't help it.

A few years ago i stood between 2 Thai males, both neighbours of mine, who were starting to fight...

...That was really, really stupid, but i was lucky, and nothing happened.

I would not do that again.

[Robininbkk]

It was not the smartest course of action but you did made sure there was no potential harm done to the old ladies and child. You earned good karma, my friend. I admire your courage, can't say that to many people these days. Be proud of the good thing you did instead of contemplating how stupid you are. Life is short. Yes It could have gone very badly, but aparently, buddha did smile upon you that day. So keep on walking, Johnny.

[Familyonthemove]

You never have time to ponder all the possible outcomes when something unexpected happens. Under the circumstances I think you did the right thing. May be worth writing down all the details while they are still fresh and dating/signing the notes. I don't think anything more will happen - but notes taken near to the time can be handy later.

Sent from my C6902 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[robblok]

It was not the smartest course of action but you did made sure there was no potential harm done to the old ladies and child. You earned good karma, my friend. I admire your courage, can't say that to many people these days. Be proud of the good thing you did instead of contemplating how stupid you are. Life is short. Yes It could have gone very badly, but aparently, buddha did smile upon you that day. So keep on walking, Johnny.

There was no courage.. and if i had time to think about it i probably had not done it. That was part of what scared me that I who normally the guy who avoid stuff like this and certainly never wants to be in a fight.

[robblok]

Not a stupid action, as nobody got hurt.

Inside every person with good moral values, there is a knight in shining armour, ready to fight on the side of justice.

Now, i don't really think that us foreigners should get involved in fights between Thais, but sometimes you can't help it.

A few years ago i stood between 2 Thai males, both neighbours of mine, who were starting to fight...

...That was really, really stupid, but i was lucky, and nothing happened.

I would not do that again.

Hmmm yes also not smart and good that nothing happend.. but did you both know them well. I mean back in the Netherlands I would not worry to step in between friends.

[transam]

You did what your heart told you to do. Forget about negative thoughts. 10 out of 10 from me.

[mauGR1]

Not a stupid action, as nobody got hurt.

Inside every person with good moral values, there is a knight in shining armour, ready to fight on the side of justice.

Now, i don't really think that us foreigners should get involved in fights between Thais, but sometimes you can't help it.

A few years ago i stood between 2 Thai males, both neighbours of mine, who were starting to fight...

...That was really, really stupid, but i was lucky, and nothing happened.

I would not do that again.

Hmmm yes also not smart and good that nothing happend.. but did you both know them well. I mean back in the Netherlands I would not worry to step in between friends.

At the time i was thinking i knew them well enough, but later on it turned out that the one i was friend with , was a complete a**hole.

In your case, you did very well, IMHO.

Of course, if the attacker had hurt you, you would probably regarded as stupid by the majority.

Sometimes there is a thin line between being a good guy or a stupid guy, and fate dictates the outcome.

[seasia]

Respect from me.

You did something good, thinking of others,or reacting quickly to help without thinking of yourself.

No harm done, you managed to diffuse a difficult situation.

Well Done.

[transam]

Respect from me.

You did something good, thinking of others,or reacting quickly to help without thinking of yourself.

No harm done, you managed to diffuse a difficult situation.

Well Done.

Yes.

[Beetlejuice]

If it had been me I would not have become involved, as the responsibility lies with those who are actively participating in the protests and to bring children onto the scene is lunacy.

Anyone who is actively involved in these disputes, pertaining to either side, should be aware of the life threatening risks involved, or in other words, it`s bladdy dangerous. I have no sympathies for those who voluntarily place themselves and especially their children in the front line, they should know better and be aware of the risks.

As I have said previously in some of my recent posts, tensions are high between the Thais at the moment and farangs should stay out of it. As harsh as this may sound the common sense action to take is no action at all, turn the other cheek and walk away.

Some of these people are mental and on very short fuses, that taxi driver could have been armed with a knife or even a gun and had mates nearby to support him, then our robblok may have ended up being another statistic and have no doubts the sweet little old ladies and the young girl would have fled the scene after the event.

