stupid action by me

[thailiketoo]

I believe in the easiest explanation and that is guy was a red shirt as many taxi drivers are.

I was bigger as him that was for sure, but as i said before it was not conscious decision, it was just some older woman (2) and a child getting threatened by a crazy guy. If the guy was wearing a yellow shirt and the child and woman red I would probably have responded the same.. cant say for sure as i did not think.

The fact that i mentioned red shirt was that in my mind that was the reason.. either that or the guy was crazy on drugs but i doubt he had given up that easy then. It was just my way of looking for reason and i find that people usually do things for a reason pure crazy is a lot less common.

Outside of your vivid imagination or stereotyping all taxi drivers as red shirts did you have any factual reason to think he was involved with the red shirt political movement in Bangkok?

You see I think you were making it up to confirm to your preconceived stereotypes of red shirts being evil.

I have no problem admitting I'm wrong if you had any good faculty reason for believing he was in fact a red shirt.

[transam]

I believe in the easiest explanation and that is guy was a red shirt as many taxi drivers are.

I was bigger as him that was for sure, but as i said before it was not conscious decision, it was just some older woman (2) and a child getting threatened by a crazy guy. If the guy was wearing a yellow shirt and the child and woman red I would probably have responded the same.. cant say for sure as i did not think.

The fact that i mentioned red shirt was that in my mind that was the reason.. either that or the guy was crazy on drugs but i doubt he had given up that easy then. It was just my way of looking for reason and i find that people usually do things for a reason pure crazy is a lot less common.

Outside of your vivid imagination or stereotyping all taxi drivers as red shirts did you have any factual reason to think he was involved with the red shirt political movement in Bangkok?

You see I think you were making it up to confirm to your preconceived stereotypes of red shirts being evil.

I have no problem admitting I'm wrong if you had any good faculty reason for believing he was in fact a red shirt.

The OP can think what he likes, it's his thoughts.

[robblok]

So there you are and you state "they pass a parked taxi and the guy gets out shouting at them threatening them I could follow part of it".

OK, so you followed part of it, but you didn't understand all of it did you? Maybe the guy was frustrated? You don't know the events that led up to his outburst do you? What if the man's taxi had been attacked previously, or if he had suffered a loss of business and added expense because of the protests? What if he was barely making ends meet before the protests and now was on the edge? Consider his mindset. Of course he would be angry.

He didn't physically assault anyone, but just let loose a volley of words, right? Well, it is highly doubtful that the chap would have physically attacked those people, but you concluded that he presented a threat, based upon your own bias about presumed redshirts. You had the option of holding back, of restraining yourself until such time as needed, but you moved the event into a possible physical confrontation. Other people were not intervening, but perhaps they too were holding back, waiting. Please understand that you would be doing the right thing had there been a move towards physical assault. However, within the context of the charged atmosphere, I believe you erred. You erred in a good way though. Only you can judge your actions and if it was my wife or daughter, I'd want someone to do the right thing if required, assuming the right thing was needed. The question you need to ask yourself is whether or not there was an actual real chance of a physical assault. I wasn't there, so I don't know.

Kid the whole point was here that I always told myself never to get into a situation like this and I did without thought.

Seems the red supporters here get their panties in a twist the moment a red guy does something bad. Get a life, if Suthep says something stupid again or those idiots that said that 71 year old guy was Cambodian military I condemn it (read my posts there). I am against extremist on both sides and violence on both sides.

I just posted what i thought was the reason and your reason for loss of income could be true too. The fact is i don't doubt that there are confrontations between both sides all the time now and sometimes its reds that start and sometimes yellow. The moment you show what side you are on you put yourself at risk now. Quite brave of those old ladies and that child. Though since it is raining grenades I am not so sure its wise bringing in kids.

Maybe if i had not stepped in nothing had happened, maybe it had, and sorry that my Thai is not that great to decipher a barrage of threats at high speed in a tense situation.

I posted this to show that even if you don't want to get into a situation like this it can just happen. To illustrate i just drove to the market with gf on the back and a couple was shouting and shoving alongside the road. (did not stop). When we arrived at the market we discussed what we seen. I said i tough it was a couple she said she thought it was mother and son fighting. So interpretations of events vary.

[robblok]

I believe in the easiest explanation and that is guy was a red shirt as many taxi drivers are.

I was bigger as him that was for sure, but as i said before it was not conscious decision, it was just some older woman (2) and a child getting threatened by a crazy guy. If the guy was wearing a yellow shirt and the child and woman red I would probably have responded the same.. cant say for sure as i did not think.

