British family attacked in Hua Hin, for being tourists

[bucknaway]

When the Japanese were visiting the USA and throwing around cash, I heard a lot of people putting them down. Many Americans could not afford to shop where they were shopping and do the things they were doing.

Here in Thailand, there are places that cater to tourist where a beer may cost 450 baht and a meal for 2 may cost around 1000 baht. Is this pissing of the youth who see their options for good income as few unless they sell themselves to a foreigner for sex.. Yeah... its only human nature that foreigners will be seen as the problem when they are looking to place the blame.

[fountainhall]

Is this pissing of the youth who see their options for good income as few unless they sell themselves to a foreigner for sex.. Yeah... its only human nature that foreigners will be seen as the problem when they are looking to place the blame.

I don't for a moment believe those Thais were pissed off because the three farang were tourists and probably earned far more than they did. They were pissed off because . . . they were pissed! It's clear from the vdo that the one who hit the son to the ground is arguing with someone else before the three Brits come into view. The couple's son accidentally - and seemingly quite gently - bumps into one of them. The drunken Thai takes offence, hits him to the ground and then everything escalates quickly and appallingly.

We all know that many Thais drink way too much and that one reason is the idiotic system of levelling a vastly lower tax on spirits than, say, wine (well, I like wine!). In this case, today's English press has articles about the Thais being drunk on beer. That may or not be the case (although the first Thai in the attack is clearly holding a beer bottle). A second problem surely is a lack of education in Thai society whereby attacking someone thought to have attacked you is the natural reaction. Over Songkran a staggering 110,909 people were arrested for being drunk. 16,000+ drivers had licenses confiscated due to drink driving. Drink and drunkenness is a nasty part of the culture.

The suggestion that the parents should just have walked away after their son was felled to the ground is an obvious course of action - but I can't imagine many people taking it. I'll bet the couple were furious and in no way realised that reacting as they did they might end up knocked out in a disgraceful manner. I doubt if many people who come to Thailand for a pleasant holiday are even aware that there is a latent element of violence in many Thais once they have consumed too much alcohol. And it's not something the government or the Tourist Authority is keen to advertise. Now they are hoist with their own petard as the worldwide PR through You Tube will have alerted vast numbers that this is not always the Land of Smiles.