I don't think we're racist

[AZBill]

I don't see Thais as racists. That's one of those American liberal labels that they use to throw at someone they don't agree with so it has no meaning to me . What Thais are is nationalistic and the U.S. could learn a lesson or two about protecting its borders.

[MaeJoMTB]

I don't see Thais as racists. That's one of those American liberal labels that they use to throw at someone they don't agree with so it has no meaning to me . What Thais are is nationalistic and the U.S. could learn a lesson or two about protecting its borders.

My wife (Thai) once refused to sit at a table with a girl (Thai) who was very dark skinned.

That seemed racist to me, especially when she said, black skin low class no good.

I was in a club dancing with miss dark skin one night, when a miss light skin came up to me and said, "why you dance with low class girl like that".

I didn't even know miss light skin .......... complete shocker, seemed racist to me.

Apparently that poor girl had been subjected to that kind of treatment all her life.

Edited April 28, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[Berkshire]

I don't see Thais as racists. That's one of those American liberal labels that they use to throw at someone they don't agree with so it has no meaning to me . What Thais are is nationalistic and the U.S. could learn a lesson or two about protecting its borders.

My wife (Thai) once refused to sit at a table with a girl (Thai) who was very dark skinned.

That seemed racist to me, especially when she said, black skin low class no good.

I was in a club dancing with miss dark skin one night, when a miss light skin came up to me and said, "why you dance with low class girl like that".

I didn't even know miss light skin .......... complete shocker, seemed racist to me.

Apparently that poor girl had been subjected to that kind of treatment all her life.

Sorry, but I don't believe a word of this. Thais are not that direct. And a light skin Thai girl would never put down a darker skinned Thai girl. Certainly not in the manner that you speak of.

[willyumiii]

I don't see Thais as racists. That's one of those American liberal labels that they use to throw at someone they don't agree with so it has no meaning to me . What Thais are is nationalistic and the U.S. could learn a lesson or two about protecting its borders.

My wife (Thai) once refused to sit at a table with a girl (Thai) who was very dark skinned.

That seemed racist to me, especially when she said, black skin low class no good.

I was in a club dancing with miss dark skin one night, when a miss light skin came up to me and said, "why you dance with low class girl like that".

I didn't even know miss light skin .......... complete shocker, seemed racist to me.

Apparently that poor girl had been subjected to that kind of treatment all her life.

Sorry, but I don't believe a word of this. Thais are not that direct. And a light skin Thai girl would never put down a darker skinned Thai girl. Certainly not in the manner that you speak of.

Excuse me?

Isn't assuming and stating that all Thais are the same a rather racist statement in itself??

[benalibina]

I don't see Thais as racists. That's one of those American liberal labels that they use to throw at someone they don't agree with so it has no meaning to me . What Thais are is nationalistic and the U.S. could learn a lesson or two about protecting its borders.

My wife (Thai) once refused to sit at a table with a girl (Thai) who was very dark skinned.

That seemed racist to me, especially when she said, black skin low class no good.

I was in a club dancing with miss dark skin one night, when a miss light skin came up to me and said, "why you dance with low class girl like that".

I didn't even know miss light skin .......... complete shocker, seemed racist to me.

Apparently that poor girl had been subjected to that kind of treatment all her life.

Sorry, but I don't believe a word of this. Thais are not that direct. And a light skin Thai girl would never put down a darker skinned Thai girl. Certainly not in the manner that you speak of.

And there was me always thinking that according to you....thais are just people like everywhere else in the world.....wrong, I was.

[Berkshire]

I don't see Thais as racists. That's one of those American liberal labels that they use to throw at someone they don't agree with so it has no meaning to me . What Thais are is nationalistic and the U.S. could learn a lesson or two about protecting its borders.

My wife (Thai) once refused to sit at a table with a girl (Thai) who was very dark skinned.

That seemed racist to me, especially when she said, black skin low class no good.