The fact that i mentioned red shirt was that in my mind that was the reason.. either that or the guy was crazy on drugs but i doubt he had given up that easy then. It was just my way of looking for reason and i find that people usually do things for a reason pure crazy is a lot less common.

Outside of your vivid imagination or stereotyping all taxi drivers as red shirts did you have any factual reason to think he was involved with the red shirt political movement in Bangkok?

You see I think you were making it up to confirm to your preconceived stereotypes of red shirts being evil.

I have no problem admitting I'm wrong if you had any good faculty reason for believing he was in fact a red shirt.

I don't know where you live but I have had my fair share of conversations with Taxi drivers in Bangkok (yes like to practice my Thai) and many of them are red shirts.

Anyway you can think what you want and I might be wrong but usually the most simplest and obvious explanation is the right one.

Occams razor. Just look it up you might learn something.

If i wanted to make this political I would have gone into it a lot more but just your constant insistence on it brought me to finally make some replies about this. I thought if i ignored it it would go away. But you were insistent to bring it up while others did not.

[thailiketoo]

I believe in the easiest explanation and that is guy was a red shirt as many taxi drivers are.

I was bigger as him that was for sure, but as i said before it was not conscious decision, it was just some older woman (2) and a child getting threatened by a crazy guy. If the guy was wearing a yellow shirt and the child and woman red I would probably have responded the same.. cant say for sure as i did not think.

The fact that i mentioned red shirt was that in my mind that was the reason.. either that or the guy was crazy on drugs but i doubt he had given up that easy then. It was just my way of looking for reason and i find that people usually do things for a reason pure crazy is a lot less common.

Outside of your vivid imagination or stereotyping all taxi drivers as red shirts did you have any factual reason to think he was involved with the red shirt political movement in Bangkok?

You see I think you were making it up to confirm to your preconceived stereotypes of red shirts being evil.

I have no problem admitting I'm wrong if you had any good faculty reason for believing he was in fact a red shirt.

The OP can think what he likes, it's his thoughts.

I think I'm a 300 pound gorilla but I still have to pay for drinks and report my address. I can't just make up stuff to suite my prejudice. Because I think you are a criminal I can't shoot you. Because I think you are going to hit me I can't hit you. You have to have a reason to do or think things beyond your explanation.

The OP can think anything he likes but he can't do anything he likes.

[thailiketoo]

Outside of your vivid imagination or stereotyping all taxi drivers as red shirts did you have any factual reason to think he was involved with the red shirt political movement in Bangkok?

You see I think you were making it up to confirm to your preconceived stereotypes of red shirts being evil.

I have no problem admitting I'm wrong if you had any good faculty reason for believing he was in fact a red shirt.

I don't know where you live but I have had my fair share of conversations with Taxi drivers in Bangkok (yes like to practice my Thai) and many of them are red shirts.

Anyway you can think what you want and I might be wrong but usually the most simplest and obvious explanation is the right one.

Occams razor. Just look it up you might learn something.

If i wanted to make this political I would have gone into it a lot more but just your constant insistence on it brought me to finally make some replies about this. I thought if i ignored it it would go away. But you were insistent to bring it up while others did not.

Just to clarify. You're only reason for thinking the abusive person was a red shirt was the fact that he drove a taxi in Bangkok?

[pacovl46]

I think you did the right thing. You intervened in a non-threatening manner and he responded to it. If it had been two males having a go at each other I wouldn't have intervened, but the women and the girl definitely deserved your help!

[thailiketoo]

I think you did the right thing. You intervened in a non-threatening manner and he responded to it. If it had been two males having a go at each other I wouldn't have intervened, but the women and the girl definitely deserved your help!

If you think Thai men are more dangerous than Thai women you have not spent much time in Thailand.

[robblok]

Outside of your vivid imagination or stereotyping all taxi drivers as red shirts did you have any factual reason to think he was involved with the red shirt political movement in Bangkok?

You see I think you were making it up to confirm to your preconceived stereotypes of red shirts being evil.

I have no problem admitting I'm wrong if you had any good faculty reason for believing he was in fact a red shirt.

I don't know where you live but I have had my fair share of conversations with Taxi drivers in Bangkok (yes like to practice my Thai) and many of them are red shirts.

Anyway you can think what you want and I might be wrong but usually the most simplest and obvious explanation is the right one.

Occams razor. Just look it up you might learn something.

