Thailand or Idiot Land? Swimming in strange waters.
posted by Greg @ 12:07 AM
"I have a file labled 'Thai Troubles.' In it are newspaper articles and various official reports saying that out of twenty-one million children, one in five suffers from physical or mental abuse
...that one of every three billboards is illegal and unsafe
...that there are up to three thousand high-rise buildings in Bangkok that pose "grave risk" of collapse
...that more than half the vehicles on the road in the capital exceed the legal exhaust fume level
...that only 104 of the two thousand fresh food markets in the country meet hygiene standards set by the Public Health Ministry and ninety percent of the meat sold in markets comes from dirty and unsanitary slaughterhouses
...that more than four hundred species of wildlife are on the brink of extinction
...that since 1932, when the absolute monarchy was replaced by a constitutional monarchy, the nation has had twenty-nine governments, twenty coups d'etat and seventeen constitutions
...that according to the Health Department, more than half of all public toilets in Thailand are unhygenic, smelly, dirty and damp."
"Motorcyclists use the sidewalks as if they were lanes in the roadway and there are so many vendors and other obstructions, pedestrians are frequently forced to walk in the streets with some of the most horrendous traffic in the world. (And likely encounter an elephant!) Thailand has the highest rate of road fatalities in the world and no public ambulances. When cops and military officers are caught doing something illegal they aren't charged and tried, they are assigned to an 'inactive post.' Thais don't walk, they meander, drifting all over the footpaths, looking in one direction while moving in another, bumping into people, like children seeming unaware that anyone else might be nearby. Two recent Miss Thailands were raised in the United States and were unable to speak Thai fluently. Businesses spend a fortune on advertising, signage, menus, etc., where the attempts at English spelling and grammar are so mangled they are as humerous as they are sad. Order a meal in a restaurant and the cook will put the easy-to-prepare dishes on first, the longer-to-cook and the more complex orders last, so that diners who came in together get served one at a time and they don't get to eat together."
-from Thailand Confidential by Jerry Hopkins
It's all true. Every bit of what Jerry Hopkins said and then some!
I have my own collection of newspaper clippings, some of which I perused before writing this entry.
You may have heard this one, since it got international coverage on the web and in some newspapers. There was a problem with a percentage of Bangkok police officers who were coming to work late, parking in restricted areas, etc. The solution? To make the offenders wear pink 'Hello Kitty' armbands. It was thought that the blow to their machismo would give them pause.
Here's another: A huge number of body products, from deoderants to skin creams, contain whitening agents. Dark skin is considered ugly, white skin is considered beautiful, and on any given day I can see the students on my campus scurrying to the next shaded area while holding a paper above their heads to prevent that disfiguring tan.
The Dean of the Faculty of Education at my university receives grants to use towards educational projects for the students. What projects does she create? Cleaning the administration building and spending numerous hours making merit at the local temple. She claims it will give the students moral fiber. And, of course, it doesn't use any of the money she recieves. There have been other issues with this Dean and her lack of educational guidance. But in this culture, the students aren't supposed to question their elders. And the other 'elders,' people in positions of authority, do not like conflict and do not like to admit that there are any problems.
And: Recently 4,000 soldiers were sent into the south where there has been ongoing violence for years now. They were all issued mandatory protective amulets, with a 3-day jail sentence if they did not wear them. Of course, most of the military was already well-stocked. It is not uncommon for a soldier to go on patrol wearing upwards of 20 magical talismans.
And the King? You can praise him or you can remain silent, but there is no middle ground. The Les Majeste laws allow up to 15 years in prison for anyone who defames, insults or threatens the King or the Royal Family. Recently a professor at a Thai university posed the following question to his students: "Do you think the monarchy is necessary for Thai society? How should it adapt to a democratic system? Please debate." He was promptly reported to the police by another professor who felt that this topic posed a "threat to society." And a dean from the university commented, "In this country, this kind of thing is against the law. If he wants to ask these questions he should go and live in England or Australia or somewhere where it is not against the law."
U-Tube, the online video-sharing website, was blocked for an extended period due to content that was disrespectful to the King. And the biography, "The King Never Smiles," has quitely been banned in Thailand because it shows the King as less than perfect.
I could go on and on. Without doubt, Thailand is an idiotic country with a warped people. I continually come across ignorance, faulty logic, sheep-like behavior and corruption.
But:
I suspect that I see these things so 'clearly' because I have not been conditioned since birth to accept and accomodate them. I was raised with a different world-view.
"...what we know, or think we know, about our own culture is not necessarily perceived in the same way by culturally different people. In other words, we may see ourselves as holding a particular value or cultural trait, but then describe that trait in only the most positive ways. Those looking at us from the outside, however, are more likely to see some of the more negative implications as well.
-from Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective by Thomson Wadsworth
I think that all countries are idiotic and peopled with warped citizens. At least, they are if you are looking from the paradigm of a different (albeit equally idiotic) culture.
I can imagine a Thai blogger temporarily living in the United States: "Can you imagine, people actually spend hours just lying in the sun hoping to darken their skin? It's rude to wear a hat in a restaurant, but what does wearing a hat have to do with politeness? When people are displeased about something they raise their voices to each other, even in public. Personal cleanliness is deplorable here. Instead of squatting, people sit on a commonly used toilet seat, and after using the toilet they actually smear their bottoms with tissue. They believe in a god born of a virgin mother who lived on earth 2,000 years ago..... And, if they even think that you might be a terrorist, they can put you in jail without a trial for as long as they want!"
I also wonder what it would be like to attend a U.S. history class in a neutral country. I wonder how they would depict slavery, Native-American genocide, McCarthyism and questionable international policies.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on those accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
-Mark Twain
Cultures are different, and some of the things we take to be moral imperatives or, at the least, common sense, are actually fairly arbitrary. Joseph Campbell said something to the effect that, "myths are all religions except for yours."
But we are in this mortal coil together, and as human beings our shared reality is much more similar than it is different. As Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell wrote in their anti-war manifesto:
"There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death."
Personally, I love the quirks in Thailand. I love seeing a family of four go by on a 110 motorcycle, with the woman sitting side saddle and the two kids talking on cell phones. I love seeing ten water buffalo running down the freeway and having no clue where they came from or where they're going. Sometimes things are frustrating, but that's true all over. Sometimes things are unfair, but that's true all over, too.
I guess what I want to say, as much to me as to you, is to try and take things lightly. "Don't sweat the small stuff." Try not to let our differences blind us to our common humanity. Simplistically put: Smile instead of frown, both on the inside and out.
I'll wrap this post up with one more quote from "Thailand Confidential." Jerry Hopkins concludes his book by saying:
"In any case, most farangs(foreigners) tend to flock together. We wheel our psychological wagons in a circle, and hang out with other farangs most of the time, constantly comparing notes, praising and criticizing our hosts by turn, going home and coming back again, always shaking our heads in amazement; some are so bold as to write books. And however many conclusions we reach, in the end we likely haven't a clue."
...that one of every three billboards is illegal and unsafe
...that there are up to three thousand high-rise buildings in Bangkok that pose "grave risk" of collapse
...that more than half the vehicles on the road in the capital exceed the legal exhaust fume level
...that only 104 of the two thousand fresh food markets in the country meet hygiene standards set by the Public Health Ministry and ninety percent of the meat sold in markets comes from dirty and unsanitary slaughterhouses
...that more than four hundred species of wildlife are on the brink of extinction
...that since 1932, when the absolute monarchy was replaced by a constitutional monarchy, the nation has had twenty-nine governments, twenty coups d'etat and seventeen constitutions
...that according to the Health Department, more than half of all public toilets in Thailand are unhygenic, smelly, dirty and damp."
"Motorcyclists use the sidewalks as if they were lanes in the roadway and there are so many vendors and other obstructions, pedestrians are frequently forced to walk in the streets with some of the most horrendous traffic in the world. (And likely encounter an elephant!) Thailand has the highest rate of road fatalities in the world and no public ambulances. When cops and military officers are caught doing something illegal they aren't charged and tried, they are assigned to an 'inactive post.' Thais don't walk, they meander, drifting all over the footpaths, looking in one direction while moving in another, bumping into people, like children seeming unaware that anyone else might be nearby. Two recent Miss Thailands were raised in the United States and were unable to speak Thai fluently. Businesses spend a fortune on advertising, signage, menus, etc., where the attempts at English spelling and grammar are so mangled they are as humerous as they are sad. Order a meal in a restaurant and the cook will put the easy-to-prepare dishes on first, the longer-to-cook and the more complex orders last, so that diners who came in together get served one at a time and they don't get to eat together."
-from Thailand Confidential by Jerry Hopkins
It's all true. Every bit of what Jerry Hopkins said and then some!
I have my own collection of newspaper clippings, some of which I perused before writing this entry.
You may have heard this one, since it got international coverage on the web and in some newspapers. There was a problem with a percentage of Bangkok police officers who were coming to work late, parking in restricted areas, etc. The solution? To make the offenders wear pink 'Hello Kitty' armbands. It was thought that the blow to their machismo would give them pause.
Here's another: A huge number of body products, from deoderants to skin creams, contain whitening agents. Dark skin is considered ugly, white skin is considered beautiful, and on any given day I can see the students on my campus scurrying to the next shaded area while holding a paper above their heads to prevent that disfiguring tan.
