Thailand's 'F' word: Offensive or harmless?

[rogeroc]

As an example very few posters happy with the word 'Farang' back up their views with sensible evidence. |The majority chose to attack those they disagree with by comments like 'Get a life' / 'you are stupid' / 'you are a guest in the country' / 'leave Thailand if you don't like i't etc.

Thank you Kenny 202, Agent Sumo and Berkshire for absolutely validating the point i made above. Not a serious defence of the use of the word farang in sight but plenty of the other ! Except i forgot the 'i am better than you one' in my Post above.

Edited April 14, 2016 by rogeroc

[Kenny202]

I just think the Thai language and maybe other languages are just very basic. They don't lard out their sentences with niceties, pronouns etc. If it's a tractor it's a tractor. If it's a farang it's a farang. Just the way it is so why worry about it

But the Thai language does insist on a suitable honorific in front of a persons name.

So while one could argue that 'Khun Farang' would be polite, there's not much wiggle room for the apologists with 'Farang'.

I generally feel I get treated with reverence and VIP Status everywhere. A lot of it maybe fake but it is easy for us to live here. Annoys my missus immensely. She'll get pulled up after the checkout at Makro and they'll check every item. They never check me. Generally get waived on at Police stops. Thai people in my view have a major inferiority complex and idolize everything farang. Not all but most. Have a look at Thai Television. Theyre all Leuk Krung. Anyway, in any case in my opinion they mean no harm. I was over it long ago Edited April 14, 2016 by Kenny202

[BritManToo]

I generally feel I get treated with reverence and VIP Status everywhere. A lot of it maybe fake but it is easy for us to live here. Annoys my missus immensely. She'll get pulled up after the checkout at Makro and they'll check every item. They never check me. Generally get waived on at Police stops. Anyway, in any case in my opinion they mean no harm. I was over it long ago

Nah, you get waved by out of embarrassment.

They all spent 5 years learning English in school, can't speak a word, but aren't going to admit it.

See how well they treat you if your misses shouts 'he hit me', or you don't pay a 'tuk tuk' driver his inflated fare.

Edited April 14, 2016 by BritManToo

[Kenny202]

I generally feel I get treated with reverence and VIP Status everywhere. A lot of it maybe fake but it is easy for us to live here. Annoys my missus immensely. She'll get pulled up after the checkout at Makro and they'll check every item. They never check me. Generally get waived on at Police stops. Anyway, in any case in my opinion they mean no harm. I was over it long ago

Nah, you get waved by out of embarrassment.

They all spent 5 years learning English in school, can't speak a word, but aren't going to admit it.

See how well they treat you if your misses shouts 'he hit me', or you don't pay a 'tuk tuk' driver his inflated fare.

I find the Police usually like to try out their limited English as do a lot of more educated people here. Happy to talk to them

[BritManToo]

I find the Police usually like to try out their limited English as do a lot of more educated people here. Happy to talk to them

I suspect your idea of educated differs vastly from my idea of educated.

Which way do you sway 'dark matter' or 'MOND'?

Edited April 14, 2016 by BritManToo

[dick dasterdly]

We are placed on a pedestal and treated with great deference by the majority of the populous.

Not by our General, who seems to make an anti-white statement nearly every week.

If it's really as bad as your interminable protestations would seem to suggest, why are you still here?

Does the ability to pay to have sex with a reasonably attractive partner really make up for the abject misery that hearing the word farang so obviously causes you?

If I felt that I was being verbally/racially-abused everywhere I went, I'd board a plane at the earliest opportunity

Oh good, we're back to the 'if you don't like it - leave' line of 'discussion' .

[BritManToo]

We are placed on a pedestal and treated with great deference by the majority of the populous.

Not by our General, who seems to make an anti-white statement nearly every week.

If it's really as bad as your interminable protestations would seem to suggest, why are you still here?

Does the ability to pay to have sex with a reasonably attractive partner really make up for the abject misery that hearing the word farang so obviously causes you?

If I felt that I was being verbally/racially-abused everywhere I went, I'd board a plane at the earliest opportunity

Being called names by a nation who don't know how many weeks there are in a year, yes that really hurts.

Almost finished my biannual shagathon, next month England, then the month after France, then Spain.

Edited April 14, 2016 by BritManToo

[villagefarang]

Reading some of the crude misogynistic comment some of you regularly regurgitate onto this form, perhaps Farang is much too polite a term for you.