If i wanted to make this political I would have gone into it a lot more but just your constant insistence on it brought me to finally make some replies about this. I thought if i ignored it it would go away. But you were insistent to bring it up while others did not.

Just to clarify. You're only reason for thinking the abusive person was a red shirt was the fact that he drove a taxi in Bangkok?

Of course not

The two older ladies were in protesting gear.

Taxi drivers are often red shirts

Currently there is a lot of political violence between the two groups.

I put those things together.

If the ladies would not have been in full protesting gear I would not have made the assumption. You don't make assumptions on one thing you combine the whole stuff.

Had they been kicking his taxi I would have said nothing about his alliance as that would have explained it easier. But there was absolutely no reason for violence.

Occam's razor

[Docno]

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.

Your cop friend was talking about domestic situations which are among the most unpredictable and dangerous for police. I've watched the simulation training police get in Canada, and this is one of the core scenarios (in it, the police cadets respond to a realistic domestic disturbance, become distracted trying to subdue the male and end up being 'attacked' by the female). People's allegiances are not clear in such situations: the husband may be beating the wife, but when the wife sees him being wrestled down by two officers she may turn and defend him. Your experience was very different... the male and female were presumably not known to each other. Your instinct made you do the right thing, and you did in the right way ... staying calm and not being aggressive toward the male. Yes, there are no guarantees and it could have gone wrong ... every such situation is unpredictable. But ask yourself how you'd be feeling right now if the guy had truly lost it and had attacked the three females with you just standing there. I think you'd be more disturbed at this moment. I'm not a big (or a young) guy, but I've had to intervene in some such things (in other countries, not Thailand yet), and have been lucky so far. Just last year, a guy slapping a woman repeatedly in broad daylight (but with no-one else around) ... once I heard the 'whack' how was I just to walk away? Anyway, I think he was so shocked that I appeared between them that his 'red haze' just dissipated... But I know I was also perhaps lucky. But what to do? Same as you... didn't really think about it.

[sweatalot]

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.

Respect and congratulations.

It was courage. Courage does not come from thinking but from the heart. Your heart acted and this was good. Do not overvalue thoughts. They are bias that more often than not will lead you to the wrong direction. You should approve yourself for having done the right thing. Your thoughts are trying to make you disapprove yourself.

[crazykopite]

I was once in the same position the Thai guy pointed his hand at me making the gesture of a gun saying I remember you , my wife who was with me at the time was very worried I made my mind up there and then that regardless of any further incidents I would never get involved life is vey cheap in Thailand and I have plans to live a long time sometimes you have to learn that it is best to walk away after all the culture in Thailand is far different than living in the western world

[thailiketoo]

Just to clarify. You're only reason for thinking the abusive person was a red shirt was the fact that he drove a taxi in Bangkok?

Of course not

The two older ladies were in protesting gear.

Taxi drivers are often red shirts

Currently there is a lot of political violence between the two groups.

I put those things together.

If the ladies would not have been in full protesting gear I would not have made the assumption. You don't make assumptions on one thing you combine the whole stuff.

Had they been kicking his taxi I would have said nothing about his alliance as that would have explained it easier. But there was absolutely no reason for violence.

Occam's razor

The taxi driver. Just the taxi driver. You had no reason to think he was a red shirt except that he was a taxi driver. The ladies may have had a totally different beef with the guy. All I'm saying is how the ladies were dressed has nothing to do with the taxi driver.

You are projecting your stereotypes into the situation. Protestors good and red shirts evil. Ergo anyone who does not like the protestors must be red shirts. It doesn't wash. It is not logical nor would any court in the world buy the argument.

Think of it this way. The cab driver assaults you after you yelled at him. You tell the judge he is a red shirt and was attacking the protestors. It becomes incumbent on you to explain why you thought he was a red shirt. You can't verbally assault a Thai and not expect a response.

You got a problem to begin with because you are twice the size and strength of the little taxi driver. He would be reasonable to assume you were going to attack him.

The bottom line is you assume anyone who attacks a protestor in Bangkok is a red shirt. He may in fact have lost money because of their actions and been complaining about it.

If someone prevented me from earning a living and feeding my starving children I would complain and complain loudly. Red shirt, green shirt or no shirt. Take my money and I'll complain. Perhaps the ladies led a march past his taxi stand and prevented him from picking up his normal fares. Did you think about it? No. You, thought I'm a big guy and he is a little guy and he'll have to do what I say because of my size.

[aveabeeror2]

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"

How much more uninteresting can a post get?

