Was strange.

A local lad was playing an old game that I used to like before, not many people play it now so when I noticed I gave the thumbs up and a smile. I then remembered a good tip and went over to talk to him about it.

He was a bit blank so I just wrote it down and gave it to him.

He pushed my hand away and said <deleted> You.

Surprised me as it seemed very non-Buddhist. All I was doing was helping him out.

Some sort of cultural thing?

I think it was kind of creepy on your part to be honest.

So you went up to a stranger in a net cafe and tried to tell them how to do something without them first asking for help and you think that they are the one with the problem. <<<< Inflammatory comments removed. >>>>

But perhaps you speak perfect Thai and were ultra polite when you approached a stranger. How so ultra Christian of you.

So you went up to a stranger in a net cafe

Nope. In my neighbour's house.

Maybe mis communication ??? They are not normally like that ...

So tell him his mother copulates with elephants and walk away. Move on.

Yes, they can be like that. Unless perhaps he thought you were trying to give him your phone number, there's a possibility face was lost somewhere, perhaps due to you knowing more than him about the game, so the best way to save face (in his eyes) might be to react with a F.U. Seen similar many a time. It's not all smiles here, eh what! Just move on with a 'go F yourself' or don't worry about it, you can't educate pork.

Maybe mis communication ??? They are not normally like that ...

Ha, gotta love people who say this kind of thing; or feel very sorry for them......

So you went up to a stranger in a net cafe

Nope. In my neighbour's house.

Maybe not so creepy in that setting. You probably should have mentioned that, it makes a big difference

Probably just a typical obnoxious kid. If you were his age would you appreciate some stranger coming over to tell you you weren't doing it right ?

Next time OP ... just say ... Khun tham di dee mak ,.. roughly - you did a good job... I get very good reactions when I say this in an appropriate moment ...

So you went up to a stranger in a net cafe

Nope. In my neighbour's house.

Maybe not so creepy in that setting. You probably should have mentioned that, it makes a big difference

Probably just a typical obnoxious kid. If you were his age would you appreciate some stranger coming over to tell you you weren't doing it right ?

If I said "F U" to an adult when I was a kid; an adult of ANY race or ethnicity; my mother would have slapped me into next week

So you went up to a stranger in a net cafe and tried to tell them how to do something without them first asking for help and you think that they are the one with the problem. <<<< Inflammatory comments removed. >>>>

But perhaps you speak perfect Thai and were ultra polite when you approached a stranger. How so ultra Christian of you.

If he was telling him how to 'castle', 'en Passant' or any other chess move, it should have been the lake

On the other hands it could have been his number with 'call me any time'.

Next time OP ... just say ... Khun tham di dee mak ,.. roughly - you did a good job... I get very good reactions when I say this in an appropriate moment ...

That would be like saying "you did very well, sir

A) Sarcasm rarely exists in Thai and most Thais don't get it

your "good" reaction probably comes from them not understanding you

C) you wouldn't use the pronoun "khun" to get that point across

It's simple : They hate you.

So you went up to a stranger in a net cafe

Nope. In my neighbour's house.

Maybe not so creepy in that setting. You probably should have mentioned that, it makes a big difference

Probably just a typical obnoxious kid. If you were his age would you appreciate some stranger coming over to tell you you weren't doing it right ?

He was about 35.

It's simple : They hate you.

But they're Buddhists.

It's simple : They hate you.

But they're Buddhists.

Why should be Buddhists any different?

I think if some weirdo is doing the the same with me I also tell him to go away.....

Brizzy ... interesting ...

.

Give wide bearth to thai males...nothing to gain...a lot to lose.

Wouldn't most Westerners have a lot to gain from spending time with Buddhists?

Next time OP ... just say ... Khun tham di dee mak ,.. roughly - you did a good job... I get very good reactions when I say this in an appropriate moment ...

That would be like saying "you did very well, sir

A) Sarcasm rarely exists in Thai and most Thais don't get it

your "good" reaction probably comes from them not understanding you

C) you wouldn't use the pronoun "khun" to get that point across

Well ... Dear Linguist... I have used the phrase several times... the Thais involved knew exactly what I was trying to say ... and continued to interact at the time and later on in a very friendly fashion ... Not one of them interpreted it as sarcasm or anything other than what was intended... You sir have no appreciation for what goes on with Thai people and Farangs (Westerners) when the intent in understood by numerous things such as past interactions, body language, overall tone, the situation and context and related things... Maybe you ought to go to the school of life - not just continue your fourth nerdy - geeky year in the technical aspect of Thai language communication at the mucky- muck level - which no one in real life uses...