I was in a club dancing with miss dark skin one night, when a miss light skin came up to me and said, "why you dance with low class girl like that".

I didn't even know miss light skin .......... complete shocker, seemed racist to me.

Apparently that poor girl had been subjected to that kind of treatment all her life.

Sorry, but I don't believe a word of this. Thais are not that direct. And a light skin Thai girl would never put down a darker skinned Thai girl. Certainly not in the manner that you speak of.

Excuse me?

Isn't assuming and stating that all Thais are the same a rather racist statement in itself??

What a ridiculous statement. So if I say Americans value freedom, that is a racist statement to you?

[NanLaew]

I don't see Thais as racists. That's one of those American liberal labels that they use to throw at someone they don't agree with so it has no meaning to me . What Thais are is nationalistic and the U.S. could learn a lesson or two about protecting its borders.

My wife (Thai) once refused to sit at a table with a girl (Thai) who was very dark skinned.

That seemed racist to me, especially when she said, black skin low class no good.

I was in a club dancing with miss dark skin one night, when a miss light skin came up to me and said, "why you dance with low class girl like that".

I didn't even know miss light skin .......... complete shocker, seemed racist to me.

Apparently that poor girl had been subjected to that kind of treatment all her life.

Sorry, but I don't believe a word of this. Thais are not that direct. And a light skin Thai girl would never put down a darker skinned Thai girl. Certainly not in the manner that you speak of.

I am more sorry so see that you think someone is lying.

So if 'Thais are not that direct' and 'a light skin Thai girl would never put down a darker skinned Thai girl', how come it is common enough knowledge that Thai's do generally look down on their own darker skinned brothers and sisters? Do they all go around just thinking that and it has the desired effect?

Maybe we all watch too many lagorn on television? Otherwise, there's a multi-billion baht skin-whitening industry that suddenly needs a credible excuse to exist.

[Stradavarius37]

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

a number of petty bickering posts removed.

Not enough...

[Berkshire]

I don't see Thais as racists. That's one of those American liberal labels that they use to throw at someone they don't agree with so it has no meaning to me . What Thais are is nationalistic and the U.S. could learn a lesson or two about protecting its borders.

My wife (Thai) once refused to sit at a table with a girl (Thai) who was very dark skinned.

That seemed racist to me, especially when she said, black skin low class no good.

I was in a club dancing with miss dark skin one night, when a miss light skin came up to me and said, "why you dance with low class girl like that".

I didn't even know miss light skin .......... complete shocker, seemed racist to me.

Apparently that poor girl had been subjected to that kind of treatment all her life.

Sorry, but I don't believe a word of this. Thais are not that direct. And a light skin Thai girl would never put down a darker skinned Thai girl. Certainly not in the manner that you speak of.

I am more sorry so see that you think someone is lying.

So if 'Thais are not that direct' and 'a light skin Thai girl would never put down a darker skinned Thai girl', how come it is common enough knowledge that Thai's do generally look down on their own darker skinned brothers and sisters? Do they all go around just thinking that and it has the desired effect?

Maybe we all watch too many lagorn on television? Otherwise, there's a multi-billion baht skin-whitening industry that suddenly needs a credible excuse to exist.

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

[canman]

If you look at what we did for over 5 centuries , Slave Trade , Colonization , East India Company,Clive of India,Slaughter of aborigines, Opium War and much , much more, we shouldn't really cast stones at countries who may have been one of our previous victims in one way or another. We have laws like we do because of our past and to be honest most people are a bit racist

I didn't do any of that, and I suspect you didn't either.

So stop saying 'we' and speak for yourself.

Do you still blame the Italians for the Roman invasion of Europe?

Do you still blame current day Germans for what happened in WW2?

Do you still blame current Japanese for what happened in WW2?

Etc.

Yes, I blame and hold responsible for what they did all of the above.

I also blame and hold responsible for:

The exploitation and atrocities committed by European nations in their failed attempt to "colonize" most of the globe.