[robblok]

Just to clarify. You're only reason for thinking the abusive person was a red shirt was the fact that he drove a taxi in Bangkok?

Of course not

The two older ladies were in protesting gear.

Taxi drivers are often red shirts

Currently there is a lot of political violence between the two groups.

I put those things together.

If the ladies would not have been in full protesting gear I would not have made the assumption. You don't make assumptions on one thing you combine the whole stuff.

Had they been kicking his taxi I would have said nothing about his alliance as that would have explained it easier. But there was absolutely no reason for violence.

Occam's razor

The taxi driver. Just the taxi driver. You had no reason to think he was a red shirt except that he was a taxi driver. The ladies may have had a totally different beef with the guy. All I'm saying is how the ladies were dressed has nothing to do with the taxi driver.

You are projecting your stereotypes into the situation. Protestors good and red shirts evil. Ergo anyone who does not like the protestors must be red shirts. It doesn't wash. It is not logical nor would any court in the world buy the argument.

Think of it this way. The cab driver assaults you after you yelled at him. You tell the judge he is a red shirt and was attacking the protestors. It becomes incumbent on you to explain why you thought he was a red shirt. You can't verbally assault a Thai and not expect a response.

You got a problem to begin with because you are twice the size and strength of the little taxi driver. He would be reasonable to assume you were going to attack him.

The bottom line is you assume anyone who attacks a protestor in Bangkok is a red shirt. He may in fact have lost money because of their actions and been complaining about it.

If someone prevented me from earning a living and feeding my starving children I would complain and complain loudly. Red shirt, green shirt or no shirt. Take my money and I'll complain.

Oh baby your fixated on clearing red shirts of anything and take this whole experience I had out of context. I tried to ignore you it did not work. I stand with my reasoning and sorry that you don't agree that is it not going to waste any more time on this.

If he lost money because of the protests I can feel for him, my gf is loosing money on it too. If he had just verbally abused those ladies so be it.. but it did not look like that. As others have said if i had done nothing and something had happened id probably be more upset.

I think anyone loosing money on these protests has a right to be angry and can do what they want as long as its not violence. Just like the protesters can do what they want to oust this government. Both sides have their rights. The moment violence is happening action should be taken.

[sirchai]

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............

Forgive him mate, as he's from Pattaya. Says it all.-

[Regyai]

Right is right no matter where on the planet you are

OP reacted correctly and selflessly

That it could have gone badly matters not

If everyone was as true as the OP there would by a lot less of this BS about

As an aside and to pencil in a different cultural view point, many years ago on landing in then Rhodesia & having checked my personal firearms in at the police station. Suitably equipped with the relevant paperwork I asked the ground rules (carry/use/etc) after a bit of blank looks etc I asked 'well say I saw a robbery in progress can I intervene?' To which the memorable answer was 'well if you dont, then we arrest you for being part of the robbery'

.

[thailiketoo]

The taxi driver. Just the taxi driver. You had no reason to think he was a red shirt except that he was a taxi driver. The ladies may have had a totally different beef with the guy. All I'm saying is how the ladies were dressed has nothing to do with the taxi driver.

You are projecting your stereotypes into the situation. Protestors good and red shirts evil. Ergo anyone who does not like the protestors must be red shirts. It doesn't wash. It is not logical nor would any court in the world buy the argument.

Think of it this way. The cab driver assaults you after you yelled at him. You tell the judge he is a red shirt and was attacking the protestors. It becomes incumbent on you to explain why you thought he was a red shirt. You can't verbally assault a Thai and not expect a response.

You got a problem to begin with because you are twice the size and strength of the little taxi driver. He would be reasonable to assume you were going to attack him.

The bottom line is you assume anyone who attacks a protestor in Bangkok is a red shirt. He may in fact have lost money because of their actions and been complaining about it.

If someone prevented me from earning a living and feeding my starving children I would complain and complain loudly. Red shirt, green shirt or no shirt. Take my money and I'll complain.

Oh baby your fixated on clearing red shirts of anything and take this whole experience I had out of context. I tried to ignore you it did not work. I stand with my reasoning and sorry that you don't agree that is it not going to waste any more time on this.

If he lost money because of the protests I can feel for him, my gf is loosing money on it too. If he had just verbally abused those ladies so be it.. but it did not look like that. As others have said if i had done nothing and something had happened id probably be more upset.

I think anyone loosing money on these protests has a right to be angry and can do what they want as long as its not violence. Just like the protesters can do what they want to oust this government. Both sides have their rights. The moment violence is happening action should be taken.

