honu Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Interesting discussion. It doesn't seem like the idea of different cultural perspectives is really getting addressed here. The teacher could have been using farang in a sense that would be considered racist in a Western society but in a way not considered racist within Thai society. Some might conclude that means that Thai perspective is racist, but it seems to not need to be quite so black and white. They just see the issue of race slightly differently; the whole perspective and context is different. Part of that is that they see blacks and Indians as lower, in general, and that does map onto the Western concept of racism fairly directly. They see white people, Westerners, as separate, different but not necessarily lower. In some senses they are regarded as automatically equated to the higher status levels in Thai society, but really it's more about just being separate from all that. I don't see the point in trying to get the perspectives to align completely directly, or the problem if they don't. The idea that all people are created equally isn't native to here, and if that's offensive then it's best to just make peace with that difference. As far as how negatively that original designation was intended, that almost seems to be missing the point. It's a lot more common for people here to refer to someone by a racial designation, related to that particular case, so it sort of is what it is. It's not exactly a slur, and not exactly neutral either, just a different way of expressing a direct reference to a person also standing in the room that makes sense here but wouldn't in Europe or the US. Or at least that's my take; certainly not everyone else's that has commented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowork114 Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Some here have a good point, some talk nonsense. I belive that it depends on the person itself who be called a farang" ,if he let that happen or not. Some people ( farang) dont care about it, and some feel offended by the word falang. We all can share our experiance here, but might not make sense for a other. My experiance is when people call me a " farang" i interrupt them directly, i have a name! And wished to be called MR. Or just My name. Mostly they are quite after that and use the word Mr. Your a teacher man , you are suppose to educate thai people! So if i where you, i wait the moment to teach that person how you would be like to called or named and tell her in front of a lot other people so she can loose face for all those others, and in the same time all those others got instandly the message. They will not forget that Mr! Im not a teacher, but have to deal with a lot off diffrent classes of people for my work , im glad i lerned to speak thai, when you do speak thai you will lern so much other stuff, and understand thai people as well. And yes, lot of thai people are thereble "behind scedule" as i call that a lac of education and knowledge, special the older generation, but lot of outside people as well,, as they like to scare there children by tell there kids " be carefull, the falang will bite you" and so these kids will be in fear and start to cry. Or some parents tell there daughter to get a farang boyfriend, " its easy just open your legs" is good money they say. Man ..... This stuff happends often.. w t f . Oke oke im priviledged to speak thai so much, you dont want to know how i correct those people in public, ... Hard , respectfull and very friendly as i must rep. All foreigners in thai, but i assure you, those will regret, specially REMEMBER how to approch a farang a decent way. Its all about educate them. I know i cant change the world, but at least i can make a spark to light a fire. And we all should do something together in stead wining here on a forum. While writing this i be remembered that i deal with this stuff for the last 15 years, and see that it improve a lot, specially becouse of you farang teachers! Thanks. When I moved here, lived in a condo in a small soi and was called "hey you farang" so I kept calling them back the same "hey you Thai". It was funny and in a few weeks they started using my name. To be honest, I don't care what people call me and in a sense, I'd rather be farang than politically correct "European-Asian" as the call "African-Americans" in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somchaismith Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 I don't think that many posters on this thread would know the difference between between a bag of french fries, a guava or a stick of gum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajarTheLion Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 she is Thai and will understand the common usage... ... which is a derogatory, lazy or disrespectful term for a foreigner. I know there are countless posts on this forum about the word 'farang', and heated debate as to whether it is a polite way to describe a foreigner or a not-so-polite way. The bottom line is that Lost In Issan is working as a teacher in this school. The Thai teacher must surely know his name. It is totally disrespectful not to address him as 'Teacher xxx' or 'Ajarn xxx'. It would be equally rude if I were working in a Thai school with Thai teaching colleagues, and to address my class of kids 'When this Thai person has finished, then I'll do yyyy etc'. It is just plain rude and ignorant, and I rebuke any Thai person who addresses me as 'farang'. I have a name. If you don't know my name, then you could say 'khon dang chat'. Please only use 'farang' when you're shopping in the fruit market. She was not addressing the Farang , she was talking to the class and referring to lost in isaan in the third party. You have been here long enough to know that (especially in Isaan where the OP is based) this is common practice. It is less likely that you will be directly addressed as Farang. From memory the only people to have done this with me are the police. I will be interested to hear the outcome of Mrs lost in isaan's meeting tomorrow. My wife is a Thai national, born and raised. Recently I asked her if "farang" was derogatory, she said no. Maybe things have changed in the nearly 30 years she's lived in the US. From what I can see, the Thai teacher certainly wasn't very diplomatic. But I don't know that a response is needed. I shall read on and hopefully learn more.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajarTheLion Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Interesting discussion. It doesn't seem like the idea of different cultural perspectives is really getting addressed here. The teacher could have been using farang in a sense that would be considered racist in a Western society but in a way not considered racist within Thai society. Some might conclude that means that Thai perspective is racist, but it seems to not need to be quite so black and white. They just see the issue of race slightly differently; the whole perspective and context is different. Part of that is that they see blacks and Indians as lower, in general, and that does map onto the Western concept of racism fairly directly. They see white people, Westerners, as separate, different but not necessarily lower. In some senses they are regarded as automatically equated to the higher status levels in Thai society, but really it's more about just being separate from all that. I don't see the point in trying to get the perspectives to align completely directly, or the problem if they don't. The idea that all people are created equally isn't native to here, and if that's offensive then it's best to just make peace with that difference. As far as how negatively that original designation was intended, that almost seems to be missing the point. It's a lot more common for people here to refer to someone by a racial designation, related to that particular case, so it sort of is what it is. It's not exactly a slur, and not exactly neutral either, just a different way of expressing a direct reference to a person also standing in the room that makes sense here but wouldn't in Europe or the US. Or at least that's my take; certainly not everyone else's that has commented. Excellent! Perhaps the OP is thinking about in the US politically correct sense. People here don't say hey white dude or hey black lady. Culture and context is everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brit_Doggie Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Here's my two penneth worth, am friendly and approached by thais who treat me as a brother more so than anyone ever did back home so yeah farang as in thai saying but family also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinisaan Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 Here's my two penneth worth, am friendly and approached by thais who treat me as a brother more so than anyone ever did back home so yeah farang as in thai saying but family also. Time to close this thread with your kind words. Thanks a lot and a very Happy New Year for the Mods who might read this as well.... A very Happy, Healthy and Wealthy New Year 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 //CLOSED// Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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