The atrocities committed by Christians in the crusades, the inquisition, and their attempt to exterminate all of those who they could not convert during Europe's colonization period.

I also blame and hold my home country responsible for all they did to Native Americans, their treatment of Japanese American citizens during WWII and countless other horrible acts they have committed.

Every nation and group has done things to be ashamed of and many are still doing them!

These things should never be forgotten or forgiven.

.

If we forget the past, we have not learned from it.

There are many different "We s" and 'Us s" in this world.

That is why I asked the OP to define "we" when he started this thread.

You are doing a lot of blaming and holding resposible here. Who do you hold responsible? Those who commit the past atrocities and are now dead or are you visiting the sins of the fathers on the sons??

[Tony Aparichio]

OP, may be you want to say that "We" pretend not to be racists and yes, you are right to say that "We" have got laws in our countries that do not allow us to be racists.

By reading comments about the Thais on TVF, including mine, then you can see if "We" are racists or not.

Immigration rules in Thailand are not racist but they are trying to safeguard their own people.

Also there are quite a few foreigners that have been awarded Thai citizenship the same as back in our own countries.

Also using the term "We" shows that we differentiate ourselves from the natives.

Is that racism?

--------------------------------

Thank you, Costas.

That's one of my pet dislikes on this forum.

People who refer to "their" perceived group as "US" and Thais as "Them".

I am an individual, not part of a group.

And as an individual I always get angry when some poster assumes I am a member of his group and refers to me as part of his "We" and my Thai friends as a "They".

I am an individual not the part of any WE or an US.

That must be so lonely. Not being a part of anything or any group of society in general.

I guess your an alien with your own race. Sorry but everyone is generalized as being part of of some for of race or nationality or ethnicity, to presume your something above is truly alien.

Not bieng a part of anything or any group??????????? wow.

Impossible. You dont have to go to meetings to be part of a group. Over 65---older... under 20 younger etc.

Open minded people are not restricted to the thoughts widely shared by the groups they are seen to be a part of.

They are however castigated by small minded puppets of group think. Open minded people voicing their open mind can start statements with

"The facts in this matter do not work in our favour, but ........."

Closed minded puppets are unable to conceive any idea that could go against "Group Think",

Words at one time had meaning that was checked by looking in a dictionary. Now they seem to have an emotional inpact

and are used for that impact weather or not that meaning fits to elicit the desired emotion.

Prejudices, (the meaning of this word is pre judgement) at a mental level, about different people, are almost universal

, altho few people will admit that. And are not immoral,illegal, or even particularly bad until they reach different levels.

Discrimination, however is a completely different thing. An example of spoken racial prejiduce would be

" He suprised me, I didn't think a xxxxxx could pass the test, but not only did he pass , he got the top mark

. I am gonna hire him". An example of racial descrimination would be

"I let him write the test, didn't look at it cause of course he failed.

We don't hire xxxxxx".

Many parts of the world- illegal ... ...In my small mind immoral.

Racist thought means thinking that different genetic origins creates different physical & or mental charicteristics. HHHmmm

Scientific observation would reveal the truth or falsehood in this. Statistics come into play. So do politics.

The scientific observation concerning the work output of recent immigrants from screaming hot nations

V.S. the work output of Natives from the Canadian north at temperatures of minus 40 degrees

would lead me to make a "Racist" decision as to which 20 of the avalible 100 workers will be working the doubletime weekend.

That decision would be racist for sure, possibly illegal. Would you make the same choise???? Would that make you racist????

Or perhaps safety & production minded.

At that point My conversation ends. And my hiring decisions between otherwise equal applicants become less transparent

[Asheron]

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories while being "light or "dark" skinned is not a choice as "you" were born that way.

And "definition of racism" in the west is basicly this: if you are "white" you are a racist regardless of what you say or do. If you are anything but "white" then you are never racist regardless of what you say or do.

[Berkshire]

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories while being "light or "dark" skinned is not a choice as "you" were born that way.