I agree with you. I consider stealing also violence. Theft whether it is by violence or a sneak thief in the middle of the night. Which is worse. A punch or a person stealing 10,000 baht out of your wallet? Given only those two alternatives which would you rather?

The demonstrations could cost the economy as much as 1 billion baht ($30 million) a day, according to a survey released last week by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

I would not have said one measly little thing about politics if it were not for your unfounded accusation that the Taxi driver was a red shirt. That was your mistake. You brought politics into a discussion that should have been the usual Thai man cowardly bashing post. So don't blame me.

[robblok]

The taxi driver. Just the taxi driver. You had no reason to think he was a red shirt except that he was a taxi driver. The ladies may have had a totally different beef with the guy. All I'm saying is how the ladies were dressed has nothing to do with the taxi driver.

You are projecting your stereotypes into the situation. Protestors good and red shirts evil. Ergo anyone who does not like the protestors must be red shirts. It doesn't wash. It is not logical nor would any court in the world buy the argument.

Think of it this way. The cab driver assaults you after you yelled at him. You tell the judge he is a red shirt and was attacking the protestors. It becomes incumbent on you to explain why you thought he was a red shirt. You can't verbally assault a Thai and not expect a response.

You got a problem to begin with because you are twice the size and strength of the little taxi driver. He would be reasonable to assume you were going to attack him.

The bottom line is you assume anyone who attacks a protestor in Bangkok is a red shirt. He may in fact have lost money because of their actions and been complaining about it.

If someone prevented me from earning a living and feeding my starving children I would complain and complain loudly. Red shirt, green shirt or no shirt. Take my money and I'll complain.

Oh baby your fixated on clearing red shirts of anything and take this whole experience I had out of context. I tried to ignore you it did not work. I stand with my reasoning and sorry that you don't agree that is it not going to waste any more time on this.

If he lost money because of the protests I can feel for him, my gf is loosing money on it too. If he had just verbally abused those ladies so be it.. but it did not look like that. As others have said if i had done nothing and something had happened id probably be more upset.

I think anyone loosing money on these protests has a right to be angry and can do what they want as long as its not violence. Just like the protesters can do what they want to oust this government. Both sides have their rights. The moment violence is happening action should be taken.

I agree with you. I consider stealing also violence. Theft whether it is by violence or a sneak thief in the middle of the night. Which is worse. A punch or a person stealing 10,000 baht out of your wallet? Given only those two alternatives which would you rather?

The demonstrations could cost the economy as much as 1 billion baht ($30 million) a day, according to a survey released last week by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

I would not have said one measly little thing about politics if it were not for your unfounded accusation that the Taxi driver was a red shirt. That was your mistake. You brought politics into a discussion that was the usual should have been the usual Thai man cowardly bashing post. So don't blame me.

I did not bring politics into it i described the situation as i felt it was and i still stand by it. You live in fantasy land. You made a nice post on an other topic i agree with but otherwise you live in fantasy-land and will do whatever to protect your precious red shirts who cant seem to do anything wrong.

I on the other side have no problem condemning stupid actions by anti government people like saying a 71 year old is a Cambodian mercenary. You are totally blind.. I am just a bit bias.

Now equating a punch with 10.000 bt. It kinda depends on how much damage the punch did mate or how rich i was. Go educate yourself a bit more and come back to me.

[thailiketoo]

I agree with you. I consider stealing also violence. Theft whether it is by violence or a sneak thief in the middle of the night. Which is worse. A punch or a person stealing 10,000 baht out of your wallet? Given only those two alternatives which would you rather?

The demonstrations could cost the economy as much as 1 billion baht ($30 million) a day, according to a survey released last week by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

I would not have said one measly little thing about politics if it were not for your unfounded accusation that the Taxi driver was a red shirt. That was your mistake. You brought politics into a discussion that was the usual should have been the usual Thai man cowardly bashing post. So don't blame me.

I did not bring politics into it i described the situation as i felt it was and i still stand by it. You live in fantasy land. You made a nice post on an other topic i agree with but otherwise you live in fantasy-land and will do whatever to protect your precious red shirts who cant seem to do anything wrong.

I on the other side have no problem condemning stupid actions by anti government people like saying a 71 year old is a Cambodian mercenary. You are totally blind.. I am just a bit bias.

Now equating a punch with 10.000 bt. It kinda depends on how much damage the punch did mate or how rich i was. Go educate yourself a bit more and come back to me.

