Life Is Cheap In Asian Countries -is This A Western Myth?

[david96]

This saying has been around for a long time and it appears to mean that an English speaking european is morally superior to anyone of any other culture or religion. This view is of course pure humbug. Anyone else have any views? Have tried to google the subject .

[Thaiquila]

Hmmm.

I always took the phrase to mean that in poorer nations, death is much more visible than in the west, and more accepted matter of factly as a fact of life. Maybe less resistance to it, perhaps with the Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation providing a philosophical underpinning of such attitudes.

[PeaceBlondie]

When people don't wear crash helmets, don't learn how to drive properly, drive when drunk, etc., of course highway fatalities are so common (compared to Western, highly regulated countries) that it's almost routine to briefly grieve the death or dismemberment of someone you love, and then wait for the next crash, as if it's inevitable.

When the culture or religion have a fatalism built into the structure, or a belief in a happier life after death, then it's easier to accept.

Same for health care, sanitation, even oppressive governments.

Developed countries can afford to make life dear. On the other hand, many developed countries teach their children to kill anybody who is a threat to their personal life. Then, the concept of community amounts to little more than a perverted nationalism and an insane individualism.

In my opinionated opinion.

[Thaiquila]

Pick your poison, I reckon.

[Thaipwriter]

it appears to mean that an English speaking european is morally superior to anyone of any other culture or religion.

I'm not sure why you mention English speakers, or even Europeans specifically?

[jackr]

it appears to mean that an English speaking european is morally superior to anyone of any other culture or religion.

I'm not sure why you mention English speakers, or even Europeans specifically?

I think he's implying that Yanks, even English-speaking ones, are a tad inferior perhaps?

[tourleadersi]

I used to hear the same thing in Africa, so perhaps it is a western saying intrinsically linked to the wealth of other nations.

There seems to be sensless crime and a wanton abondon to personal safety in almost all parts of the world (how many Thai's are regular base jumpers compared to more affluent countries?).

You ask in any country anyone who has lost a loved one in a morobike accident or crime, they'll tell you the value of that life.

Perhaps if you are looking from a viewpoint where you have very little to loose, there is less value on other peoples losses.

We do place a value on people. A life saving doctor and a homeless guy are both killed in a car crash, would the feeling of loss be equal?

[Noel]

This saying has been around for a long time and it appears to mean that an English speaking european is morally superior to anyone of any other culture or religion.

I would have thought the phrase applies to anyone.

Why does it 'appear' to you "to mean that an English speaking european is morally superior to anyone of any other culture or religion mean an English speaking european"...

[david96]

it appears to mean that an English speaking european is morally superior to anyone of any other culture or religion.

I'm not sure why you mention English speakers, or even Europeans specifically?

Anglo Saxon Europeans as found in the UK, USofA. Australia and NZ,who claim (when it suits them )

to be Christian and expouse their moral superiority.

[Sing_Sling]

it appears to mean that an English speaking european is morally superior to anyone of any other culture or religion.

I'm not sure why you mention English speakers, or even Europeans specifically?

Anglo Saxon Europeans as found in the UK, USofA. Australia and NZ,who claim (when it suits them )

to be Christian and expouse their moral superiority.

OI!!! I resent that. I am a Kraut and believe to be Christian and morally superior! rusfafruggin, rassafriggin . . . The nerve!

[plachon]

This saying has been around for a long time and it appears to mean that an English speaking european is morally superior to anyone of any other culture or religion. This view is of course pure humbug. Anyone else have any views? Have tried to google the subject .

Maybe it's a matter of economics, this concept of "cheapness"?Say your govt. accidentally kills you in Thailand and you're Thai, and maybe 10-20 K baht might do the trick to the grieving family (a la Tak Bai), but if you're Swedish, Swiss or even German, and there'll be hel_l to pay, as well as a six figure sum in krone, Swiss francs or DM. Pure economics..............

[Sakeopete]

I don't know if it is value of life or plain ignorance of safety but to me every time I see a child not big enough to sit on a motorcycle driving it with no safety gear of course or students hanging off the back of a pick up going to school I wonder how much their parents value life. Would we see that happen in developed countries even if it wasn't the law?