And "definition of racism" in the west is basicly this: if you are "white" you are a racist regardless of what you say or do. If you are anything but "white" then you are never racist regardless of what you say or do.

If there's no choice in skin color, why do you guys keep bringing up this whitening cream business? That's the point. To many Thais, it's only a feminine beauty sort of thing. In the west, when we talk about racism and skin color, it's much more sinister. Not the same in Thailand.

[willyumiii]

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories while being "light or "dark" skinned is not a choice as "you" were born that way.

And "definition of racism" in the west is basicly this: if you are "white" you are a racist regardless of what you say or do. If you are anything but "white" then you are never racist regardless of what you say or do.

"Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories"

That statement alone makes anything you have to say very questionable.

Being "fat" as you call it, is very rarely, if ever a choice.

Two people can consume the exact same number of calories and one may gain weight and the other may lose weight.

Metabolism can have a lot to do do with your weight.

The causes of obesity may be genetic, medical, psychological or just a matter of a lack of control, self discipline or control.

I have never had a weight problem, but I can understand those who do.

I truly believe that most "fat" people do not choose to be fat.

Why do you think there is a multi billion dollar weight loss industry?

There may be a few, but damn few people who choose to be overweight and unhealthy.

I don't think you think....

[Asheron]

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories while being "light or "dark" skinned is not a choice as "you" were born that way.

And "definition of racism" in the west is basicly this: if you are "white" you are a racist regardless of what you say or do. If you are anything but "white" then you are never racist regardless of what you say or do.

"Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories"

That statement alone makes anything you have to say very questionable.

Being "fat" as you call it, is very rarely, if ever a choice.

Two people can consume the exact same number of calories and one may gain weight and the other may lose weight.

Metabolism can have a lot to do do with your weight.

The causes of obesity may be genetic, medical, psychological or just a matter of a lack of control, self discipline or control.

I have never had a weight problem, but I can understand those who do.

I truly believe that most "fat" people do not choose to be fat.

Why do you think there is a multi billion dollar weight loss industry?

There may be a few, but damn few people who choose to be overweight and unhealthy.

I don't think you think....

Yes it is a choice as you choose not to lose weight by controlling your diet and nobody said anything about anyone wanting to be fat. In the end of the day people are fat because they consume more calories than they burn under a given time period.

And of course two persons eating the exact same amount of calories can result in person A losing/gaining vs person B losing/gaining weight as you had absolutely no other variables in that for example person A is a 150 cm 40 kg thai lady and the other one is a 195 cm 95 kg male. Or does one of them have hard physical work say construction worker and the other one sits on his/her a** all day long in an office? Do they regularly exercise? But comparing this way is dumb as how many calories you burn has nothing to with how much someone else burn calories.

And metabolism rate still has nothing to do with weight gaining because if person X is fat with the "greatest metabolism in the history of the world" then person X is eating more than he/she is burning.

All this is very, very, very simple.

[NanLaew]

If there's no choice in skin color, why do you guys keep bringing up this whitening cream business? That's the point. To many Thais, it's only a feminine beauty sort of thing.

It's only a feminine beauty sort of thing? I guess you haven't browsed the men's section at Boots or Watsons for a while.

In the west, when we talk about racism and skin color, it's much more sinister. Not the same in Thailand.

In Thailand, it is very common to hear that one's girlfriend is different. But I digress...

What's this thread about again?

Oh yes, I think the OP is seeking opinion that despite (most of our) home country's having precise and legal definitions of racism, some that chose to live here may find themselves living in a racist society and either becoming racist or condoning the racist acts of our hosts.

Once again, I think that some, not all, can too easily confuse what they see as racism with the asian trait of nationalism and nuance of ignorance.

Edited April 30, 2015 by NanLaew

[Berkshire]

What's this thread about again?

Oh yes, I think the OP is seeking opinion that despite (most of our) home country's having precise and legal definitions of racism, some that chose to live here may find themselves living in a racist society and either becoming racist or condoning the racist acts of our hosts.