My advice is; stay impartial, let the Thais fight it out among themselves. I can fully understand that according to robblock, he only saw some old ladies and a young girl getting abused rather than protestors, and being a decent guy his good principles got the better of him, perhaps many more of us would feel the same. But it`s not worth the risks as the odds can work well against us, these are not normal times, best to keep our heads down and keep a low profile during these disputes.

That`s my advice, but well done to our robblok anyway.

Edited February 9, 2014 by Beetlejuice

[Showbags]

Job done good.

[ToddWeston]

Respect from me as well.

I'm glad your safe Rob.

[thailiketoo]

the guy was a red shirt that is for sure

[Jip99]

If the same thing happened tomorrow would you do the same thing again ?

[robblok]

If the same thing happened tomorrow would you do the same thing again ?

As i stated before i did not think, I am in full agreement with Beetlejuice. I normally think before i act.. for some reason I acted without thinking. Nobody was helping and it really looked like it could turn nasty (will never know of course)

I never go out looking for fights, I have never been in fights and I certainly don't want to be in a similar situation again. If this had gone violent and I lost I would be in trouble.. and if i had won and damaged the guy I would have been in trouble too.

Either way I was just lucky nothing happened and it cooled down.

I posted it because i needed to get rid of it and now it slowly is I don't want to think about it too much anymore and certainly wont go looking for a re run of this.

[thailiketoo]

If the same thing happened tomorrow would you do the same thing again ?

As i stated before i did not think, I am in full agreement with Beetlejuice. I normally think before i act.. for some reason I acted without thinking. Nobody was helping and it really looked like it could turn nasty (will never know of course)

I never go out looking for fights, I have never been in fights and I certainly don't want to be in a similar situation again. If this had gone violent and I lost I would be in trouble.. and if i had won and damaged the guy I would have been in trouble too.

Either way I was just lucky nothing happened and it cooled down.

I posted it because i needed to get rid of it and now it slowly is I don't want to think about it too much anymore and certainly wont go looking for a re run of this.

"the guy was a red shirt that is for sure" "I posted it because i needed to get rid of it and now it slowly is I don't want to think about it too much anymore and certainly wont go looking for a re run of this"

[OMGImInPattaya]

Let the Thais sort it out amongst themselves. How many times do foreigners in Thailand have to be warned!

[Showbags]

Typical red shirt ...and Thai....man picking on 2 old ladies and a young girl.......in fact pretty brave of him...3 to 1.

[bkkjames]

Rob, the human being in you just reacted.

Life is full of decisions. It's easy in hindsight to say should have done this or that. If it were my sons and wife being threatened by some guy, I would hope someone would step in and offer some protection.

You did what you and 99% of civilized others with a heart would do.

Rest well in knowing you did what had to do and forget about it.

[transam]

Let the Thais sort it out amongst themselves. How many times do foreigners in Thailand have to be warned!

Perhaps some of us have morals, when we see women and children being confronted by cowards. Perhaps the OP might come to your aid some day eh............

[thailiketoo]

Typical red shirt ...and Thai....man picking on 2 old ladies and a young girl.......in fact pretty brave of him...3 to 1.

You get the gold star for being the first person to realize the point of the post.

[NoshowJones]

If the same thing happened tomorrow would you do the same thing again ?

You don't really know what you would do until you are involved, but I really believe I would do what Beetlejuice said. Glad your OK Robblok.

[NoshowJones]

Typical red shirt ...and Thai....man picking on 2 old ladies and a young girl.......in fact pretty brave of him...3 to 1.

That's Thai guys for you.

[tim armstrong]

Well done Rob. Instinctive reaction- unfortunately not shared often enough in these situations. I would've done the same and thought about it afterwards too. There has to be some universal values that we all respect. So give yourself a pat on the back, and be grateful that you escaped unscathed.

[kizz06]

You did a good job!

[h90]

you did right.....

And you were lucky that the taxi driver didn't know that all he has to do is jumping on your toe....