Was it anything like this?

Bhuddist lol their own backwards version... I think the real monks live tiebet.

Next time OP ... just say ... Khun tham di dee mak ,.. roughly - you did a good job... I get very good reactions when I say this in an appropriate moment ...

That would be like saying "you did very well, sir

A) Sarcasm rarely exists in Thai and most Thais don't get it

your "good" reaction probably comes from them not understanding you

C) you wouldn't use the pronoun "khun" to get that point across

Well ... Dear Linguist... I have used the phrase several times... the Thais involved knew exactly what I was trying to say ... and continued to interact at the time and later on in a very friendly fashion ... Not one of them interpreted it as sarcasm or anything other than what was intended... You sir have no appreciation for what goes on with Thai people and Farangs (Westerners) when the intent in understood by numerous things such as past interactions, body language, overall tone, the situation and context and related things... Maybe you ought to go to the school of life - not just continue your fourth nerdy - geeky year in the technical aspect of Thai language communication at the mucky- muck level - which no one in real life uses...

leave them in your girlfriends purse again?

Perhaps if you told the whole story. Lad implies youth. You should have said I walked past a neighbors house that I don't really know very well walked in and told a man that he is not very good at a game (in his native language or yours?) and suggested him to do things differently even though he didn't ask for your help.

"Wouldn't most Westerners have a lot to gain from spending time with Buddhists?"

I am sorry was he wearing orange robes? If not then why would you assume that he is a practicing anything. Just being Thai doesn't mean that you follow any of the precepts. Since more than 50% of the population break one of them daily, I doubt that we are talking about enlightened individuals. They are people who have the same faults, prides and prejudices as every person where you come from. You are white so you must be a Christian and turning the other cheek is customary but not you. You go on a forum and blame the person that you offended.

Second of all unless he was a fluent English speaker, he might not know the seriousness of &lt;deleted&gt;.

Now that we know the "Lad" was an adult this doesn't matter but.

Eliot rosewater

"If I said "F U" to an adult when I was a kid; an adult of ANY race or ethnicity; my mother would have slapped me into next week"

I doubt that your parents would have given a flying fuxx if you had told someone to ... in a foreign language that they didn't know.

Kids at school here give the middle finger all the time because they see it in movies and don't understand the impact. So culturally it has no value other than a cool foreign way of telling some off.

Oh right, sorry.

I was in a neighbour's house, this guy was playing an old version of Championship Manager (03/04), a football management game. I remembered that Carlos Tevez was a great, cheap player ('Wonderkid' to those who know the game) to sign then from Boca Juniors in Argentina.

So wrote his name down.

Had my hand pushed away and was told to F Off (in English )

Struck me as bit un-Buddhist and was quite surprising.

"Struck me as bit un-Buddhist and was quite surprising."

Again with the Buddhist assumption. The person was a man playing a game, what does one's assumed religion have to do with it? Are you really that ignorant and racist? How do you know he was Buddhist, how do you know anything about the guy? Why would someone from a Buddhist country act any different to some arrogant interferer than someone from a Christian country?

Bottom line: if he wasn't a friend, if you weren't speaking his native language, if you didn't engage in any conversation before giving him suggestions, then you should count yourself lucky he didn't throw a bottle at your head.

You were in the wrong. Why can't you accept that?

Bhuddist lol their own backwards version... I think the real monks live tiebet.

Tibetan buddhism is no more nor less authentic than any other form

you should count yourself lucky he didn't throw a bottle at your head.

Well he's Thai for one thing. They wouldn't do such a thing. 95% of Thais are Buddhist and all Thais are educated as Buddhists in school.

It was a nice house, not an English football terrace!

"if you didn't engage in any conversation'

Gave him a Hi as I entered.

Asked where he's from in English.

He said Khon Kaen.

I asked what do you do in Bangkok.

He said 'work'.

Strange to see a Buddhist get so angry at being offered advice that would benefit them.