Replying To A Comment 1

A thoughtful comment containing some valid points was left by reader John on yesterday's post about farang and their rented admirers that I felt deserved a proper answer, so rather than bury it there I decided to copy and repost it here. John said:

"I am going to offer a bit of criticism, not of the specific topic but more generally. It is one I make of a lot of what I read about Thailand and about many people who are frequent visitors to the country. I do not really believe it is intentional, but it does seem to occur regularly when people write about Thailand.

There is a sense one gets, especially if they have never visited the country or have traveled to it only minimally, that Thailand is depicted as an idyllic country of gentle, smiling people who are often intruded upon by boorish outsiders. I am speaking as someone with a deep seated love of the country and with many of its people. However, there are few social ills, be it violence, bigotry, theft, fraud, xenophobia, or jingoism, that Thailand has had any particular success overcoming compared to the rest of the society of nations.

So, I suppose the questions I would ask are: do you believe the ills of Thai society are as visible to you as the strengths? If so, is it a simply a matter of not being interested in the subject and not wishing to write about it?"

The depiction of Thailand as the idyllic country of gentle people is without a doubt perpetuated in part by (1) the rose-colored glasses worn by new visitors, insulated from the realities of true local life by virtue of their organized tours, led by guides who don't show the seamy side of things, and (2) the experiences shared by people who - for whatever reason - either choose not to see the realities or choose not to speak or write about them. I'm one of those who would prefer not to dwell on the darker side, and I freely admit it.

Before I make myself come off as a completely naive cockeyed optimist (oh thanks - now I'll have that song from "South Pacific" stuck in my head all morning) let me clarify my point a little bit. As it reads above the comment submission box "I'm not an expert on Thailand in any way, shape or form; I do this for the satisfaction I get from sharing with others".

Although I've made 13 extended trips there over the last seven years and have 15 or so trusted Thai friends who have given me far more insight into the culture than one would ever get on a package tour, I still have more to learn about the country, the people and the workings of day-to-day life, and I look forward to doing so.

There's no contesting the fact that there are many examples of greed, deception, corruption, violence, depravity and disgusting behavior in the Land of Smiles by the Thai themselves - I've seen more than a few examples of all of the above and have been on the receiving end of it myself. Where I fell short was that I didn't point that out in my original post while wearing my "rose-colored glasses".

As I did write: "They're human beings, people" - and that gives them room to be rude, pushy and boorish, too. I've been shoved out of the way in line (or queue for some of you), felt a hand reaching for my wallet that wasn't mine, had a shouting match with a manager with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth next to his own "no smoking" sign (to my shame afterwards). I've seen more than one child missing an appendage who confessed to my Thai friend that it had been removed so that they'd be more likely to collect money while begging and have learned from sources I trust of other behavior I'd never have thought could happen in Thailand that has and does indeed continue to happen.

John made a good point, and I heard it. Although this was intended to be a blog of a lighter vein, I'd be doing both my readers and my schooling a disservice if we glossed over some of the less savory aspects of this country he and I have come to love. I appreciated the input. I could have made it clear that while it was the boorish attitudes of Westerners I was disgusted with that it may have been behavior exaggerated by the freedom to do so while on vacation/holiday. I does disturb me to see farang acting like pigs and mistreating the locals - for whatever reason. That was my main point.

To answer your question, John: yes, I have (and do) see the ills along with the strengths, but had preferred to write about the "good stuff" while unrealistically ignoring the bad, for the most part. In fairness to all I'll make an effort to be a little more balanced in the future.