Violence in daily life in LOS

[mcfish]

9 years never seen a child beat. Where are you hanging out?

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ThaiVisa.

I believe a number of posters would greatly beneficiate from leaving their keyboard and wandering outside in the real world.

Yes you should try it. I would go as far as to say they are the best behaved children I have seen. See them on the bts, baht buses etc quitely sitting there next to mum, not a peep.

Compare that to wild western kids that have control issues and the Arab boys, they are the worst, allowed to cause as much chaos as needed.

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[KhaoNiaw]

I cannot imagine for a minute that living under a military Junta, where one is not allowed to speak ones mind would have a detrimental effect on a whole nation.

It's beyond anything I can envisage that eventually the pent up feelings will explode. That those pent up feelings are occasionally seeping through the cracks is hardly surprising, and who is there to blame? the weaker, the foreigner, those that do not have the power to seek recourse?

The longer it goes on the more anger will eventually be unleashed. you cannot suppress a whole nation..

It's nothing to do with a living under a military junta and much more to do with cultural and psychological issues present in society. The issues the OP is talking about have been ever-present the whole time I've been here. Political repression and where that may lead is a whole other issue IMO.

[rethaier]

9 years never seen a child beat. Where are you hanging out?

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You have your eyes closed.

[NoshowJones]

Some of the most violent people I have met in Thailand have been foreigners. There seems to be a certain kind of individual attracted to Thailand these days. Thais a pussycats by comparison.

But the Thais carry guns and knives.

My misses (male) family and friends are all criminals or police.

Murderers, drug dealers, gang members, rackets, extortionists and nearly all carry loaded hand guns 24/7.

(some are in prison for their offences)

I don't know any violent foreigners.

This whole post is a wind up.

If it's not and you continue to live surrounded by a large criminal gun carrying family then you need sectioning.

Personally I think you're telling a lie in order to denigrate the people and country who have welcomes you as a guest .

Go back to where you come from. You wont be missed I'm sure

Aaah! Here we have a member of two different brigades, I don't think I need to point them out.

[nemrut]

Which countries that are predominantly Christian vs Buddhists have in the past, and continue to be, the most violent?

[MockingJay]

Very hard to put the finger on it.

I'm here for over two decades and must say that I can't see a significent increase in violence. If at all, this is due to crazy drugs such as Yaa Baa being more readily available. But the average Thai on the street is as violent or non-violent as always. I see a slight increase in tension (business and survival wise) since competition (especially in tourism and transportation) is ever increasing with decreasing numbers of well paying tourists. But that's all...

Youth gangs are a problem, but I blame that (the Thai way) on the drugs mentioned above.

Road rage increases logically due to more vehicles being present but road planning being done by super slow imbeciles...

In addition you shouldn't forget that information spreads faster nowadays due to the internet and thus we read more negative news than ever before (in and about any country on this planet).

To wrap this up - I still am more happy and feel safer in Thailand than I would ever do in my own home country in Europe, and I thank the lord on my knees every day that I am allowed to live here.

Edited March 10, 2016 by MockingJay

[tonray]

9 years never seen a child beat. Where are you hanging out?

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ThaiVisa.

I believe a number of posters would greatly beneficiate from leaving their keyboard and wandering outside in the real world.

Yes you should try it. I would go as far as to say they are the best behaved children I have seen. See them on the bts, baht buses etc quitely sitting there next to mum, not a peep.

Compare that to wild western kids that have control issues and the Arab boys, they are the worst, allowed to cause as much chaos as needed.

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

Perhaps on the BTS...a bit different in school. Kids are kids....behaving badly is a rite of passage that human development has given us to allow us to form our own personal value system. It's the ones that still behave badly after the age of 13 or so that are troubling. And there are many here.

[chiang mai]

Can't relate to what the OP is talking about, sorry..

[laolover88]

One thing I wonder is: Has it changed over the years? If so, are there any reasons? When I first came here decades ago it was pretty volatile. I would say that the peoples of European countries have become more apt to agitation. Is there any more domestic violence than ever. Policemen, of course, are a problem everywhere; but they always were. I find the Thai people I meet everyday polite but with a continual resentment against I know not what. I live in a rich provincial town; but though there is a more than visible wealth/poverty divide, no-one is poor. Is it just the economy, stupid? Or something else?