[dick dasterdly]

I just think the Thai language and maybe other languages are just very basic. They don't lard out their sentences with niceties, pronouns etc. If it's a tractor it's a tractor. If it's a farang it's a farang. Just the way it is so why worry about it

But the Thai language does insist on a suitable honorific in front of a persons name.

So while one could argue that 'Khun Farang' would be polite, there's not much wiggle room for the apologists with 'Farang'.

I generally feel I get treated with reverence and VIP Status everywhere. A lot of it maybe fake but it is easy for us to live here. Annoys my missus immensely. She'll get pulled up after the checkout at Makro and they'll check every item. They never check me. Generally get waived on at Police stops. Thai people in my view have a major inferiority complex and idolize everything farang. Not all but most. Have a look at Thai Television. Theyre all Leuk Krung. Anyway, in any case in my opinion they mean no harm. I was over it long ago

Lucky you! I live on Phuket and can guarantee that I'll be pulled over at the police stop points every time, although to be fair - so are the Thais who are also riding scooters. Its only the cars that are waved on.

Similarly at Makro, everybody knows they have to wait to be checked after leaving the till - Thais and foreigners alike.

No wonder you think you are idolised and treated with reverence as a VIP!

[Kenny202]

I just think the Thai language and maybe other languages are just very basic. They don't lard out their sentences with niceties, pronouns etc. If it's a tractor it's a tractor. If it's a farang it's a farang. Just the way it is so why worry about it

But the Thai language does insist on a suitable honorific in front of a persons name.

So while one could argue that 'Khun Farang' would be polite, there's not much wiggle room for the apologists with 'Farang'.

I generally feel I get treated with reverence and VIP Status everywhere. A lot of it maybe fake but it is easy for us to live here. Annoys my missus immensely. She'll get pulled up after the checkout at Makro and they'll check every item. They never check me. Generally get waived on at Police stops. Thai people in my view have a major inferiority complex and idolize everything farang. Not all but most. Have a look at Thai Television. Theyre all Leuk Krung. Anyway, in any case in my opinion they mean no harm. I was over it long ago

Lucky you! I live on Phuket and can guarantee that I'll be pulled over at the police stop points every time, although to be fair - so are the Thais who are also riding scooters. Its only the cars that are waved on.

Similarly at Makro, everybody knows they have to wait to be checked after leaving the till - Thais and foreigners alike.

No wonder you think you are idolised and treated with reverence as a VIP!

I didn't say "idolized" nor do I feel comfortable being treated specially because I am perceived to have money. I never said I thought I was special or a VIP. I live in Isaan and no one could say we weren't treated, at least on the surface with instant respect.

[dick dasterdly]

I generally feel I get treated with reverence and VIP Status everywhere. A lot of it maybe fake but it is easy for us to live here. Annoys my missus immensely. She'll get pulled up after the checkout at Makro and they'll check every item. They never check me. Generally get waived on at Police stops. Anyway, in any case in my opinion they mean no harm. I was over it long ago

Nah, you get waved by out of embarrassment.

They all spent 5 years learning English in school, can't speak a word, but aren't going to admit it.

See how well they treat you if your misses shouts 'he hit me', or you don't pay a 'tuk tuk' driver his inflated fare.

I find the Police usually like to try out their limited English as do a lot of more educated people here. Happy to talk to them

15 to 20 years ago that was true. Nowadays the educated people have often been educated abroad, have professional jobs and no need to 'try out their English'.

[rogeroc]

So now if we have reservations about the use of the word Farang, we should leave the country, we should get a life, we are inferior, we are stupid and we hate women.

Wow

Edited April 14, 2016 by rogeroc

[Kenny202]

I generally feel I get treated with reverence and VIP Status everywhere. A lot of it maybe fake but it is easy for us to live here. Annoys my missus immensely. She'll get pulled up after the checkout at Makro and they'll check every item. They never check me. Generally get waived on at Police stops. Anyway, in any case in my opinion they mean no harm. I was over it long ago

Nah, you get waved by out of embarrassment.

They all spent 5 years learning English in school, can't speak a word, but aren't going to admit it.

See how well they treat you if your misses shouts 'he hit me', or you don't pay a 'tuk tuk' driver his inflated fare.

I find the Police usually like to try out their limited English as do a lot of more educated people here. Happy to talk to them

15 to 20 years ago that was true. Nowadays the educated people have often been educated abroad, have professional jobs and no need to 'try out their English'.

