Idiot ruins Loy Krathong spirit by stealing cash from people's floats

[Tonto21]

Who is the real idiot?

The guy securing the money that was discarded in the river or the people who discarded their money in the river in the first place.

The guy is not stealing anything!

Chinese Buddhists use counterfeit money when making offerings to their deity or forwarding money to the ancestors.

You can purchase this offerings money at most Chinese shops.

Idiots.... Why exactly. Are they idiots for believing in something you do not, or are people around the World idiots for throwing small coins into fountains, for luck.

You used the words 'securing' and 'discarded'....... First of all I don't think the money was 'discarded' this word means; thrown out, thown away....... It was not! As sure as leaving a tip on a table, unatended for the staff.....Has that money been dicsarded? Is it now up for anyone who passes to 'secure' the money?

You also say; "The guy securing the money"..... and "The guy is not stealing anything"! Really?

This money, no matter how small was purposely placed in a 'vessel' for a purpose.... It was not discarded and as such anyone taking the money for there own use is stealing........... I for one would think this money was stolen.

[brewsterbudgen]

Nothing new here. All part of the tradition.

[WhizBang]

The bigger idiots are those who put cash onto their floats. What exactly did they think would happen to it?

Talk about throwing money away.

[SuwadeeS]

So, whats the point?

First of all, I have seen this very often over the last decade.

Second, LK has changed to a bussiness, the real spirit is already gone. It is about fond rising for the monks so they can buy the newest i Phone.

Finally, lock at all these people. Floating one of these things and believe all bad things from the previews year is gone, go back to the car and

conti. bad speeding again.

[Gracas]

He may have ruined the dreams of others, but his dreams came true.

[cockatoowho]

It's near on 2016, high time for the mumbo jumbo bullshite to be shown what it really is; mumbo jumbo bullshite. The only crime committed here is allowing these imbeciles to keep breeding. What the hell do they think is going to happen, money and a Thai are inseparable. To be educated, you need a functioning brain, successive governments have perfected the art of dumbing down the population and it is only going to get worse under China.

[cyberfarang]

The bigger idiots are those who put cash onto their floats. What exactly did they think would happen to it?

Talk about throwing money away.

What Buddha can grab he keeps. The rest goes to first come, first served, providing people don`t mind getting their socks wet.

[Bkungbank]

Think at the bright side you make a merit by helping poor people by risking get drown just for few penny.

[jacko45k]

Standard to see the kids downstream harvesting the kratongs.....

At least let it get out of sight of the owners I say.

I would probably get into trouble for throwing rocks at this guy though!

[craigt3365]

The Thai people have lost their way. You would never see a thing like this years back.

All being caused by GREED & CORRUPTION.

This has been happening for years. When I lived in Bangkok 15 years ago, kids were in the river getting the money out of the Krathongs. But they didn't do it right in front of everybody. At least had the decency to go down stream a bit! LOL

Here in Pattaya, they were getting the floats out of the water, going back to land and reselling them!

[northernboy]

The Thai people have lost their way. You would never see a thing like this years back.

All being caused by GREED & CORRUPTION.

I have seen it as far back as 30 years so you don't know what your talking about. It was not done right as people let them go but 30 meters down stream

[johncat1]

This is perfectly normal for kids to do. But it is a little upsetting when they pounce on your Krathong as soon as you have floated it. Nothing new here it happens all the time often with our useless police force watching

[JonnyF]

Same thing happened to me last year. We didn't put money in it, it came with money in it already as we bought it from the stall. It hadn't floated more than 2 feet before some kid grabbed it, pretty much ripped it up to scavenge a few copper coins and tossed it back in. His mother was stood by instructing him what to do. I gave it a miss this year and went out for a nice meal instead.

[timewilltell]

Here's the thing. Most Thai people would not begrudge some poor soul swimming in the dirty water for a few coppers to help feed his kids or get pissed more likely. The thing that is wrong here is the complete lack of respect shown by positioning himself right in the faces of those sending off their floats thereby cutting out the pleasure of watching the Keaton's float away whilst contemplating past events or praying for good luck.

The outcome is that Thais are losing many of the rather few nice things about them and leaving all the selfishness, greed, deceit, lies and general lack of morals and ethics. They have less and less to balance their bad traits as the years pass by, a gradual process not limited to the bottom swimmers at all.

[from the home of CC]

In my home country, every year sees the theft of money from poppy boxes from convenience stores around Nov. 11.

[LukKrueng]

The Thai people have lost their way. You would never see a thing like this years back.

All being caused by GREED & CORRUPTION.

Has been like that forever. Many years ago they'd be kids and youths in the water collecting the kratongs and reselling them. For some reason its mostly foreigners that see it as odd and complain. Never saw / heard Thai people say anything about it.

