Thai Tourist Police crack down on 'the colored'

[Ducking and]

All these posts about discrimination are sheer <deleted>. When you show you have big enough money they will befriend you, whatever the colour of your skin. This is Thailand, so many posters on this its tell me so. It is only about money. And after a dozen years meeting all sorts of people from all over this beautiful country you will agree.

[Pimay1]

Hold on a minute gents and ladies. Go back and read the headline and the introduction to the article and then analyze what is written.

Police crack down on 'the colored' Tourist police sweeped through the Nana and Pratunam areas last night to target “colored people,” detaining 72 clearly guilty of having black skin for drug tests.

Now take a look at; Saying they were acting on complaints of black people abusing drugs.

Then; sent to hunt down and round up the darker-skinned people

Then; and the target for us tonight is colored people

In my twenty years here I have never one time heard a Thai refer to a black person as a "colored" person. I have heard them referred to khohn ni gro:h and khohn meuut which means black people or person, person of African, or mixed-African ancestry.

I am absolutely convinced that Coconuts has deliberately and knowingly wrote this article in such a way using incorrect translations in order to insert sensationalism and racism. Shame on them.

[Commerce]

'Colored people'. I haven't heard that sorry term for a few decades.

Well even Thais have their own terms Jeremy. Such as "mai ow pen si dam dam" when walking with an umbrella to hide from the sun. In effect, the statement means, "I don't want to look as black as an issan rice farmer." However, if all are referring to a company such as Robinsons', which had 'golliwogs' banned in the past from its jam jars, I wonder if the Thai term 'colored' extends beyond the negro and, in fact, to Issan? I'm sure there are many more Issan selling drugs than 'colored' as targeted in this article.

[lostinisaan]

I was shocked the first time I was offered drugs for sale on Suk. Soi 11. It must have been about 10 years ago, maybe more And yes, he was black.

They're all innocent. All they wanted to sell me was coke, fifteen years ago.

Edited April 1, 2015 by lostinisaan

[Luxfare]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Racial profiling and racism is for the ignorant. This clearly shows just how racist Thai society is. How and why they ever signed the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights is beyond me.

Considering my work which is internet based there is without question a problem with Nigerians but certainly not every Nigerian on the planet and therefore to target these people is again a pure act of racism.

Funny how the Thai women complain of being scammed. They should consider that it takes a special type of person to be scammed ... A) the very stupid and; the very greedy.

Who said it was every Nigerian on the planet.....in fact who mentioned Nigeria at all? Bar you of course.

If you live or socialize on soi 11 or the 7/11 near the Sofitel you'll 100% certainly have been approached at least once to buy drugs.....I often socialize around that area and have lost count how many times I've been approached and every time he's been black.

[gandalf12]

Can anyone name a country that doesnt exert some form of racism? I certainly cant and I have been to a lot of countries

[Bluespunk]

I wonder how many innocent Africans got caught up in this net?

I think you mean innocent people as the bib went after black people regardless of nationality, creed or innocence.

They had one and only one criteria for judging innocence or guilt and that was colour.

[saminoz]

More good news. You guys can play the racism card all you want, fortunately Thais and Thailand could not care less about such matters. Fact is the vast majority of drug dealers etc. in the mentioned area are black, hence it makes lots of sense to go after black people.

As a sidenote, most of the mentioned black people in that area are here illegally as well, which I am sure the police will find out once they check their passports and missing workpermits.

I think you'll find the majority of drug dealers here in Thailand are Thai.

You should join that other apologist, Suffinator. You could be Hallucinator. It is in keeping with the subject matter after all.

[diehard60]

Would like to know what countries they were from?

[rubl]

More good news. You guys can play the racism card all you want, fortunately Thais and Thailand could not care less about such matters. Fact is the vast majority of drug dealers etc. in the mentioned area are black, hence it makes lots of sense to go after black people.

As a sidenote, most of the mentioned black people in that area are here illegally as well, which I am sure the police will find out once they check their passports and missing workpermits.

I think you'll find the majority of drug dealers here in Thailand are Thai.

You should join that other apologist, Suffinator. You could be Hallucinator. It is in keeping with the subject matter after all.

How does the opinion that the majority of drugs dealers are Thai make one an apologist? Frequently the news suggests that indeed Thai are heavily into drug dealing.

The only puzzling thing is why the drug syndicates (allegedly) use Africans at the end of the chain. Maybe because it's only the dealer on the street which normally get arrested?

[scavenger]

Aren't Thais "coloured?"

[Bluespunk]

"The foreign criminals come in many forms, and the target for us tonight is colored people,"

Yes, because we all know coloured people is a criminal type.

Overwhelmingly, they are here.

Rubbish.

[Bluespunk]

More good news. You guys can play the racism card all you want, fortunately Thais and Thailand could not care less about such matters. Fact is the vast majority of drug dealers etc. in the mentioned area are black, hence it makes lots of sense to go after black people.

As a sidenote, most of the mentioned black people in that area are here illegally as well, which I am sure the police will find out once they check their passports and missing workpermits.

I think you'll find the majority of drug dealers here in Thailand are Thai.

You should join that other apologist, Suffinator. You could be Hallucinator. It is in keeping with the subject matter after all.

You really think arresting people based on their colour is right?

You think that saying this is wrong and pointing out the truth makes me an apologist?

Grief!

Edited April 1, 2015 by Bluespunk

[JoeLing]

I wonder how many innocent Africans got caught up in this net?

I think you mean innocent people as the bib went after black people regardless of nationality, creed or innocence.

They had one and only one criteria for judging innocence or guilt and that was colour.

