The week that was in Thailand news: Political correctness – thankfully lacking in the Land of Smiles

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Political correctness – thankfully lacking in the Land of Smiles

 

 

Before some government watchdog gets the wrong idea – political correctness has nothing to do with the performance of our honorable leaders. They are invariably correct as I am sure the result of the referendum will prove.

No, it’s that state of mind where the prudish and the easily offended shriek and holler in disgust – while the overwhelming majority of Thais just smile and enjoy the sanuk, usually oblivious as to how anyone could possibly take offence.

Many stories this week on Thaivisa showed that the country has yet to be fully upgraded to notions of sexual and societal equality with the locals perhaps believing PC means you haven’t got a tablet or a smartphone yet.

Top of the tree were the stories of the coffee shop girls in Sisaket who had the menus printed on their curvaceous chests. Customers were obliged to point to the girls’ ample anatomy just to get a Frappuccino. And reporters showed a decidedly lack of PC with all those predictable “milk jokes” – that the Thais just lap it up.

Some foreigners screamed sexism but longer term residents just thought Hooters had come to the suburbs.

In Pattaya, not generally unused to a lack of PC, an advert online for a buxom engineer still caused much forum comment and banter.

 

The 26 year old lady was servicing air-cons in the eastern seaboard and the reporter noted that local men were staying in when she visited rather than delegate to the missus. Reporters got the requisite shots from and of her behind.

The odd forum poster who complained that Thaivisa was becoming more like Benny Hill.com were blissfully shouted down by those who thank the day they moved to Thailand away from the predictably PC nanny states of the west.

Though having said that it was interesting to note that in the coffee shop case a 50 strong raiding party of soldiers, police and Damrongtham watchdogs swooped on the establishment within hours. Whether they really thought there was law breaking is a moot point – they probably had a good ogle and will know where to go to catch a cappuccino in the future.

An even bigger raiding party took to the entertainment venues of Rayong this week but only one establishment hit the news – a Karaoke bar that was a front for a knocking shop for wealthy women with “designs” on the handsome young men catering to their needs. Political correctness Thai style still means that few accept publicly that the needs of women are on a par with men so it was no surprise that the embarrassed ladies were allowed to scurry out without Thai photogs capturing their “moment of shame” in the crackdown spotlight.

But I was surprised to see that 1,000 sachets of Kamagra and 500 Viagra were not taken in as evidence.

Certainly politically incorrect in any culture were the two miscreants caught on camera this week having what one reporter referred to as a “tug on a Thai todger”.  Both were decidedly un-newsworthy in themselves except that in the case of the “Pranjinburi Puller” who suffered a 500 baht fine police thought the female videographer might have a computer crime charge to face for posting the pull.

Only when it was decided that the lady in question was performing a public service were the charges ignored in favor of reason. But for sanity prevailing she might have faced five years. I wonder if she needed to use the full zoom to catch the action?

Decidedly lacking in any correctness whatsoever was the Bangkok cabbie driving fast then abusing his passenger who had the temerity to ask him to stop so that he could get out and save his own life. The result at the land transport office later was a lovely Thai compromise rather than a heavy fine – the driver was subjected to three hours of compulsory “politeness” training.

One wonders whether this might be conducted in English and become part of the Education Ministry scheme to make all Thais fluent in English, as announced last week. We might yet see taxi drivers apologizing profusely for not turning on the meter or perhaps bowing their heads and wai-ing when refusing a fare and driving off leaving customers in the rain.

Most serious raid of the week was in sleepy Pranburi where the Blue Star karaoke was seen to have a connection with Nataree soapy massage in Bangkok.

 

Apparently one of the girls had sold her virginity – or had it sold for her - up in Bangkok for 80,000 baht. I never remember seeing that sum mentioned on the now infamous tea-money ledger found there and I just hope that the 10,000 baht sums listed next to so many cops’ aliases were not some kind of horrific “share” scheme.

Share scheme, Ponzi fraud, you name it this was another bumper week for the gullible – what week isn’t I hear you ask – as people fell for the most absurd ruses to persuade you to part with your hard earned. Huge interest rates in just days are silly enough but it was hard to find much sympathy for the on-liners who thought if they bought one lump of gold they would get another one free. I half expected the guru with the three year English plan to be among them but thankfully, no.

Immigration officers had a tremendous week.  Following the rounding up of rather normal suspects in the Pattaya area under the “Good guys in, Bad guys out” crackdown came the arrests of wanted fugitives from Japan and China. While the Pattaya guys were probably just dizzy retirees who had got their dates mixed up – for six months or so – the international criminals had done some serious damage to their country’s economies.

 

Again I repeat, they were not Brexit voters, but Asians.

Serious damage also featured twice in stories featuring Somchai (not an assumed name) the electoral officer who failed to follow the general accepted advice then when in a hole, stop digging. Early in the week in demonstrating the indestructibility of the referendum ballot boxes he had hurled one to the floor in front of reporters and cracked it. Then, having not learned his lesson from this eggy-face-episode he invited a burly reporter to show how the seals could not be broken under any circumstances. Bought on the cheap the boxes were supposed to last ten years.

So I would like to elect Khun Somchai for my award of “man most in need of a large shovel” for his sterling efforts in making the whole referendum saga more tolerable. Well done sir, and have a drink on me…….though please wait a few days until it is legal again.

For it would be no surprise if any number of Somchais dared to test the police response by having a small Singh. And I wonder how many establishments “behind on the rent” will get done for serving?