[kiwikeith]

Funny that they just accepted it. But i didn't know they put money on the kratongs. In BKK we have kratongs made of bread with a small candle. Also there's some fireworks for the kids but that's all.

Maybe these peoples wishes were to help the poor so they got their dream.

[jalansanitwong]

The coins are real but you can get fake 100 500 and 1000 baht notes in soi shops. . I wouldnt be surprised if most of the money on LK night is actually phoney. from a distance it looks genuine but its not. Those deuche bags stealing peoples offerings will be in for a shock when they go to spend it..lol

[AlQaholic]

I have never seen an adult do this, but children are always seen swimming around catching small coins on the floats, very common and acceptable, but not grown ups unless they are extremely poor and hungry.

[Krataiboy]

Hate to say it, but If you really are naive enough to believe you can buy your way to Nirvanah for 20 baht, you deserve what you get.

[MobileContent]

Its normal but they do it late at night early morning. At our university its the student that clean up the krathongs from the water and keep the money,

[recycler]

Throwing money in the water and blame somebody taking it out....

[NextStationBangkok]

How do someone reach the God if you small amount of money does not reach the poor.

Coins only starts from 25 satang to 10 baht. Do you have something to lose if some takes from krathong.

You will value such money if you are hungry enough.

People grow-up, you should be glad that someone saves that 10 baht before it sinks in the muddy water for nothing.

Franky i did not send any krathong, frankly i dont want to pollute the river or water.

[apetley]

Those are not idiots, those are Thai people, and this is what they do.... not to say that this is unique

to Thailand, people with self entitlements demands are everywhere, they call them thieves...

And beside, Loy Krathong has already been ruined by the government of no booze edict, and time past,

I recall many years ago LK was a real holiday to look forward to, not much left out of it now...

All around Thailand people were quietly observing their holiday....Making - Floating Kratongs - candles on and around their houses - a couple of floating lanterns & and a few with fireworks....No Drunks to be seen......

Want to see entitlement? → Go to CM or any city that has/caters to the drunken orgy of partying that westerners have brought into the the Thai's holiday observance ..... Which was not meant to have alcohol in the first place......

Yep → that's entitlement → take and subvert an religious observance hundreds of years old injecting farang alcoholics partying away → then complaining how someone took THEIR alcohol out of a ceremony that didn't have any to begin with.....

Without a clue of the spirit of the holiday....Just something pretty to put in the air or buy to float - a lark - a party.....

Ahhh The irony of entitlement.....

Doesn't sound like our village at all. Loud music from the sound system in the wat alternating between trance and traditional all day long.

Alcohol openly on sale and being consumed by the Thais who were having a great time.

The gambling stalls were doing a roaring trade too, wifey was helping out on one for a while, at the request of one of the monks, as it was so busy.

I was there too, the only faring in the village, but left early as it was just too noisy for me I'm afraid.

[alanrchase]

My brother in law lived on a raft just downriver from the main launching point. He used to float a long bamboo boom out to catch the floats. They checked them for money, rearranged the decor and took them back to the market to resell them.

[Kerryd]

I thought it was pretty crass when at my dad's funeral when, just before we put him into the oven to be cremated, one of the guys that oversees the ovens went through dad's pockets, removing everything (a small bottle of whiskey, pack of cigarettes and a lighter) and then scooping all the loose change out of the box before putting it into the oven. It was like he was robbing the dead but I guess they felt the same way as those Krathong thieves. Why let it go to waste ? If he left all that stuff in the box a few hours later it would have been melted slag mixed in with everything else. Judging from the reactions (or lack of them) from everyone else there, it seems I was the only one who thought it was a crass thing to do.

Maybe they'd be better off putting (secure) donation boxes in those areas so people could make their merit and float their Krathongs and the money wouldn't be "repurposed" or lost at sea. The Krathong Mafia wouldn't be happy of course but it would a better use for the money.

[Dap]

The Thai people have lost their way. You would never see a thing like this years back.

All being caused by GREED & CORRUPTION.

Relax Jessi. As long as folk have been putting a couple of baht onto their

Krathongs, there have been others taking it off. I don't know how old you

are or how long you've been here (and don't care) but your

"GREED & CORRUPTION"

comment is just silly and uncalled for in this instance. Best to expend your

energies on something that matters and I dare say, there's enough of that

around for you.

Do try to not let this destroy your day

[djayz]

Awful behaviour indeed, but he is probably dirt poor and needs the money to buy some food, etc.

[soalbundy]

Mouse trap, ouch !!!

[sometimewoodworker]

The point that is being missed is that the offering has been made and that is the sprit of the money.

The physical money then doesn't matter so if someone benefits by taking the money you have made double merit.

A few weeks ago SWMBO mad an offering of a pigs head to the local Buddha, then it was cooked and eaten by the village. That did not affect the value of the offering.