[Ulysses G.]

Hmmm.

I always took the phrase to mean that in poorer nations, death is much more visible than in the west, and more accepted matter of factly as a fact of life.

This seems a lot more likely to me.

[Jai Yen Yen]

When people don't wear crash helmets, don't learn how to drive properly, drive when drunk, etc., of course highway fatalities are so common (compared to Western, highly regulated countries) that it's almost routine to briefly grieve the death or dismemberment of someone you love, and then wait for the next crash, as if it's inevitable.

When the culture or religion have a fatalism built into the structure, or a belief in a happier life after death, then it's easier to accept.

Same for health care, sanitation, even oppressive governments.

Developed countries can afford to make life dear. On the other hand, many developed countries teach their children to kill anybody who is a threat to their personal life. Then, the concept of community amounts to little more than a perverted nationalism and an insane individualism.

In my opinionated opinion.

Where on earth did you get that from? I must've been away from school when they taught that, and I certainly never heard it from anyone else!

Or did you mean "under-developed"?

[britmaveric]

Life is cheap, here is a good example:

http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_06_06_49_3.htm

300bht

[toptuan]

When I'm on a motorbike in Thailand, I swear my life is as cheap as dirt.

Buses, trucks and SUVs pass me within centimeters. Sometimes I'm sucked towards the passing vehicle. Other times I'm nearly blown off the road. (What's the physics, here?) Other vehicles pull directly into my path at the last moment. Larger vehicles tail-gate me at about one meter when traffic slows down in a crowded area. A sudden stop by me, and I would become a road pizza. In three years, I've been hit four times (three times from behind, and once side-swiped). Yup, still kickin' too. Incredibly lucky. After dumping me to the asphalt, two of the four drivers hit the accelerator and kept going, never to be found.

Further, judging by the alarming number of other stories I hear about hit-and-run drivers which victimize motorcyclists and bicyclists here, it seems to confirm my deepest fears about the matter.

Why is it, in over 35 years of driving in my home country, I never experienced or saw this level of vehicular violence? Not once did I see or experience a hit-and-run. Of course we know it happens, but I'm talking about frequency, here.

Interestingly, I just had two Thai university students spend the summer in the USA. They were amazed at how traffic gives wide berth to motorcyclists/bicyclists going the same direction. They were also delighted at how considerate drivers seem to be (and these kids were visiting NYC and L.A.--in my opinion, the worst of American drivers!). They joked that they were so relaxed on calmer, more considerate USA roads, that they could hardly stay awake! (ok, another problem created).

I don't know how much this is about common courtesy/manners or more deeply-imbedded values/non-values concerning the lives and welfare of other people.

All I can observe is from personal experience and emotion: I feel pretty cheap on Thai roads.

P.S. As soon as finances permit, I'm wrappin' more metal around me.

Edited June 24, 2006 by toptuan

[tourleadersi]

P.S. As soon as finances permit, I'm wrappin' more metal around me.

Man I would love to have one of those Humvee's or Hummers out here, then nothing would be cheap.....

[david96]

Life is dear , Death is cheap. one has read this somewhere in Thailand. In the West we worship the dead and forget the maimed and crippled, they are quietly forgotten.Using dead people for political gains is common.

[thohts]

I read somewhere recently a convincing argument that people in richer countries have "more time" or brain space to care (about their environment, other people, etc) because they're not so focused on survival.

I can't remember it now, but that's the gist of it.

Driving is a pretty much new experience to most Thais, so I'm not surprised that most of them don't really know how to drive safely. Perhaps that will come in time when the feelings of superiority (and other insecurities that comes with new "wealth") subsides.

[wamberal]

The poor have few rights in most countries. They have virtually no rights in Thailand.

My wife told me that when she was a kid, she fell off a bus that she was boarding because the driver did the usual Thai thing of starting off when he wanted to, rather than when the passengers had boarded. Fortunately she was plucked to safety by an adult passenger.

In Western countries an incident like that would lead to a court appearance by the driver. In Thailand? Life is cheap. Mai pen rai.

[camerata]

I watched Dr No on cable recently. Dr No was half Asian, half Western, and when Bond first meets him he says something like, "You're either working for the East or the West, and given your total disregard for human life it must be the East."