[laolover88]

One thing I wonder is: Has it changed over the years? If so, are there any reasons? When I first came here decades ago it was pretty volatile. I would say that the peoples of European countries have become more apt to agitation. Is there any more domestic violence than ever?. Policemen, of course, are a problem everywhere; but they always were. I find the Thai people I meet everyday polite but with a continual resentment against I know not what. I live in a rich provincial town; but though there is a more than visible wealth/poverty divide, no-one is poor. Is it just the economy, stupid? Or something else?

[elgordo38]

Some of the most violent people I have met in Thailand have been foreigners. There seems to be a certain kind of individual attracted to Thailand these days. Thais a pussycats by comparison.

But the Thais carry guns and knives.

My misses (male) family and friends are all criminals or police.

Murderers, drug dealers, gang members, rackets, extortionists and nearly all carry loaded hand guns 24/7.

(some are in prison for their offences)

I don't know any violent foreigners.

If I understand this correctly you were lucky to get the only good apple in a rotten barrel. My g/f's family are all from a poor background but yet a nicer group of people you would not meet. Her mother and father worked hard all their lives for little and she went to boarding school and yet all are upstanding citizens. As my old grandmother used to say "Hard Work Never Killed Anyone" If you observe the generational changes you see that from one generation to the next they want more and do less for it. Thus we arrive at the present where greed and debt are now consuming us.

[elgordo38]

Some of the most violent people I have met in Thailand have been foreigners. There seems to be a certain kind of individual attracted to Thailand these days. Thais a pussycats by comparison.

But the Thais carry guns and knives.

My misses (male) family and friends are all criminals or police.

Murderers, drug dealers, gang members, rackets, extortionists and nearly all carry loaded hand guns 24/7.

(some are in prison for their offences)

I don't know any violent foreigners.

If I understand this correctly you were lucky to get the only good apple in a rotten barrel. My g/f's family are all from a poor background but yet a nicer group of people you would not meet. Her mother and father worked hard all their lives for little and she went to boarding school and yet all are upstanding citizens. As my old grandmother used to say "Hard Work Never Killed Anyone" If you observe the generational changes you see that from one generation to the next they want more and do less for it. Thus we arrive at the present where greed and debt are now consuming us.

[MaeJoMTB]

Some of the most violent people I have met in Thailand have been foreigners. There seems to be a certain kind of individual attracted to Thailand these days. Thais a pussycats by comparison.

But the Thais carry guns and knives.

My misses (male) family and friends are all criminals or police.

Murderers, drug dealers, gang members, rackets, extortionists and nearly all carry loaded hand guns 24/7.

(some are in prison for their offences)

I don't know any violent foreigners.

If I understand this correctly you were lucky to get the only good apple in a rotten barrel.

I wouldn't class her as a 'good apple', more like a borderline psychopath (but colder and more calculating).

But appreciate the thought.

[villagefarang]

I intentionally dodged MaeJoMTB’s first comment because I had no desire to be drawn into revealing anything about my first 20 years in Thailand. His later remark, however, exemplifies a very common problem here in Thailand with people being unable to see the forest for the trees or with perhaps one particular tree standing directly in front of them blocking out a view of anything else.

People tend to assume their life is representative of the norm, as MaeJo stated earlier. "I've just assumed all Thais families are like that, and assumed most foreigners never noticed.

Maybe I'm wrong with my assumptions ..... but maybe I'm not." It can be hard for people to acknowledge and accept that they are in the situation they find themselves, often because of the choices they have made. They rationalize their predicament by assuming everyone else is suffering the same fate they are.

It doesn’t help to deny another’s reality just because is doesn’t square with yours. There is both good and evil in the world but I believe it is possible to choose one’s path through life. When people voice their opinions about Thailand I find that it tells me much more about the individual than it does about Thailand. That is why I try to avoid arguing with those who find themselves living it a different Thailand than mine.

Edited March 10, 2016 by villagefarang

[somchaiq]

Some of the most violent people I have met in Thailand have been foreigners. There seems to be a certain kind of individual attracted to Thailand these days. Thais a pussycats by comparison.