I think there's a huge difference in this topic where you live. Patts / Phuket, Bangkok or up country.

Tourist areas could you really expect Thais that are exposed to some (not all) of the farang behavior to respect us?

Bangkok...yes many overseas educated

Isaan / Country Thailand....similar to country people back home

[dick dasterdly]

Go back to the poster who lives in a village and has always been treated with respect - but the little kids follow him around shouting 'farang farang'.

You may well believe they do this for no reason at all (or perhaps because it shows how much they respect him), whereas to me it indicates that they know 'farang' is a naughty word, and like little kids throughout the world, enjoy being naughty if they think they can get away with it.

[Berkshire]

Ok, so it's about "your own experiences." Why is it that your experiences differ so much from mine? Yours largely negative, mine largely positive. Hmmmmm.

Probably because you're an apologist wearing rose coloured glasses and pretending to be more Thai than Thai.

The rest of us live real lives in the real world.

Maybe you should change your nick to 'Uncle Tom'.

He would have been happy with 'farang' too.

Nope. It's because you're a loser in life who's failed at everything he's ever done. And you've failed in Thailand. So don't go blaming the Thais for your lifelong failures. It's all on you. At least have the courage to admit it. You don't have to be a coward all your life.

[Berkshire]

We are placed on a pedestal and treated with great deference by the majority of the populous.

Not by our General, who seems to make an anti-white statement nearly every week.

If it's really as bad as your interminable protestations would seem to suggest, why are you still here?

Does the ability to pay to have sex with a reasonably attractive partner really make up for the abject misery that hearing the word farang so obviously causes you?

If I felt that I was being verbally/racially-abused everywhere I went, I'd board a plane at the earliest opportunity

Oh good, we're back to the 'if you don't like it - leave' line of 'discussion' .

In your case, it would seem that you would be miserable pretty much anywhere. So sadly, there's not much hope for you.

[rijit]

Nope ^ ^ ^not a return to the 'well if you don't like it' this one resorts to belittling people .

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Kenny202]

Go back to the poster who lives in a village and has always been treated with respect - but the little kids follow him around shouting 'farang farang'.

You may well believe they do this for no reason at all (or perhaps because it shows how much they respect him), whereas to me it indicates that they know 'farang' is a naughty word, and like little kids throughout the world, enjoy being naughty if they think they can get away with it.

I wouldn't say they call farang because they respect or are being naughty. What about friendly?

[Agent Sumo]

We are placed on a pedestal and treated with great deference by the majority of the populous.

Not by our General, who seems to make an anti-white statement nearly every week.

If it's really as bad as your interminable protestations would seem to suggest, why are you still here?

Does the ability to pay to have sex with a reasonably attractive partner really make up for the abject misery that hearing the word farang so obviously causes you?

If I felt that I was being verbally/racially-abused everywhere I went, I'd board a plane at the earliest opportunity

Oh good, we're back to the 'if you don't like it - leave' line of 'discussion' .

No we're not.

I specifically said that if I, personally, felt I was being subjected to verbal racial abuse on a daily basis - which is what you say is happening to you - I would go to live in a country where that doesn't happen.

I don't recall telling you to leave.

Here's what I think

I think you're used to being on the side that dishes out the abuse and you're not comfortable being on the opposite side of the equation

You don't like being in a minority that's more or less at the mercy of modestly-educated brown people in a position where they can pee on your cornflakes ie immigration, police, etc

Well get over it, mate.

That's the price you're paying to have regular sex with a woman above the 3/10 grades you were knocking around with back home..

[dick dasterdly]

Nope ^ ^ ^not a return to the 'well if you don't like it' this one resorts to belittling people .

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

When posters resort to that level of personal abuse, its probably best to ignore them , Discussion is pointless when it turns into outright abuse.

[Kenny202]

Why do some of you blokes turn nearly every post into a personal attack? Do you normally walk around shopping malls or public areas giving your opinions and criticisms freely ie face to face or only do it behind the safety of a computer screen? How can u sum a person up, their habits and beliefs from a 20 or 30 word post. So unecessary. See people regularly being summed up as bar stool sitting, whoremongering, alcoholic Thai bashers for no good reason. Most topics are turned into personal sht slinging matches some times 2 or 3 posts in. Everyone has an opinion but wish we could be civil.