Once again, I think that some, not all, can too easily confuse what they see as racism with the asian trait of nationalism and nuance of ignorance.

No, I think the OP was suggesting that western countries welcome immigrants with open arms, while Asian countries do not. At the very least, the OP is being rather disingenuous. At worst, he is being completely and utterly untruthful.

[northernjohn]

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories while being "light or "dark" skinned is not a choice as "you" were born that way.

And "definition of racism" in the west is basicly this: if you are "white" you are a racist regardless of what you say or do. If you are anything but "white" then you are never racist regardless of what you say or do.

You obviously lived in a different west than I did.

As for the color of your skin There are lots of North Americans who use lotions and tanning machines to darken their skin that is a choice. I knew one girl who it was an addiction she looked like a little old lady.

[northernjohn]

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories while being "light or "dark" skinned is not a choice as "you" were born that way.

And "definition of racism" in the west is basicly this: if you are "white" you are a racist regardless of what you say or do. If you are anything but "white" then you are never racist regardless of what you say or do.

"Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories"

That statement alone makes anything you have to say very questionable.

Being "fat" as you call it, is very rarely, if ever a choice.

Two people can consume the exact same number of calories and one may gain weight and the other may lose weight.

Metabolism can have a lot to do do with your weight.

The causes of obesity may be genetic, medical, psychological or just a matter of a lack of control, self discipline or control.

I have never had a weight problem, but I can understand those who do.

I truly believe that most "fat" people do not choose to be fat.

Why do you think there is a multi billion dollar weight loss industry?

There may be a few, but damn few people who choose to be overweight and unhealthy.

I don't think you think....

Well said.

I did not choose to be over weight yet I am.

Part of it is I use food to ease tensions much as smokers, drinkers and drug users do.

Also it seems to run in my family. I believe part of it is the surrounding culture and the ease of obtaining not good food for us on demand at the various stores and fast food franchises.

One other thing about over weights who says what your proper weight should be. I am a large framed man and at my best operating wait would be considered about 15 Kilograms over weight by the various scales people use.

[Berkshire]

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories while being "light or "dark" skinned is not a choice as "you" were born that way.

And "definition of racism" in the west is basicly this: if you are "white" you are a racist regardless of what you say or do. If you are anything but "white" then you are never racist regardless of what you say or do.

You obviously lived in a different west than I did.

As for the color of your skin There are lots of North Americans who use lotions and tanning machines to darken their skin that is a choice. I knew one girl who it was an addiction she looked like a little old lady.

Good point. The farang pastime is sitting out in the sun to have darker skin. Thais and most Asians prefer lighter skin. Same same, yet some farangs are constantly complaining about Thais wanting to change their skin color. Why the double standard?

[Asheron]

Well said.

I did not choose to be over weight yet I am.

Part of it is I use food to ease tensions much as smokers, drinkers and drug users do.

Also it seems to run in my family. I believe part of it is the surrounding culture and the ease of obtaining not good food for us on demand at the various stores and fast food franchises.

One other thing about over weights who says what your proper weight should be. I am a large framed man and at my best operating wait would be considered about 15 Kilograms over weight by the various scales people use.

Don't want to be harsh but you are still making the choice of not eating "better" foods (as in not eating McDonalds and pizza "all" the time). Don't take this the wrong way but this is your "problem", you are blaiming your fatness on "family (genetics i assume?), tensions, and fast food chains" all the while you can force (yes you can) yourself NOT to eat that crap.

And going by BMI and other such measurements doesn't work as a 90 kg bodybuilder would be "morbidly obese" according to them.

People in general have no idea how many calories there are in stuff they eat (especially drink). For instance a 50 cl beer (about 5% alcohol) has about 8-10% of a normal males caloric need for a day in it. Coke/pepsi/etc has about the same amount.

[Berkshire]

Well said.

I did not choose to be over weight yet I am.

Part of it is I use food to ease tensions much as smokers, drinkers and drug users do.

Also it seems to run in my family. I believe part of it is the surrounding culture and the ease of obtaining not good food for us on demand at the various stores and fast food franchises.

One other thing about over weights who says what your proper weight should be. I am a large framed man and at my best operating wait would be considered about 15 Kilograms over weight by the various scales people use.

Don't want to be harsh but you are still making the choice of not eating "better" foods (as in not eating McDonalds and pizza "all" the time). Don't take this the wrong way but this is your "problem", you are blaiming your fatness on "family (genetics i assume?), tensions, and fast food chains" all the while you can force (yes you can) yourself NOT to eat that crap.

And going by BMI and other such measurements doesn't work as a 90 kg bodybuilder would be "morbidly obese" according to them.

People in general have no idea how many calories there are in stuff they eat (especially drink). For instance a 50 cl beer (about 5% alcohol) has about 8-10% of a normal males caloric need for a day in it. Coke/pepsi/etc has about the same amount.

Slightly OT, but it's easy for a skinny person to chastise a fat person by insisting that it's a matter of choice. It's not that simple. I'm a skinny person and have never had to worry about my weight. But for a person predisposed to obesity (yes, genetics), it's much harder. They would have to sacrifice a lot more than me to keep their weight down. So you shouldn't make it sound so black and white because I'm pretty sure no one "chooses" to be fat.

[Asheron]

Slightly OT, but it's easy for a skinny person to chastise a fat person by insisting that it's a matter of choice. It's not that simple. I'm a skinny person and have never had to worry about my weight. But for a person predisposed to obesity (yes, genetics), it's much harder. They would have to sacrifice a lot more than me to keep their weight down. So you shouldn't make it sound so black and white because I'm pretty sure no one "chooses" to be fat.

What makes you think i have always been at ~10% bodyfat and not been say... ~30-35% bodyfat at one point in my life? Because i have been fat in my life and the only reason i was fat because i was lazy, didn't give a f***, didn't understand and blaimed other people for my fatness until one day i saw a picture of my on a beach in Thailand weighing 105 kg (at 180 cm) and the only thing coming to my mind was "who is that pig?". I took care of that "pig" in the picture by informing myself about diet, exercise and lost 20-25 kg.

But nonetheless being fat is black and white. Either you "manage" your caloric intake or you don't. If you don't you'll eventually be fat.

[KarenBravo]

Hmmmmm.........seems a lot of people posting are making a very understandable mistake, but, a mistake none-the-less.

You cannot judge people from the distant past using the morals of today. Morals change over time.

Slavery has been around ever since human tribe fought human tribe. If you had protested that slavery is innately wrong, even a few hundred years ago, you would have been thought of as mad.

The word Slave is derived from the word Slav as the Slavs were often used as slaves in the middle ages.

Even the slaves that were brought to America, were captured and sold by Africans to the Europeans. The very people that were enslaved practiced slavery. It was considered one of the "spoils of war". It's estimated that 12 million slaves were sent to the Americas (most went to Brazil). There is no way that this amount of people could have been enslaved without the partnership of African tribal chiefs. Of course, it was the demand for slaves by European nations that elevated slave-taking to the heights that it did. There is plenty of guilt to go around.

Another little known fact is that African slaves in the Caribbean, working on the sugar plantations worked shoulder to shoulder with Irish slaves. In fact, the African slaves were considered more valuable than white slaves as they were more robust and didn't die so easily.

What we consider racism today, has been the norm for thousands of years and it's going to take a long time to fix.

Edited April 30, 2015 by KarenBravo

[benalibina]

You cannot judge people from the distant past using the morals of today. Morals change over time.

Not entirely correct. Morals, the ones which defines us as a human being, have not nor never changed, in the core as being a human.

The availability to acquire knowledge and an exchange of ideas has increased over the last centuries, gradually. Ths coupled by education, the need to think and discuss about the various ways leading to Rome, has made people more aware.