I think life was cheap in most countries (remember the Inquisition?) up until The Enlightenment in the 18th Century. But the Age of Reason primarily affected the Protestant and Catholic Christian countries of Western Europe/North America, and to a far less extent the Orthodox Christian countries of Eastern Europe. It didn't touch the Islamic world or Asia except through colonialism.

So that whole idea of equal rights and respect for the life and dignity of individuals has come late to this part of the world, where hierarchical society is the tradition. Also, as others have said, it's difficult to make life dear when so many people are poor.

[toptuan]

Thohts and Camerata, especially: Thanks for taking anecdotal-type evidence in postings like mine, and adding some real thought-provoking analysis to the issues it represents. Excellent posts.

[pop_corn]

[guyham]

Maybe it should be "Death is cheap" rather than life is cheap

[jbowman1993]

I would not say that life is cheap in asian countries. People's grief for loved ones who've died is just as real here, and just as painful.

I would say that people here are not impressed with a "Safety Mindset", like we are in other parts of the world. Growing up from an early age, I was drilled on the safe way to do things. Wearing seat belts, walking in the halls, wearing a helmet when riding a bike, etc... My parents instilled this safety mindset in me, and I intead to pass it on to my children.

The idea of Safety First is something that we can all benefit from. Every time my Thai nephew gets in the car with me, he shouts, "Safety Belt!" and proceeds to put it on. Its something i've taught him, and he knows how important it is now. The Thai government can do more by enacting laws concerning safety, and establishing a govermental agency (Similar to the US's OSHA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration). The police can do more by enforcing safety standards for motor vehicles. Manufacturers can do more by making their products safer, from cars to toys. And we can do more by educating our children into thinking "Safety first"!

Peace

[thankuverybig]

i saw these 2 thai workers painting the underside of a walk bridge crossing,across a 3 lane busy highway,in bangkok.they were sat on just a board suspended by a thin rope on each corner,with nothing to protect them if they fell into the traffic below.that wouldnt happen in the uk.the construction company would cover their arse.

past & present religion must be factor on peoples veiws on life & death.

wasnt christianity invented by imprisoned slaves who accepted that they were always going to be slaves?"the meek shall inherit the earth".

maybe the budhist religion is also an accepting religion.

politics,past & present,of a country, must also come into peoples attitudes.

[Bangkok Barry]

I cannot believe the same value is placed on life in Thailand as it is in the west, when I see, over and over again, people riding bikes with no lights on dark streets, even on the wrong side of the road. I cannot believe anyone could be stupid enough not to realise they were risking their life, so the only conclusion must therefore be that they don't care.

And the pick-up buses of course, where people hang off the back. Not long after I came to Thailand the brother of my wife's friend was hanging on, and a motorcycle pulled out of a side soi without stopping, Thai-style, and the bus stopped suddenly and he fell off and broke his head open on the kerb. And that was another life gone for no reason.

My wife and I went to the temple after that and that's when I first noticed some monks with tattoos and smoking, and I thought, hold on, this isn't the image I had of monks. But that's another story.....

[Crushdepth]

I'm not sure why you mention English speakers, or even Europeans specifically?

Agreed. This saying could apply to any number of places and many 'developed' countries too...

[gbt71fa]

it appears to mean that an English speaking european is morally superior to anyone of any other culture or religion.

I'm not sure why you mention English speakers, or even Europeans specifically?

I think he's implying that Yanks, even English-speaking ones, are a tad inferior perhaps?

Don't go there...or should I mention your dental plan?

[Mossfinn]

Buses, trucks and SUVs pass me within centimeters. Sometimes I'm sucked towards the passing vehicle. Other times I'm nearly blown off the road. (What's the physics, here?) Other vehicles pull directly into my path at the last moment. Larger vehicles tail-gate me at about one meter when traffic slows down in a crowded area. A sudden stop by me, and I would become a road pizza. In three years, I've been hit four times (three times from behind, and once side-swiped). Yup, still kickin' too. Incredibly lucky.

Hey Toptuan,

You sure this isn't OAH trying to geet another book review from you. 5555555

Moss