You wrote in the OP, "the guy was a red shirt that is for sure." That is bringing politics into the discussion. You brought politics into the original post unless by saying red shirt you were commenting on his sartorial elegance.

[whatsinaname]

respect earned

u did the only good thing to do

protecting women (and especially children) from potential harm can, and should, never be walked away from

[Neeeko]

Could of gone very wrong, but still that was a good brave thing to do!

[maximillian]

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.

"...I just acted."""

You acted like a man should.

Once I was in a dangerous situation in BKK when I inadvertently stepped over some Buddha images that were displayed for sale on a rag on a sidewalk in a kind of flea market.

A young Thai pulled me around on my shoulder, screeming at me like a mad monkey and lifted his fist in a very threatening way.

Had he hit me, I most certainly would have hit back. I might have been very unlucky if my gf hadn't saved me from the maniac. She waied a hundred times and tried to explain that I was just a stupid farang who didn't see the Buddha images on the floor.

In fact, it took me a while to fully understand what has happened and what could have happened.

Lesson learned:

a. watch out where you step;

b. never get involved in a fight with a Thai. He is never alone.

Some time ago:

Grabbed a big glass beer mug from a drunken farangs hand half a second before he was able to smash it on another drunk farangs

head. No thinking involved, just acted.

[Emster23]

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

Next time, bring your armor! Haha... Good job by the way. Do knights go out when their armor is not shiny, or they misplaced it and just stay home and have a cuppa?

[aveabeeror2]

What happened....." was walking down the street, saw a man and two women argueing, I told the man to stop".

TV version......"I has hobbling down the street after suffering a major operation on my foot. I came upon a member of thailands most dangerours gangs about to cause grevious bodily harm, or worst, to two defenceless women. Ignoring the acute pain in my crippled foot I flung myself between the gangster and the two terrified women. Knowing full well that the gangster was probably fully armed with knife,gun or both,I risked life and limb to rescue the women from certain harm. Now over to you to heap praise on me."

[transam]

What happened....." was walking down the street, saw a man and two women argueing, I told the man to stop".

TV version......"I has hobbling down the street after suffering a major operation on my foot. I came upon a member of thailands most dangerours gangs about to cause grevious bodily harm, or worst, to two defenceless women. Ignoring the acute pain in my crippled foot I flung myself between the gangster and the two terrified women. Knowing full well that the gangster was probably fully armed with knife,gun or both,I risked life and limb to rescue the women from certain harm. Now over to you to heap praise on me."

And why not ?..................

PS. I don't think you understand the OP...........

[Fookhaht]

The Thai government actually gives out "Good Samaritain" awards to Thai citizens for just such actions. Congratulations for doing the right thing, even at personal risk. That's what being a "Good Samaritain" is all about.

[krisb]

the guy was a red shirt that is for sure

So every hot tempered Thai is a red shirt?

[robblok]

the guy was a red shirt that is for sure

So every hot tempered Thai is a red shirt?

It was me who said that not him. I made the assumption based on the situation and the fact many Thai taxi drivers are red shirts. But now I wish i had let it out because that is not what it was all about. When i wrote this i just came back home after the incident.

Anyway its more that everyone always say don't do anything and I always thought I would not do anything as its the safe option and I am not a fighter or aggressive person.

Just later wondering what if it had gone wrong. Lots of things can go wrong in a fight its not like in the movies.. that is why i stay out.. even if you win you can loose if someone falls and slips hits their head and end of story.

[Bangel72]

Would you have done the same had a protester been threatening a red shirt and her family. I only ask because the politics element seems like a red herring here.

For some people it is in their nature to run for the hills at any sign of conflict, for others it is to protect the weak, both are survival mechanisms and both have their place, your nature plays a big part in these decisions but in a civilized society everybody needs to manage and balance their natural instincts and importantly be prepared to live with the consequences of their actions.

Culture, politics and communication differences will aggravate the risks particularly in a foreign country and as such you need to consider these as much more with your head than with your gut.

Having courage means different things to different people, if you are a runner standing firm takes courage, if you are a get involved with everything sort of person walking away takes courage but either way you still need to deal with a sense of right and wrong and the consequences of your actions.

Someone above mentioned the results determine if your actions were correct, it could have gone many ways, you walk away and it turns out just to be a small storm in a T-cup, you walk away and a child ends up in hospital, you get involved and calm the situation down, you stay and get hurt or worse you stay and hurt someone else are all possible outcomes.

Keep a cool head and consider the risks which are different with every situation and then err on the side of caution every time, this won't always mean walking away but it's likely to mean walking away in most cases.