Thais and authority figures

[cdnmatt]

This is another thing that aggravates me about living in Thailand. You're not allowed to question authority, and are expected to blindly follow it. For example, a veterinarian just killed one of my dogs, and after getting upset and sad about it, it turns out I'm the asshole in the situation. He's the doctor, so I'm not allowed to question his expertise.

She had a simple case of food poisoning, just like her brother did a week ago, but we took her to a different vet this time. He pumped her full of drugs, 6 hours later she didn't have the strength to even open her eyes, and 4 hours after that she was dead, lying in her own shit because she didn't have the strength to goto the bathroom. I'm going to miss that cute, pudgy little body waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs when I wake up, with a huge smile on her face, while she wags her tail and butt like mad, waiting for her petting.

You know, if Thais ever want to break out of this cycle of perpetual poverty, they're going to need to learn to begin questioning authority. They need to be educated to question everything they see, and to reach their own conclusions, instead of blindly accepting what they see. There's no shortage of people complaining about how hard life is, but yet, very few seem to realize that reality is a very fluid concept that can be changed. They just accept what they see.

Anyway, I'm tired...

[Beachlover]

a veterinarian just killed one of my dogs, and after getting upset and sad about it, it turns out I'm the asshole in the situation. He's the doctor, so I'm not allowed to question his expertise.
Sorry to hear about your dog. Man, they don't last long with you do they? One of my friend's family had their first dog die within a few weeks of purchase, which was a shock to them. But their next dog has lived for over 12 years now... so there's hope.


after getting upset and sad about it, it turns out I'm the asshole in the situation. He's the doctor, so I'm not allowed to question his expertise.
How did you come to that conclusion and who told you you're the arsehole in the situation?

I'm guessing you're sad about the dog, but couldn't it just be that the vet tried to save its life (by fighting the infection with drugs) but failed? I doubt you can credibly question his decisions unless you have another vet on hand.


This is another thing that aggravates me about living in Thailand. You're not allowed to question authority, and are expected to blindly follow it... if Thais ever want to break out of this cycle of perpetual poverty, they're going to need to learn to begin questioning authority. They need to be educated to question everything they see, and to reach their own conclusions, instead of blindly accepting what they see. There's no shortage of people complaining about how hard life is, but yet, very few seem to realize that reality is a very fluid concept that can be changed. They just accept what they see.
It's a combination of Asian culture and lack of education. You just have to get used to it.

Respect to elders/authority and face is very important in Asian culture so to a lot of them, to question someone is to question their expertise and make them lose face. It's an non-constructive consequence to arrive at because there's no reason why the "authority" can't explain their decision or justify their teachings, or why their subordinate/student/youth can't have a valid point... it leads to complacency (e.g. factory manager doesn't get challenged about some process being inefficient) and disaster (e.g. co-pilot won't question Captain's mistake so plane crashes).

It means Asians can be very good at rope learning in the classroom and very efficient following orders/procedures but less able to create/frame something for themselves, take the initiative or articulate/justify something. It also means, when an Asian like this gets into a position of leadership, they expect their subordinates to behave the same and don't expect to have to justify each and every decision or teaching.

The other reason you might see less Asians questioning authority/expertise around you is they just don't have the confidence to do so. Their education is very basic and their mind/intellect still at a more basic level of development so to them... someone with qualifications, authority and experience is not someone to question.

I think the Western attitude to this is more constructive and progressive, however it does lead to the other extreme... where you get people who've actually no idea what they're talking about (which would be fine, but they're also unable to judge their own competence), throwing stupid things at the professional they've engaged to service them, like doctors, consultants and such.

Anyway, hope you have thick skin because you're probably going to cop a lot in this thread... :bis:

[Smiles]

" ... Anyway, hope you have thick skin because you're probably going to cop a lot in this thread ... " . . . not as much as you and your famous 'rope' learning.

" ... I'm going to miss that cute, pudgy little body waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs when I wake up, with a huge smile on her face, while she wags her tail and butt like mad, waiting for her petting ... "
In this thread anyway, only guilty of overblown bathos ... and copious maudlin quantities of it at that: on another thread on 'Monogamy' << gay-thailand-f9/who-here-truly-monogamous-t20732.html (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/gay-thailand-f9/who-here-truly-monogamous-t20732.html) >>:

" ... I need someone to share this journey called life with. I need to know that no matter what happens, everything will be ok, because every night there's always going to be that same person here to give me a hug, to cook dinner with, to sleep beside, to help take care of our dogs, or pay our bills, or go shopping with. Let's me turn myself off from all the bullshit life offers, and I need that to stay strong ... "

[thonglor55]

I guess you want to overturn the entire Asian culture then cdnmatt. Perhaps you'd be more comfortable living in the West.

[dab69]

maybe he means "rote" learning

WIIKI "Rote methods are routinely used when quick memorization is required, such as learning one's lines in a play or memorizing a telephone number. Rote learning is widely used in the mastery of foundational knowledge...
Rote learning is sometimes disparaged with the derogative terms parrot fashion, regurgitation, cramming, or mugging because one who engages in rote learning may give the wrong impression of having understood what they have written or said."

may explain some posts.


Why are some afraid to write the words out?- asshole is manspeak for arsehole.
similarly fuck instead of f*ck.

[thonglor55]

Rote learning is a Thai speciality.

[PinkSilom]

You know, if Thais ever want to break out of this cycle of perpetual poverty, they're going to need to learn to begin questioning authority.

Either that or find generous Westerners desperate to be loved.

You know, if Thais ever want to break out of this cycle of perpetual poverty, they're going to need to learn to begin questioning authority.

The basic education system would have to be improved vastly before you would see much of that happening. The elite, most of them who go into government and have probably been educated abroad would rather this didn't happen otherwise their authority would indeed begin to be questioned.

You know, if Thais ever want to break out of this cycle of perpetual poverty, they're going to need to learn to begin questioning authority.

The basic education system would have to be improved vastly before you would see much of that happening. The elite, most of them who go into government and have probably been educated abroad would rather this didn't happen otherwise their authority would indeed begin to be questioned.

Substitute "privately" for "abroad" and you have a concise summary of the UK situation.


:occasion9:

Substitute "privately" for "abroad" and you have a concise summary of the UK situation. :occasion9:

Absolutely Scotty, hence the so called elite from all political persuasions living along the lines of "do as I say, not as I do" ...

[Beachlover]

maybe he means "rote" learning
Thanks... Yes, I meant to type "rote" learning.


Why are some afraid to write the words out?- asshole is manspeak for arsehole.
similarly fuck instead of f*ck.
I have a habit of typing "f*ck" and "sh*t" with a "*" because that's what I usually do in e-mails to reduce the probability of them being flagged/blocked by corporate e-mail servers. No big deal. Sometimes I do it, sometimes I don't.

[MiniMee]

Why are some afraid to write the words out?- asshole is manspeak for arsehole.

Actually, asshole is just american-speak for arsehole.

No one else in the world is so afraid to call an arse an arse, dab69.

[dab69]

Why are some afraid to write the words out?- asshole is manspeak for arsehole.

Actually, asshole is just american-speak for arsehole.

No one else in the world is so afraid to call an arse an arse, dab69.

it just sounds "hillbilly/old people"

Thais and authority figures

Teaching a class of Thais is quite easy if you don't die of boredom. They don't ask very many questions and are very shy when you question them.
I found the best way to get them talking is to question them about farang manners. They love to laugh and giggle when they mention how we, as farangs, act in ways that seem so strange to them.

[Beachlover]

When I went to uni there were a lot of foreign students from China, Thailand, Taiwan and various other Asian countries. The Asian foreign students all came from a culture of rote learning without questioning authority and it took a while for them to get used to the question/discussion-oriented, free-flowing, informal nature of a Western education environment...

Doing team/group assignments with them was often a nightmare because they had little initiative and almost no ability to frame a solution (not to mention English/grammar problems). Everything had to be spelt out for them and anything they produced had to be closely checked for flaws. The upside was it made for great management experience...