Dangerous Thailand: Authorities’ denial a ‘smoke and mirrors’ exercise

[yardrunner]

1 hour ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

i feel just as safe in thailand as i do in new zealand. just dont do anything that may get you involved with the cops, good advice for both countries actually.

Good advice for any country

[wirat69]

1 hour ago, Tropez said:

i feel and am safer in thailand then any country i ever visted inc my own country.

Doesn't say much for your own country!! ... and presumably you have only lived/visited two countries!!!

[ta158]

here comes the usually i feel much safer in thailand than in my home country replys.

[Juan B Tong]

Putting aside the topic at hand and the issue of Dangerous Thailand,  I checked out Maxwell's website.

The young man is insightful and an excellent wordsmith.  Check his work out at www.maxwellsnotes.com.

[WhyYouTalkMeBad]

You can stay but expressing opinions can land people in trouble these days.

Toughen up dear . Unless your thai and choose to trash the regime on face book you will be just fine.

[chainarong]

Not only out dated but also biased , now it's either one or the other, not both, it is in date and certainly not biased,  as other agency's have called the same tune....................................

[ta158]

http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Thailand/Crime

[robertson468]

2 hours ago, OmarZaid said:

Me too . . .

Me too...

[Get Real]

Yep! This is a safe country!

[Thaidream]

In Thailand- if you go to places where there is a lot of crime- you may be a victim. Cities like Pattaya; Phuket; Samui and others with a large entertainment sector and many tourists are prime spots for criminals to gather as there are potential victims. In addition, people are drinking and letting their guard down and thus become easier prey.

 

If you drive in Thailand and do not drive defensively and copy the bad driving habits- the danger is greater than if ou drive at the speed limit and give way to those who don't.

 

If you are out drinking and when confronted- return the confrontation and don't move on; you are in greater danger than normal.

 

The point is that when in Thailand - if you keep your wits; don't get into a confrontation with the locals and generally mind your manners- 99% of the time nothing will happen to you. I would not say the same about America or Europe where there are many more random attacks on people. To be honest- I have had hardly an incident with a Thai person but a few  with Western foreigners who were drunk and obnoxious.

[Asiantravel]

here is an interesting website to help navigate away from the most dangerous provinces

 

https://www.farang-deaths.com/

[realenglish1]

6 hours ago, Misterwhisper said:

As long as I have been living in Thailand, it's consistently and without fail been the same lame excuse the authorities brought forth whenever a controversy came to light or a problem was exposed - and regardless what the topic or accusation was. They have always (always!) hinted at obscure and ambiguous "recent improvements" that somehow slipped under the radar or were overlooked by researchers when they compiled their studies or reports. Everything is either swept under the carpet from the start or waved off and dismissed with the flimsy argument of "recent improvements" - although there were in fact none. Stubborn denial is an ugly and unsavory component of "Thainess," and nothing's going to change in that regard anytime soon.

This is typical They make a lot of noise and do little I see your in agreement This is why they have a military government Thais don't care as long as they can fill their belly 

[Khon Kaen Dave]

6 hours ago, Trumpish said:

 

Fully agree, though, of course, this dishonest behaviour is not limited to Thailand.

 

The exercise is as follows:

 

1. Hire a paid professional liar. Preferably male, in their 30's, tall, slim and good-looking (for info as to why these factors are important, check our instinctive reactions to various body types).

2. Evaluate his ability to suggest that a downright lie is somehow plausible.

3. Evaluate his ability to claim untruths without giving any detail which might betray their untruthfulness.

4. Evaluate his ability to create a facial and body expression that is highly sincere without going OTT

5. Ensure he wears audience-friendly clothes that suggest authority.

6 Train him to automatically adopt benign and viewer-friendly, non-aggressive gestures and poses (eg, no finger-pointing).

7. All set, tell him what lies to tell and set him loose.

 

Sad really, where the people we elect to represent us are more expert in the art of lies than the art of truth. Next time you see Sansern or Prayuth lecturing us all, dig a bit deeper into their techniques for telling lies in such a way that they sound like they *might* be true.

 

Thais are natural liars, in Thailand, the truth is always subservient to what is useful to say.

This guy sounds wonderful, do you have a contact number for him?As i am sure he will soon be required in the UK soon, to answer the public inquiry into the Lattimer road fire.

[TheLobster]

8 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

"While the Foreign Ministry seems perplexed by Thailand’s poor ranking in WEF report, the prevalence of gun crime, road deaths, violent crime, sexual assault, rival college violence, motorcycle gang culture, road rage confrontations, tourist scams, drunken assaults and psychotic net-idols are no secret to most of the country’s residents. Simply watch one of Thailand’s morning TV news shows on any given day, and you’ll see enough to shatter the idyllic imagery projected by the Tourism Authority of Thailand."

 

Did they miss anything?

"Suicides" 

[theguyfromanotherforum]

19 hours ago, Tropez said:

i feel and am safer in thailand then any country i ever visted inc my own country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me too. The reason for this (as per my ex-Thai/Canadian gf) could be because I don't speak the language, don't read Thai newspapers and live like a hermit counting on my better half to do everything for me.

[Trumpish]

26 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

Me too. The reason for this (as per my ex-Thai/Canadian gf) could be because I don't speak the language, don't read Thai newspapers and live like a hermit counting on my better half to do everything for me.

Good policy. Stay at home, sip the occasional sherbert and let the missus take care of any business with Thais. If she is Thai she has a natural advantage

[anon4546543]

6 hours ago, WhyYouTalkMeBad said:

Yes. 10 years oh roaming all the back streets of thailand cities without incident nor even a concern tells me the truth.

It's absolutely false news. But they need to keep pumping out reports fact or fiction, it's there job

My time in Thailand has been almost incident free, never dangerous to me. 

My time in Kalgoorlie and Karratha (mining towns and hubs) West Aust was constantly dangerous,

mostly from drug and alcohol fuelled young men. Perth the capital has a huge crime wave.

 

Even in tourist areas (in the early days) the worst potential danger was from returning to our hotel with my girlfriend (now my wife)

and walking down a street known for the transvestites that plied their trade. Good humour once again saved me,as it has in

so many potential danger situations. Respect, humour and generally staying away from young tourist lurks. 

[Chama1]

Not sure if the low visibility of the police is abad or good thing. When they become visible it is usually to abuse those they are supposed to be there to protect.

[tomacht8]

If someone wants to participate in the traffic here, then it is dangerous.
Thailand is one of the foremost places in the world statistics of traffic - accidents
The driving skills of the locals and the drunk tourists too, this result in such high death rates in traffic (around 24.000 per year (WHO)).
And the violence among Thai people is also quite high.
The legal and illegal weapon possession rate is high.
If this is mixed with the concept of "preserving the face" and the short-circuit capability of drunken thais,
then such high murder, manslaughter and brawling rates are inevitable.
Plus the depressed long-term tourists who have problems with the too low balcony limitations.

According to the WHO statistics from 2016, Thailand is still in second place, behind Venezuela. Libya was removed from the statistics because of civil war. They replaced Venezuela. With 36.2 traffic death to 100,000, Thailand is just behind Venezuela, which is ranked first with 45.1 TD / 100,000.

If Thailand increases traffic safety measures, a better ranking in world comparisons would surely result.

[anon4546543]

29 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

If someone wants to participate in the traffic here, then it is dangerous.
Thailand is one of the foremost places in the world statistics of traffic - accidents
The driving skills of the locals and the drunk tourists too, this result in such high death rates in traffic (around 24.000 per year (WHO)).
And the violence among Thai people is also quite high.
The legal and illegal weapon possession rate is high.
If this is mixed with the concept of "preserving the face" and the short-circuit capability of drunken thais,
then such high murder, manslaughter and brawling rates are inevitable.
Plus the depressed long-term tourists who have problems with the too low balcony limitations.

According to the WHO statistics from 2016, Thailand is still in second place, behind Venezuela. Libya was removed from the statistics because of civil war. They replaced Venezuela. With 36.2 traffic death to 100,000, Thailand is just behind Venezuela, which is ranked first with 45.1 TD / 100,000.

If Thailand increases traffic safety measures, a better ranking in world comparisons would surely result.

Then read the US statistics, the comparison makes Thailand almost crime free.

Just heard that a US court found not guilty to a policeman who shot and killed a dark skinned chap, all the while by being taped by the deceased girlfriend.

The US is possibly the most dangerous, uneducated country in the world. The upholders of truth, justice and democracy. What a joke

[lee68]

I have lived here 22 years and dont speak fluent Thai but can get by,and have traveled all over the country, and still find it safer than most UK towns after dark, ive never been beaten up or robbed, but ended up drunk with the locals in a few places off the beaten track!

[Trumpish]

2 hours ago, Chama1 said:

Not sure if the low visibility of the police is abad or good thing. When they become visible it is usually to abuse those they are supposed to be there to protect.

On the other hand, I am quite sure that the cultural millstone around the necks of the primitive Thai society, is largely caused by their approach to social seniority and the rampant dishonesty which can easily be shown to extend from the very bottom of Thai society to the very top. Corruption is everywhere in Thailand, I don't believe it can be cured, it must be cut out, and that will be a very painful lesson for Thais in general. Starting with the police, which, with the Army are the largest criminal mafias in Thailand.

 

It's a useful exercise to ask what links the RTP and the RTA, and where both organisations learned that corruption was a really good idea. That Thailand considers corruption to be acceptable is amply demonstrated by looking at the reaction of the PM to his kid brother's dishonesty. Read them and weep.

[Trumpish]

1 hour ago, spiderorchid said:

...The US is possibly the most dangerous, uneducated country in the world. The upholders of truth, justice and democracy. What a joke

No argument about that from me. The USA is just another society that thinks they are God's chosen. One among many - not the first, they won't be the last. Yeehah! Ride 'em cowboy. Let's hear those spurs all of a jingle-and-a-jangle. As much as they Thais are delusional about their importance in the world, the USA is even more delusional. I remember an American psychiatrist telling me that 70% of the USA is dependent upon Prozac just to get through the day - cognitive dissonance is what happens when your belief of self doesn't fit very well with observable reality.

[anon4546543]

Thailand, a land of culture is"primitive"?

Yes there may be corruption from the bottom up as you accuse.

In the US and other western countries, corruption starts at the very top and trickles down.

Maybe time to pull your head out of the sewer.

[tomacht8]

1 hour ago, spiderorchid said:

Then read the US statistics, the comparison makes Thailand almost crime free.

Just heard that a US court found not guilty to a policeman who shot and killed a dark skinned chap, all the while by being taped by the deceased girlfriend.

The US is possibly the most dangerous, uneducated country in the world. The upholders of truth, justice and democracy. What a joke

The US is certainly not the measure of all things.

[Trumpish]

Just now, spiderorchid said:

Thailand, a land of culture is"primitive"?

Yes there may be corruption from the bottom up as you accuse.

In the US and other western countries, corruption starts at the very top and trickles down.

Maybe time to pull your head out of the sewer.

No. I believe Thai society is primitive and can go some way to supporting that argument, even though I had the same time lapse in coming to that conclusion that anyone from WA would have.

 

Things in Thailand are not how they appear. Even the ubiquitous Thai smile (which is the main reason they cannot pronounce foreign words) has around 20 varieties, 19 of which really mean they think you're a piece of sh|t farang. Noticing requires paying attention. Not everything is as it seems, though it's close enough for the tourism dollar.

[Trumpish]

2 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

The US is certainly not the measure of all things.

Correct.

Edited June 17, 2017 by Trumpish

[Trumpish]

1 hour ago, spiderorchid said:

Then read the US statistics, the comparison makes Thailand almost crime free.

Just heard that a US court found not guilty to a policeman who shot and killed a dark skinned chap, all the while by being taped by the deceased girlfriend.

The US is possibly the most dangerous, uneducated country in the world. The upholders of truth, justice and democracy. What a joke

You are assuming that Thai statistics are worth a damn. They aren't.

[tomacht8]

Just now, Trumpish said:

You are assuming that Thai statistics are worth a damn. They aren't.

My statement is based on WHO data.
Officially Thailand gives the number of traffic deads with 14,000.
According to WHO, there are 24,000.
Here you go Trumpy.
 

[spidermike007]

Two points here. First of all, denial on the part of the authorities, and many people in Thailand is a natural instinct. The cowardly practice of face, means they will do absolutely anything in their power to avoid introspection, contemplation, self analysis, meditation, real meaningful prayer, mediation, or consultation, to solve a problem, look within for the source of the problem, take responsibility, man up, or analyze a study like this. 

 

Secondarily, as much as they talk about violence here, I have never in the decades I have been coming here, and living here, had one incident where I felt threatened. Not once. I roam the back streets of Bangkok late at night, and in all of my travels I have never once encountered a thug who tried to hold me up, or anyone who threatened me, in any meaningful way. In the states, I encounter gangsters nearly every time I am in Los Angeles, who will kill you for looking at them the wrong way, and people that are so angry, that they want to fight at a moments notice. The last time I was in LA, I had a guy make a U-turn right on front of me. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid crashing into him. I merely said you are a idiot, and the guy stopped the car, ran out, and started running toward my car, telling me he was going to kill me. The level of frustration, anxiety, disappointment, disenfranchisement, and dissatisfaction in the US is so high right now, you run a big risk saying anything, to anybody you do not know.

 

I have never had my house broken into here, never had my car broken into here, never had a vehicle stolen. I did know a gal who was attacked on the street, in a smaller town, and her iPhone was stolen, and she ended up in the hospital. She was attacked from behind, and knocked out. She woke up in the hospital. But, she was flashing her new iPhone on the street, in a smaller town, and it was an exception to the rule, I believe. Crime happens everywhere. But, I still believe it happens here, less than most places.