The Dean of the Faculty of Education at my university receives grants to use towards educational projects for the students. What projects does she create? Cleaning the administration building and spending numerous hours making merit at the local temple. She claims it will give the students moral fiber. And, of course, it doesn't use any of the money she recieves. There have been other issues with this Dean and her lack of educational guidance. But in this culture, the students aren't supposed to question their elders. And the other 'elders,' people in positions of authority, do not like conflict and do not like to admit that there are any problems.
And: Recently 4,000 soldiers were sent into the south where there has been ongoing violence for years now. They were all issued mandatory protective amulets, with a 3-day jail sentence if they did not wear them. Of course, most of the military was already well-stocked. It is not uncommon for a soldier to go on patrol wearing upwards of 20 magical talismans.
And the King? You can praise him or you can remain silent, but there is no middle ground. The Les Majeste laws allow up to 15 years in prison for anyone who defames, insults or threatens the King or the Royal Family. Recently a professor at a Thai university posed the following question to his students: "Do you think the monarchy is necessary for Thai society? How should it adapt to a democratic system? Please debate." He was promptly reported to the police by another professor who felt that this topic posed a "threat to society." And a dean from the university commented, "In this country, this kind of thing is against the law. If he wants to ask these questions he should go and live in England or Australia or somewhere where it is not against the law."
U-Tube, the online video-sharing website, was blocked for an extended period due to content that was disrespectful to the King. And the biography, "The King Never Smiles," has quitely been banned in Thailand because it shows the King as less than perfect.
I could go on and on. Without doubt, Thailand is an idiotic country with a warped people. I continually come across ignorance, faulty logic, sheep-like behavior and corruption.
But:
I suspect that I see these things so 'clearly' because I have not been conditioned since birth to accept and accomodate them. I was raised with a different world-view.
"...what we know, or think we know, about our own culture is not necessarily perceived in the same way by culturally different people. In other words, we may see ourselves as holding a particular value or cultural trait, but then describe that trait in only the most positive ways. Those looking at us from the outside, however, are more likely to see some of the more negative implications as well.
-from Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective by Thomson Wadsworth
I think that all countries are idiotic and peopled with warped citizens. At least, they are if you are looking from the paradigm of a different (albeit equally idiotic) culture.
I can imagine a Thai blogger temporarily living in the United States: "Can you imagine, people actually spend hours just lying in the sun hoping to darken their skin? It's rude to wear a hat in a restaurant, but what does wearing a hat have to do with politeness? When people are displeased about something they raise their voices to each other, even in public. Personal cleanliness is deplorable here. Instead of squatting, people sit on a commonly used toilet seat, and after using the toilet they actually smear their bottoms with tissue. They believe in a god born of a virgin mother who lived on earth 2,000 years ago..... And, if they even think that you might be a terrorist, they can put you in jail without a trial for as long as they want!"
I also wonder what it would be like to attend a U.S. history class in a neutral country. I wonder how they would depict slavery, Native-American genocide, McCarthyism and questionable international policies.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on those accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
-Mark Twain
Cultures are different, and some of the things we take to be moral imperatives or, at the least, common sense, are actually fairly arbitrary. Joseph Campbell said something to the effect that, "myths are all religions except for yours."
But we are in this mortal coil together, and as human beings our shared reality is much more similar than it is different. As Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell wrote in their anti-war manifesto:
"There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death."
Personally, I love the quirks in Thailand. I love seeing a family of four go by on a 110 motorcycle, with the woman sitting side saddle and the two kids talking on cell phones. I love seeing ten water buffalo running down the freeway and having no clue where they came from or where they're going. Sometimes things are frustrating, but that's true all over. Sometimes things are unfair, but that's true all over, too.
I guess what I want to say, as much to me as to you, is to try and take things lightly. "Don't sweat the small stuff." Try not to let our differences blind us to our common humanity. Simplistically put: Smile instead of frown, both on the inside and out.
I'll wrap this post up with one more quote from "Thailand Confidential." Jerry Hopkins concludes his book by saying:
"In any case, most farangs(foreigners) tend to flock together. We wheel our psychological wagons in a circle, and hang out with other farangs most of the time, constantly comparing notes, praising and criticizing our hosts by turn, going home and coming back again, always shaking our heads in amazement; some are so bold as to write books. And however many conclusions we reach, in the end we likely haven't a clue."
Cool Works helped Julie Estey find her way to Alaska. I met her in Girdwood a couple of years ago. She left a perfectly good cubicle in Chicago to mush dogs in Jackson Hole and then became the Executive Director of the Yukon Quest for a few years. She gave that up last spring so that she can run the race this year. We'll see her at the start on Saturday and again 300 miles down the trail when she gets to the Slaven Cabin.
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