The Rich And The Poor

The Rich And The Poor

The average resident Westerner can experience frustration in his day to day dealings in Thailand. Some of it can be explained by communication barriers, some angst is due to cultural differences, but a lot of the problems are simply due to the people you interact with.

On a daily basis, the average farang interacts with many locals from poor backgrounds and with all due respect to them, people from the lower echelons of society - tuktuk drivers, taxi drivers, sales assistants, street vendors and if you're really unlucky, with the local boys in brown. While many of these people can be charming, pleasant, and there are some real characters out there, some can be a real nuisance and can give you one big headache. But unless you live your life in a bubble, have a chauffeur driven limo, shop in only the finest up-market international name stores and never come a cropper of the law, it can be difficult to avoid dealing with some of these people.

Interesting viewpoint and you can read the rest at Stickman's:


www.stickmanbangkok.com/Weekly2006/weekly268.htm

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My biggest daily headaches come from milddle and upper-class Thais, not "poor" Thais. I find the latter immensely more considerate, polite, and well-mannered, while the former are typically "me first" and "look at me" to the exclusion of even the basest manners.

[GWMinUS]

boygeenyus,

As one not living in Thailand, I would be interested in hearing more of your experiences.
What is it about middle-class and upeer-class Thais that you find so difficult??

... as it applies to so many of our own dear members

I used to get really pissed off at so many things in Thailand. I eventually worked out that it was the service providers I was spending time around. I started to spend a bit more money, go to better places, and avoid the riff raff, and guess what, the negative feelings started to go away. I'm now much more positive about life in the Kingdom.

BG: It is true that in the USA the middle class is rapidly shrinking, and it is becoming more like a South American society, rich and poor.

I live and work in San Francisco... It is estimated that there are approximately 7,500 homeless in San Francisco. