Our prejudice rips the nation's image

COMMENTARY

Our prejudice rips the nation's image

Published: 27 Feb 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Is ours a society obsessed with face? I wish it were. Had we been really serious about our image and how to maintain it, we would have long realised what the rest of the world considers as decent standard practices.

This realisation would not only have saved us from countless unnecessary image problems, it would also have made ours a better, more humane society.

Take how our police handle rape cases involving foreign female tourists.

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deville
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Discussion 27 : 28 Feb 2013 at 10.3327
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Sometimes progressive Thais who work damn hard for their pay in an ethical manner tell me that they are "sick of Thai people" -
i.e. the dishonesty/corruption that runs through this 'image uber alles' society like a cancer.

What a strange place Thailand is: So many Thais trying to get out, so many farangs trying to get in.
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deville
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Discussion 26 : 28 Feb 2013 at 10.1326
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'Pearls before swine': expect the usual knee-jerk reaction (if any at all) from the powers-that-be.
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whatajoke
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Discussion 25 : 28 Feb 2013 at 09.4225
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It's a pity more journalists aren't as forthright and self critical, it's very un-Thai. What a pity a nation that prides itself on doing so many things well, including a lack of aggression, is simultaneously so hypocritical, and shamelessly prejudiced. It would be a national outcry in Britain (well the British like to complain) but no one here seems to care. And Lese Majeste is the least of your worries alongside minority rights abuses, selective law enforcement, mistreatment of refugees. All this talk of justice from protest stages is nonsense, it's completely misunderstood.
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pquinlan
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Discussion 24 : 28 Feb 2013 at 08.3624
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D2: There is no one in Thailand even approaching the wealth of the Saud clan in KSA. But I do agree that the wealthy, including the "new money" in Thailand is hell bent on maintaining the status quo to their own advantage - and that includes your poster boy residing in Dubai/Montenegro or where ever.
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Birdie
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Discussion 23 : 27 Feb 2013 at 17.5823
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Making me laugh.....every present problem in Thailand had to be traced back to what education Thailand is providing!
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ginkax
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Discussion 22 : 27 Feb 2013 at 17.1122
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Yes, Thailand LIKE MANY OTHER SOCIETY INCLUDING EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WEST has its short coming. I read and accept this hypocritical article without any 'Thainess' in which so many of you stereotype commentator deplored. Yes we must hurry and change Thailand into a society in which equality reign supreme, no crimes or prejudice committed against our peers, THEN, we must spread this Utopia to the West and implement the same violent revolution with apostolic fervor. Personally, I think all of this Utopian dream is full of crap and I resign myself to living in this less than perfect society awaiting my turn to cast ballot.
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chillin
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Discussion 21 : 27 Feb 2013 at 17.0421
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writer enuf said you hit the nail directly on the head.
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upena
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Discussion 20 : 27 Feb 2013 at 16.1020
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Reaction and response from the Thai Government to whatever the latest "image damaging" incident is causes more damage than the actual incident.
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jck
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Discussion 19 : 27 Feb 2013 at 14.1919
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An excellent article summarising the prejudices that most thinking people are fully aware of and which lead to so many deficiencies in Thai society and the poor image the writer identifies. Corruption, unusual wealth, abuse of the lese majeste law, censorship, inability to enforce existing laws are all part of the plague holding Thailand’s progress into the current century. Although many writers have highlighted these problems nobody seems able to outline even the first baby steps needed to remedy this plague.
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lungstib
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Discussion 18 : 27 Feb 2013 at 13.4518
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"our age-old religious teachings of tolerance, empathy and compassion"

Obviously not taught well enough, and not in the school curriculum. You are a gem Sanitsuda.
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Our prejudice rips the nation's image | Bangkok Post: opinion