But the Thais carry guns and knives.

My misses (male) family and friends are all criminals or police.

Murderers, drug dealers, gang members, rackets, extortionists and nearly all carry loaded hand guns 24/7.

(some are in prison for their offences)

I don't know any violent foreigners.

I don't know any violent Thais. Why do you associate with criminals?

I don't associate with criminals, but I can't choose my wife's family or her friends from the past.

Although, the police come in handy sometimes.

I've just assumed all Thais families are like that, and assumed most foreigners never noticed.

Maybe I'm wrong with my assumptions ..... but maybe I'm not.

In my Family are no criminals at all. They are not very rich, but well educated. You assumed wrong.

I also live in a real Thai Neighborhood and I can' t remember any violence against kids, but that thai men fighting with each other after getting drunk together.

[thaihome]

Coming from the US I have always figured that many people's experience in Thailand is similar to what would happen if they meet a girl from the projects in south Los Angeles working Compton Ave, married her then moved into Jordan Downs with her. The cultural shock along with the hostility of the neighbors would have profound impact on their psyche. I imagine them spending all their time posting bitter, racist, xenophobic post on an Internet forum called Watts Visa.?

TH

[MaeJoMTB]

Coming from the US I have always figured that many people's experience in Thailand is similar to what would happen if they meet a girl from the projects in south Los Angeles working Compton Ave, married her then moved into Jordan Downs with her. The cultural shock along with the hostility of the neighbors would have profound impact on their psyche. I imagine them spending all their time posting bitter, racist, xenophobic post on an Internet forum called Watts Visa.?

TH

Apart from the fact many of us with girls 'from the projects' are quite happy with them.

And it's other stuff we complain about ..... be fair, plenty in Thailand to complain about.

Including, the government, immigration, drivers, dirty countryside, dual pricing, early bar closing, price of cheese, etc.

[kingalfred]

The OP is suffering from media invoked confirmation bias.

You will never read, "15,000,000" Thai schoolchildren happily got up, had breakfast, safetly went to school, came home, watched TV and went to bed without being abducted, molested or beaten.

But once you read about one incident, then suddenly you can find another three in a short space of time, inferring that every kid is being beaten half to death.

oh. I see. So you would know if a child was abused in the privacy of its own home? No! And where did you get the 15 million kids who have experiences no violence from? Nowhere! All dreamed up!

[thaihome]

...

And it's other stuff we complain about ..... be fair, plenty in Thailand to complain about.

Including, the government, immigration, drivers, dirty countryside, dual pricing, early bar closing, price of cheese, etc.

Cant complain about government. Seen too many come and go... no impact on me.

Immigration, go once a year and show piece of paper that says I bring in $2,500 or so month, stamp stamp, pay $110, can come and go as many times I want, see you next year. Pretty good deal seems to me.

Dual pricing, a bit of an irritation, granted, but 2 or 3 times in 15 years I can live with.

Early bar closing. This one really cracks me up. If you haven't found the one for the night before midnight, you are just trying to make the beer goggles thicker.

Price of cheese, I want it, I just buy it...couldn't actually tell you what it cost. See cheap charlie thread.

Drivers, ever been to China?, India?, South Carolina? Boston? Thais are still pretty much on their first generation of driving, give them a break...

So yeah, I'm being fair and I find your complaints just like some old white guy living in Watts would have. It's called ethocentrism and xenophobic.

TH

[ThaiFelix]

Coming from the US I have always figured that many people's experience in Thailand is similar to what would happen if they meet a girl from the projects in south Los Angeles working Compton Ave, married her then moved into Jordan Downs with her. The cultural shock along with the hostility of the neighbors would have profound impact on their psyche. I imagine them spending all their time posting bitter, racist, xenophobic post on an Internet forum called Watts Visa.?

TH

Why is it that people from the states think everybody in the universe knows exactly what they are talking about when they mention things like suburbs in LA, measurements like pounds, gallons or miles that no-one else uses, or words that look like English but are spelt differently from the rest of the known world??