In cases where people display ...immoral behaviour....whatever it is considered by one, he/she will most likelybe corrected by others so that said person, if smart and goodwilling, will think about his/her own..immoral behaviour.

This is though lacking alot in Thailand and subsequently on this forum too.

[VIPinthailand]

I don't want become like one of them... this is why local ladies love us.

I m VIP. enough for me.

[cumgranosalum]

You cannot judge people from the distant past using the morals of today. Morals change over time.

Not entirely correct. Morals, the ones which defines us as a human being, have not nor never changed, in the core as being a human.

The availability to acquire knowledge and an exchange of ideas has increased over the last centuries, gradually. Ths coupled by education, the need to think and discuss about the various ways leading to Rome, has made people more aware.

In cases where people display ...immoral behaviour....whatever it is considered by one, he/she will most likelybe corrected by others so that said person, if smart and goodwilling, will think about his/her own..immoral behaviour.

This is though lacking alot in Thailand and subsequently on this forum too.

nonsense!

[cumgranosalum]

Hmmmmm.........seems a lot of people posting are making a very understandable mistake, but, a mistake none-the-less.

You cannot judge people from the distant past using the morals of today. Morals change over time.

Slavery has been around ever since human tribe fought human tribe. If you had protested that slavery is innately wrong, even a few hundred years ago, you would have been thought of as mad.

The word Slave is derived from the word Slav as the Slavs were often used as slaves in the middle ages.

Even the slaves that were brought to America, were captured and sold by Africans to the Europeans. The very people that were enslaved practiced slavery. It was considered one of the "spoils of war". It's estimated that 12 million slaves were sent to the Americas (most went to Brazil). There is no way that this amount of people could have been enslaved without the partnership of African tribal chiefs. Of course, it was the demand for slaves by European nations that elevated slave-taking to the heights that it did. There is plenty of guilt to go around.

Another little known fact is that African slaves in the Caribbean, working on the sugar plantations worked shoulder to shoulder with Irish slaves. In fact, the African slaves were considered more valuable than white slaves as they were more robust and didn't die so easily.

What we consider racism today, has been the norm for thousands of years and it's going to take a long time to fix.

"Slavery has been around ever since human tribe fought human tribe. If you had protested that slavery is innately wrong, even a few hundred years ago, you would have been thought of as mad." - Not true.

most people are totally unaware of what racism really is and to dichotomise the argument by debating slavery as if it is a sub-definition of racism is just daft.

racism has been used to justify slavery but slavey is not necessarily racist.

[benalibina]

You cannot judge people from the distant past using the morals of today. Morals change over time.

Not entirely correct. Morals, the ones which defines us as a human being, have not nor never changed, in the core as being a human.

The availability to acquire knowledge and an exchange of ideas has increased over the last centuries, gradually. Ths coupled by education, the need to think and discuss about the various ways leading to Rome, has made people more aware.

In cases where people display ...immoral behaviour....whatever it is considered by one, he/she will most likelybe corrected by others so that said person, if smart and goodwilling, will think about his/her own..immoral behaviour.

This is though lacking alot in Thailand and subsequently on this forum too.

nonsense!

Well.....your reply proves my point. Especially related to the last sentence I made. Thanks. Edited May 1, 2015 by benalibina

[HYENA]

Racism is alive and well in the USA (Baltimore riots, and other issues well known to the world). On the skytrain, a lady asked my wife to get out of her seat, because of how she looked. I didn't fully comprehend what she said, 'till she was already off (or I would have pushed my limited free speech rights over the line in LOS). I have been in several restaurants who turned away blacks and dark skinned locals. They cannot do that in most civilized countries (even Japan, I suspect they can't do that, but I'm not certain). I think it's more the overt racism that I see that bothered me in LOS. In the USA, it's more subtle, police pull over my coworkers with amazing frequency. Most people like my wife in the USA, and accept her (except for this cutthroat money hunger to send abroad issue she's got that's destroying us).

Edited May 1, 2015 by HYENA