Serious crime is never far away in any week in Thailand and this last seven days was no exception. It was just a pity that it had to be committed by the police again….in Thung Song in the south of Thailand a senior cop walked into a prosecutor’s office and was caught on tape shooting his dead daughter’s former lover, execution style. Not that the CCTV footage will be crucial – after he was sure the 25 year old man was dead he drove off to the local nick to give himself up.

This year we have seen monks, university lecturers and police commit murder in full view of the public – I just hope it doesn’t give the criminal community ideas.

Two road accidents were particularly newsworthy this week though both may prove to have been the result of a very Thai trait – just nodding off. Both the van rented by a British family that ended up in a Rayong klong and the tour bus that crashed head on into a ten wheeler on the opposite side of the road seem to have been as a result of what the Thais call “lap nai”.

Jeez - it is bloody terrifying to think that something you see 99% of Thai passengers doing 99% of the time on buses only has to be done by one sitting at the wheel of your bus for that to be your own Thai curtain call.

I am sticking to riding a motorbike in flip-flops the wrong way down the highway without a helmet just to be on the safe side.

Indeed, safety is a catch that sends many people up in temple smoke before they are ready but in Rathanathibet it was the safety catch that did for another policeman. As the man and his girlfriend approached a late night checkpoint he reached back for his ID only for his Glock to go off severing an artery in his leg. Another tragedy
that could so easily have been averted though even a modicum of brains seems to be lacking when it comes to gun ownership.

Many keyboard-kops on the forum had nothing better to do that to suggest the girlfriend was culpable and later in the week it was about the 80th poster before you found someone who thought the men in the hotel gang rape and murder case might be innocent.

 

Like a pack of lynching wolves they call for the death penalty while you don’t need to be a lawyer to see the accused might have a case - though it seems almost politically incorrect with these rabid hounds to suggest that people might be innocent before being proved guilty.

Finally both Thai and foreign posters and commentators could relate to what was for me the story of the week. The pump attendant in Yasthon. Firstly the girl was understandably see crying after a local government jerk called her ‘ugly and unworthy of birth’ in an online post. Why he would behave so cruelly was unclear but what shone through after was not his apology – doubtless to save his own un-civil servant skin – but the smile from the attendant who forgave him unreservedly.

Then followed the predictable movie offers from Bangkok and the queues of beauty clinics offering the “ugly duckling” with the heart of gold, free treatment. It was all rather reminiscent of Susan Boyle and Simon Cowell on that UK talent show.

So while it may not be to her financial advantage and certainly not politically correct, I do hope this lovely woman tells all the gathering vultures in no uncertain terms…..

to bugger off.   

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2016-08-07

[cumgranosalum]

If one is going to right about "political correctness" would it not help if one was to find out what it actually was first?

[oxo1947]

54 minutes ago, cumgranosalum said:

If one is going to right about "political correctness" would it not help if one was to find out what it actually was first?

yer-----right or left about them, one should do that...........sorry I don't usually do the grammar Nazi ......just couldn't help it with that post....

Edited August 7, 2016 by oxo1947

[Globalist]

"Political correctness" : A phrase predominantly used by people who tend to blame external forces for their own failures or shortcomings.

[thaibeachlovers]

Two quotes I like from the article

 

Some foreigners screamed sexism

 

and

 

bugger off.

 

I think it is safe to say that though no author was credited, it wasn't a western woman.

 

Sadly, as evidenced by recent threads on TV, the ugly threat of PC is invading even this once happy land.

[3SoiDogNight]

Political correctness is a disease  that needs to be stopped. It's already ruined the West.

[harleyclarkey]

Another great and humorous synopsis Rooster of the week that was in the land of oddities. 

 

My favourite was from that flag carrier for the PC brigade, Kirrily Schwarz, who in a very unbiased and impartial view stated in her article on Sex Tourism Crackdown.....

 

".....where women are bought and sold like meat, where even their most sordid sexual desires can be satisfied if the price is right"

I am presuming she is talking about those vile evil men defiling these innocents and not the girls themselves??

 

 

[Cats4ever]

There is a difference between having a good joke and shitbagging locals. If your motives ae fun and not a putdown,I am with you.

[Norvid]

 

[212Roger]

"Political Correctness" is used by the liberals because they have no other argument.

[JayBeeee]

13 hours ago, cumgranosalum said:

If one is going to right about "political correctness" would it not help if one was to find out what it actually was first?

Love the irony of misspelling the word, 'write'!

[BlindMagician]

Opening statement...kiss arse!

[jobin]

Who writes this crap?  Where's the news about the election results and the decades ahead of us all as Thailand goes the way paved by China.  All who live here, the Thai people and expats, will find increased repression, social control, ID cards and passports for bus tickets, mandatory registration for WiFi, cameras on every corner and built-in corruption to the nth degree as the election results take hold.

 

[scotchonrocks]

Indeed the crackdowns will increase and the scrutiny of every aspect of life will explode now that absolute power has been handed down. Maybe political contextless meant that this could not be covered on TV?

[cumgranosalum]

On August 7, 2016 at 1:17 PM, oxo1947 said:

yer-----right or left about them, one should do that...........sorry I don't usually do the grammar Nazi ......just couldn't help it with that post....

The "right" is usually the side that misuses it...so the typo stands?

[i claudius]

Ok

[seahorse]

Quote

The needs of women are on a par with men.

 

What rot.

 

Gender Differences in Sexuality

[joeyg]

This is kids stuff compared to the stuff that goes on in the USA, my country, that hurts people all over the world.  Living in Thailand, for me, is like living in the Circus or a Fun House.  Many kids wanted to join the Circus when I was young.  Thailand shows us it's never too late.  Have fun fellas...