Reverse the Roles

[spitfire]

To all,
Imagine the following -

1. Living in North America, Europe or anywhere in the west with very little chance of escaping or living elsewhere.

2. Thai is the international language that everyone wants to learn.

3. 60$, Pounds or Euro in a Baht.

4. Thai guys emergrating to open businesses and teach Thai on whopping monthly salaries( 12,000$ a month ).

5. Thais and others marrying lots of the pretty and available girls that are good homemakers.

6. Thai guys throwing money around as if it doesn't matter.

7. Those that don't marry run around taking Viagra in holiday resorts doing what they do best.

8. Being totally tollerated unless you really go south.

9. Your sister just phoned you up and told you that he bought a BMW in her name for cash.

I'm sure there are others you could add to this list, feel free.

I think I can understand why many, particulary the young Thais, hold many foreigners in contempt. I probably wouldn't like it the other way round.

I try not to be one of them mentioned above but there are many that are, but if you reversed the roles then I would probably feel the same if my sister just married an older guy that I, on a local level, thought was a millionaire in local currency.

No wonder the Thai government regulates us so much, just like controlling a wild beast.

Imagine if they didn't, what would it be like( but that's another thread ).

All comments welcome.
Edited for a couple of spelling mistakes.
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No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. - Colin Powell, US General

Emotion is the future.

[Wanderlust]

Actually if my sister met and married a rich older guy, was happy with him and he threw his money around like you say, I wouldn't have any problem with it at all. However if it was my mate's sister who I had a thing for, then I'd be pretty cheesed off...One thing that is different and which you can't role reverse is the fact that there are a lot more young women in this country than young men, for some bizarre reason, so any contempt felt by young Thai men doesn't have much to do with farang men being with Thai women i don't think, and is more likely to be just xenophobia and jealousy. Especially as many of the farangs you are talking about are with women that Thai men would not find desirable, believe it or not.

[spitfire]

Fair point Wanderlust,

Maybe the fact that there are more women than available men is down to how elegable the average Thai man is that has made it to the mid 20's.

Just a thought,
Thai women usually do most of the family work and are encouraged to get educated, if you have ever taught at a college or university, then you will find that 90% of the students are female.

Out of the 50% of the population that are male, you can subtract the following-

10% ladyboys and gays
10% die on motorbikes or needlessly before they are 21
5-10% are factory workers, songtao or samlo drivers

For many educated or want a better life Thai women, maybe only 15% of them are worth wasting time on, the men know this and can have the pick of the bunch. Not surprisingly they have a line of girls and mistresses. Many Thai women end up feeling used and decieved. The little prince can do anything they want and not get any trouble for it.

This is the basic attitude of most young Thai men, even the Thais admitt this with the problems they have in the cities( well documented in the Thai papers )

However, you might be right with the "it might be just jealousy" or maybe envy.

Interesting thought, might be wrong myself, would be interested to know what people think.

Nobody gets it right all the time.
Edited for a couple of spelling errors.
_________________
No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. - Colin Powell, US General

Emotion is the future.

[Super Joe]

good topic spitfire,

[Vital Spark]

Spitfire (my favourite Triumph model):

I read through some of your stuff but got a little bit stuck of the Thai teaching and earning whopping great money bit. I know the whole senario is a 'senario' but in realistic terms, here, in the land of smiles etc., a young, beautiful lass can earn much more than I can selling sex than I can teaching English.

Good on her. This is not an attack, just a fact...

VS
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'Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana' -Groucho Marx

[spitfire]

Super joe, yes, you're right, it would be chaos back home the other way round, so fair play to the Thai for the latitude.

Vital spark, yes, true the girls of the night can earn more than any of us but was equating to the average Thai on 5000 Baht a month.

Edited for spelling, it's too late.
_________________
No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. - Colin Powell, US General

Emotion is the future.

[Hobiecat]

[DawnHRD]

My first reaction is that your money 'conversion' is a bit 'off', spitfire. You cannot buy for a baht what you can buy for a dollar or a Euro. Say the average salary for a Thai is 5,000bt per month (I'm sure it's not, but just for arguments sake), then, by your argument, you would be saying the average salary for an American is $5,000 per month.

I think, for some of your numbers to make sense, you need to figure in cost of living/salaries etc in the specific countries.

My second thought is that you've totally discounted we Western women living here in your analysis. What is the reason for the Thai's 'contempt' of us? We don't take their girls, or viagara & in general don't go around in Singha vests with our beer bellies hanging out molesting people.

I actually haven't found much contempt here. And I think your analysis of Thai men is (frankly) a load of hogwash. I lived with one for years. I'm still friends with his friends. Some of my female (Western) friends are married to Thai men. I really don't think there is any contempt shown by most Thais that isn't earned by the individual concerned.
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"The question is not, can they reason? Nor, can they talk? But, can they suffer?" - Jeremy Bentham, philosopher, 1748-1832

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[ADW]

I would like to agree with Dawn about Thai men. I have many Thai friends, male and female and if Thai's show any contempt it is probably due to you as an individual and how you treat them.

"Do unto others as you expect to be done to you" (or something like that!)

I asked a colleague of mine (Thai male) about the whole "gig" thing and why Thai men need to have so many..... his answer was that because so many Thai men are gay or ladyboys they feel its their 'duty' to try to balance it out because a large proportion of the population are female and single! Seems fair enough to me!

[spitfire]

Sorry you feel so strongly Dawn, just a bit of fun.

It does say about "being totally tolerated unless you really go south"

And

Generally it was talking about 'scooter boy'( the young, under 20's type ), not the older Thais which gerenally tend to be better.
_________________
No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. - Colin Powell, US General

Emotion is the future.

[Cowtown Comedy]

I agree with Dawn, spend 5 years away from bintabaht, pool night, dart night, happy ending massage parlours, and you will discover a completely new and wonderful Thailand.

[spitfire]

If you have ever taught English at a school, college or university you will probably spend most of your time talking to yourself and having the piss taken out of you without mercy.

Just poking fun at the youngsters, not the older ones.

Or is that a wiff of self-righteousness in the air.
_________________
No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. - Colin Powell, US General

Emotion is the future.

[nevets]

I would say the same , out here where i live you don't see many farang and its the real Thailand. The bintabat Thailand is not a good example of Thai people, the young that i see and even the older one's when i am introduced to them give me a wha.
The young men and girls always treat me with respect as they do for older Thai people. I don't go throwing money around and play the big shot , i just try to blend in I'm even embarrassed that my house is the biggest one around but the locals don't hold it against me , we just get on well together .
This is real Thailand not a tourist playground where every thing is an act just to get your money. Thank you.

[buksida]

[sandman67]

I'll go out on a limb here and hazard a guess at what the answer is...

if we are talking about the "scooter boys" then the closest comparison we have at home is the hoodys and chavs.....indolent, ill-mannered, ill-educated, idle little misfits who think the world owes them a living.

Fed on a constant diet of aspirational television, hackneyed hollywood blockbusters and cliched rap/garage music they grow up with sod all respect for society outside their own little 2 penny criminal gang. Bling is the thing....brains aint.

Over here they spend more time on their hairdos than their brains. They spend all their cash on tacky gold plated low profile rims and racing pipes for their nasty little hairdryer scooters.

They treat their lasses like dogs, get them knocked up by the time they are 18, and move on to the next leaving the lass to fend for herself......and a few years later thats where we come in, as by then the lass is doing the only viable option and working in a bar, supporting herself, her kids, and her family back home in the North....

if the little scrotes on scooters hate me then good....means Im doing something right with my life


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