Yesterday I met a girl from Subiaco who I was sure sounded like someone who came from Wangaratta but actually came from Geelong, what do you think Thaivisa members??? duh!! <deleted> are you talking about??

[MaeJoMTB]

In my Family are no criminals at all. They are not very rich, but well educated. You assumed wrong.

....... or you never noticed!

[StreetCowboy]

There are too many drunk, useless, waste-of-space Poms, Irishmen and Yanks here. Thailand would be a much safer place without them.

I could say that about England, as well. There are probably too many drunk, useless, waste-of-space Thais here, and Thailand would be a safer place without them.

Out of interest, what would be the right amount of drunk, useless, waste-of-space Thais for Thailand?

What would be the right amount of drunk, useless, waste-of-space Poms, Irishmen and Yanks for Thailand?

Are drunk, useless, waste-of-space Aussies, Ausies, Germans, French etc. OK? Does their presence or absence affect the safety of Thailand?

I know it's not the same (other than the number of Thai girls) but from what I read in the papers, Wanchai is much less safe due to the number of drunk Pacific Islanders, most of whom I believe are semi-professional rugby players, and whom I would hesitate to call a waste of space, at least to their face.

SC

[tonray]

Coming from the US I have always figured that many people's experience in Thailand is similar to what would happen if they meet a girl from the projects in south Los Angeles working Compton Ave, married her then moved into Jordan Downs with her. The cultural shock along with the hostility of the neighbors would have profound impact on their psyche. I imagine them spending all their time posting bitter, racist, xenophobic post on an Internet forum called Watts Visa.?

TH

Why is it that people from the states think everybody in the universe knows exactly what they are talking about when they mention things like suburbs in LA, measurements like pounds, gallons or miles that no-one else uses, or words that look like English but are spelt differently from the rest of the known world??

Yesterday I met a girl from Subiaco who I was sure sounded like someone who came from Wangaratta but actually came from Geelong, what do you think Thaivisa members??? duh!! <deleted> are you talking about??

You are confusing all of us now:

In American English, spelt primarily refers to the hardy wheat grown mostly in Europe

[Nowisee]

...

And it's other stuff we complain about ..... be fair, plenty in Thailand to complain about.

Including, the government, immigration, drivers, dirty countryside, dual pricing, early bar closing, price of cheese, etc.

Cant complain about government. Seen too many come and go... no impact on me.

Immigration, go once a year and show piece of paper that says I bring in $2,500 or so month, stamp stamp, pay $110, can come and go as many times I want, see you next year. Pretty good deal seems to me.

Dual pricing, a bit of an irritation, granted, but 2 or 3 times in 15 years I can live with.

Early bar closing. This one really cracks me up. If you haven't found the one for the night before midnight, you are just trying to make the beer goggles thicker.

Price of cheese, I want it, I just buy it...couldn't actually tell you what it cost. See cheap charlie thread.

Drivers, ever been to China?, India?, South Carolina? Boston? Thais are still pretty much on their first generation of driving, give them a break...

So yeah, I'm being fair and I find your complaints just like some old white guy living in Watts would have. It's called ethocentrism and xenophobic.

TH

This is actually a pretty good reply based on the subjects listed. I'd have to agree.

There were times I complained (ok, maybe sometimes I still do) about a few of those listed, but put it in perspective and consider the craziness many many other people have to go through and it's not bad at all. I recently watch a documentary called "Hunted Like Animals" that changed my thinking.

I intentionally dodged MaeJoMTB’s first comment because I had no desire to be drawn into revealing anything about my first 20 years in Thailand. His later remark, however, exemplifies a very common problem here in Thailand with people being unable to see the forest for the trees or with perhaps one particular tree standing directly in front of them blocking out a view of anything else.

People tend to assume their life is representative of the norm, as MaeJo stated earlier. "I've just assumed all Thais families are like that, and assumed most foreigners never noticed.

Maybe I'm wrong with my assumptions ..... but maybe I'm not." It can be hard for people to acknowledge and accept that they are in the situation they find themselves, often because of the choices they have made. They rationalize their predicament by assuming everyone else is suffering the same fate they are.