All I read was they cracked down on colored people,

I have not read anywhere they were judged yet.

Do you know something we don't?

[aaacorp]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

More good news. You guys can play the racism card all you want, fortunately Thais and Thailand could not care less about such matters. Fact is the vast majority of drug dealers etc. in the mentioned area are black, hence it makes lots of sense to go after black people.
As a sidenote, most of the mentioned black people in that area are here illegally as well, which I am sure the police will find out once they check their passports and missing workpermits.

I think you'll find the majority of drug dealers here in Thailand are Thai.

You should join that other apologist, Suffinator. You could be Hallucinator. It is in keeping with the subject matter after all.

You really think arresting people based on their colour is right?

You think that saying this is wrong and pointing out the truth makes me an apologist?

Grief!

Don't bother answering him : all his comments are in a way or another tainted with racism..and the only thing who seems to be of valor is british colonialism....

[arrowsdawdle]

They should do for everyone, why to profile based on the color.

If race is motive, look like Thai police needs a color blind test first!

Race is the means, not the motive. Selling drugs cuts into somebody local's baht flow and everyone knows which uniformed locals they are, but Buddha forbid, without a WP?

[mercman24]

they ought to round up those black girls with the big boobies on soi 3, i walked into a dam lamp post. total distraction.

[ggt]

Got to love the Thai police...in some countries the police would be in hot-water for targeting a particular group...I believe in calling it like it is...

[lostinisaan]

Can anyone name a country that doesnt exert some form of racism? I certainly cant and I have been to a lot of countries

Tibet 48 years ago, perhaps?

[saminoz]

His comment was correct in the context of the OP. Had the police arrested white, brown, yellow or mixed race people then he may have commented accordingly.

Fact - black people commit a lot of street crimes in many countries. Fact many drug dealers and pimps in that area are of African origin - as anyone walking through can see.

Fact - black people commit a lot of street crimes because they grow up being routinely discriminated against and accused of being criminals starting so early in life, that after a while they hate people who say things like you do. And I don't blame them for it after seeing enough of it.

Wow, you are really showing the chip on your shoulder now (more like a shoulder boulder!).

I think you have clearly shown what side of the racial divide you are on and then you compound issues by trying to employ the old "I was mistreated as a child" defense! Do the {alleged) facts in your first sentence actually excuse the actions of the drug dealers, pimps etc? Is that what you are saying?

Edited April 1, 2015 by saminoz

[Chao Lao Beach]

I genuinly feel sorry for the East Africians in Silom who are in genuine biz, they get the same rap.

[lostinisaan]

Would like to know what countries they were from?

The guy with the "funny" T-shirt is definitely not from Jamaica.

Most of them are from Nigeria, but some of them hold a not real passport from Cameroon and other neighboring countries.

But I'm sure that ther're enough people who already replaced those who're in custody now.....

Edited April 1, 2015 by lostinisaan

[Gramps]

C'mon, guys, one April Fools joke per year is enough. The 7/11 thing was amusing - this is not just implausible but downright silly!

[jspill]

In my twenty years here I have never one time heard a Thai refer to a black person as a "colored" person. I have heard them referred to khohn ni gro:h and khohn meuut which means black people or person, person of African, or mixed-African ancestry.

I am absolutely convinced that Coconuts has deliberately and knowingly wrote this article in such a way using incorrect translations in order to insert sensationalism and racism. Shame on them.

'piw see' is literally 'skin of colour' hence 'coloured person', and would be more common in written than spoken Thai (in speech, khon dam is more often used for 'black person')

Here is a Thai news piece, run the headline through Thai2English and it's 'thai police eliminate piw see' http://m.dailynews.co.th/News.do?contentId=311462

Coconuts appears to directly translate from that, but yes it's still in bad taste. It's a tabloid rag

Edited April 1, 2015 by jspill

[Alwyn]

How is it wrong to say colored? Should we say black? Oh... Africans? No no no... Let's call them Farangs.

It's a PC thing apparently. My mates missus is black and he nearly fainted when I used the word "coloured". The fact that I was talking about my step-sisters who are black/coloured didn't seem to matter with him... "Black" is the word in the UK it seems. If you're in America "African American" is the term of preference, even though the person might be 6th generation American or Caribbean or Brazillian etc and not African doesn't deter them from labelling themselves. It's all pretty weird in my opinion.

[Bluespunk]

I wonder how many innocent Africans got caught up in this net?

I think you mean innocent people as the bib went after black people regardless of nationality, creed or innocence.

They had one and only one criteria for judging innocence or guilt and that was colour.

All I read was they cracked down on colored people,

I have not read anywhere they were judged yet.

Do you know something we don't?

"80 police officers were sent to hunt down and round up the darker-skinned people found around Sukhumvit sois 3 to 13, Petchaburi and Ratchaprarop roads."

It appears what I know that you don't is how to read.

[Frank78]

Je suis Biko

So fun how racist it sounds in french especially when you complain of racism of this thread. I hope you're not french yourself, because if you prononce this sentence in front of a french speaking muslim or north african he would slit your throat in a second. Not joking.

And yeah I know the peter gabriel's song.

[mtw1000]

Thank god! This is way overdue!

[JoeLing]

Maybe some of the Brits could explain to the many non Bits in this forum,
why is "Colored People" offensive in the UK whilst "People of Colour" is not?

After they finished, they can try to explain the same to the Thai people please

[Porkster]

How can someone be clearly guilty of having black skin. I didn't know being a black person was a crime.

It is in America! Edited April 1, 2015 by Porkster