[dick dasterdly]

Agent Sumo - you couldn't be more wrong if you tried, on EVERY SINGLE point made apart from saying that if you were subject to daily abuse you would leave the country. And that has nothing to do with anything I have posted,

[rgs2001uk]

I just think the Thai language and maybe other Asian languages are just very basic. They don't lard out their sentences with niceties, pronouns etc. If it's a tractor it's a tractor. If it's a farang it's a farang. Just the way it is so why worry about it

I can only assume you dont speak much Thai.

Thai language and sentences are littered with polite pronouns and niceties, so as not to cause offence.

Being the mutli layered language it is, it usage will vary from the crude at the local market to the uber polite when dealing with officialdom and those of a higher status.

They dont even need to speak, just look at the way they wai each other.

Kop jai nong, might work at the local market, I certainly wouldnt even consider using it at a gov't office.

[SoiBiker]

Funny that we're concerned with how much Thai people respect farangs, when it's clear we don't even respect reach other very much.

[Kenny202]

I just think the Thai language and maybe other Asian languages are just very basic. They don't lard out their sentences with niceties, pronouns etc. If it's a tractor it's a tractor. If it's a farang it's a farang. Just the way it is so why worry about it

I can only assume you dont speak much Thai.

Thai language and sentences are littered with polite pronouns and niceties, so as not to cause offence.

Being the mutli layered language it is, it usage will vary from the crude at the local market to the uber polite when dealing with officialdom and those of a higher status.

They dont even need to speak, just look at the way they wai each other.

Kop jai nong, might work at the local market, I certainly wouldnt even consider using it at a gov't office.

Well I don't speak much Thai but neither does my missus or so it would seem. She never seems to be clear on anything wen communicating with other Thais...or should I say Laos. I'm in Isaan so crude / primitive language the order of the day. Replace wais with grunts and head gestures. Hmmmm. ...can mean yes, no or maybe.....or usually I don't know so I'll play it safe with an "up to you" gesture

[hawker9000]

The two terms are hardly comparable.

SB - Can you explain why the 2 terms are not comparable, it may help give credibility to your viewpoint.

I find it incredulous that any adult with even a vague knowledge of recent history need ask this question.

And yet you dodged answering it ...

[Berkshire]

As an example very few posters happy with the word 'Farang' back up their views with sensible evidence. |The majority chose to attack those they disagree with by comments like 'Get a life' / 'you are stupid' / 'you are a guest in the country' / 'leave Thailand if you don't like i't etc.

Thank you Kenny 202, Agent Sumo and Berkshire for absolutely validating the point i made above. Not a serious defence of the use of the word farang in sight but plenty of the other ! Except i forgot the 'i am better than you one' in my Post above.

The evidence has been provided ad nauseam, but you've chosen to ignore it. That is the classic definition of "ignorance." So what more is there to say?

For the millionth time, the word "farang" is exactly the same as the word "Caucasian." If you are not offended by the word "Caucasian," then explain why you would be offended by the Thai version of that word.

[BritManToo]

For the millionth time, the word "farang" is exactly the same as the word "Caucasian." If you are not offended by the word "Caucasian," then explain why you would be offended by the Thai version of that word.

If you refer to people by the colour of their skin, you're a racist.

The label you use for their skin colour is irrelevant.

[Berkshire]

For the millionth time, the word "farang" is exactly the same as the word "Caucasian." If you are not offended by the word "Caucasian," then explain why you would be offended by the Thai version of that word.

If you refer to people by the colour of their skin, you're a racist.

The label you use for their skin colour is irrelevant.

Ridiculous. I watch US news daily and people are constantly referred to by their skin color in the context of a story. Reporters will mention that the perpetrator or victim is white or black or Hispanic or whatever and it's rather normal. I don't know what planet you're from, but in the west--more so than in Thailand--skin color is still an issue and is referred to all the time.

By the way, "farang" has nothing to do with skin color. It's only certain deluded farangs in Thailand that are trying to push this flawed agenda.

[BritManToo]

By the way, "farang" has nothing to do with skin color. It's only certain deluded farangs in Thailand that are trying to push this flawed agenda.

But you just posted farang is exactly the same as Caucasian

For the millionth time, the word "farang" is exactly the same as the word "Caucasian."

And WiKi says Caucasian = "white-skinned; of European origin."

Edited April 15, 2016 by BritManToo