It doesn’t help to deny another’s reality just because is doesn’t square with yours. There is both good and evil in the world but I believe it is possible to choose one’s path through life. When people voice their opinions about Thailand I find that it tells me much more about the individual than it does about Thailand. That is why I try to avoid arguing with those who find themselves living it a different Thailand than mine.

You can almost say we all chose our own path (with rare circumstances aside, the 2 year old kid that is murdered by a pyscho father had no choice) as you could say every traffic accident had a cause and was avoidable.

When people voice their opinions, it's their perception. The old saying, theres perception and then there's reality... but telling you more about the person than thailand? That's a stretch. Somethings are real, quite tangible, if it's not in the same thailand you live in then which thailand is it in?

A good example is your comment, "exemplifies a very common problem here in Thailand with people being unable to see the forest for the trees or with perhaps one particular tree standing directly in front of them blocking out a view of anything else."

Perception or reality?

I've had a different experience here than you, clearly. I am also trying to see around the one tree that has blinded me of the forest. A lot of that is acceptance of things I cannot change.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Nowisee

[MaeJoMTB]

I've had a different experience here than you, clearly. I am also trying to see around the one tree that has blinded me of the forest. A lot of that is acceptance of things I cannot change.

There's plenty more 'trees' to cut down, in the Thai lady forest.

[mankondang]

When you say: "recently I have "seen" a noticeable increase in violent behaviour in the LOS", do you mean you have "seen" and witnessed this with your own two eyes, or are you using the term "seen" loosely, as in read etc.

If it's the former, may I suggest that you seriously consider changing the places you frequent. If its the latter, my suggestion would be to refrain from reading the headline grabbing, divisive material that the media, including TV, keep putting on, at the expense of good news. The media, electronic and other, spread the news of violence, which in turn spreads the use of violence. A self perpetuating situation in a world that's growing smaller. People can't distinguish betweet reel (film/movie) and real.

Edited March 11, 2016 by mankondang

[canathai8]

"Is Thailand any more violent than any other part of the world, do you think?"

With 7.48 registered violent gun deaths per 100,000 people in Thailand - that abysmal figure is more than twice as high as that of the U.S. (with a mere fraction of the guns per capita in Thailand as compared to the U.S.) - which had 3.55 deaths per 100,000 people in the same year, according to recent data provided by the University of Washington's Institute for Health and Metric Evaluation.

Retrieved from: "Thailand's Fervent Love for Guns" February 19, 2016, http://www.chiangraitimes.com/

I hope that sheds a little light on your query..

[chiang mai]

Perhaps we need to adjust those numbers in order to make a proper comparison with the US? Maybe adjust for the 6,000 people a year killed in the southern insurgency which is a pretty unique scenario and not typical of Thai society as a whole, and adjust for the unknown (I don't know what the figure is) number of deaths related to border insurgency (ethnic groups) and drug trafficking related at the borders with Myanmar and Laos? My guess is that once those numbers are considered it's still a pretty high figure but not twice as high, maybe same as, dunno.

[uthaithanirules]

The OP is suffering from media invoked confirmation bias.

You will never read, "15,000,000" Thai schoolchildren happily got up, had breakfast, safetly went to school, came home, watched TV and went to bed without being abducted, molested or beaten.

But once you read about one incident, then suddenly you can find another three in a short space of time, inferring that every kid is being beaten half to death.

Exactly

[phuketandsee]

Perhaps we need to adjust those numbers in order to make a proper comparison with the US? Maybe adjust for the 6,000 people a year killed in the southern insurgency which is a pretty unique scenario and not typical of Thai society as a whole, and adjust for the unknown (I don't know what the figure is) number of deaths related to border insurgency (ethnic groups) and drug trafficking related at the borders with Myanmar and Laos? My guess is that once those numbers are considered it's still a pretty high figure but not twice as high, maybe same as, dunno.

6,000 a year? I don't think so. 6,000 total more like.

As for the poster with the rum family, a very good friend of mine just had her mother shot and killed in front of her tv because a nephew had crossed the local mafia boss. The province is rife with drug-fuelled violence that I certainly would be unaware of but for this incident. I suspect many other falangs are similarly unaware. Is it getting more violent? I have no way of knowing but my guess would be yes. I would also guess we ain't seen nothing yet.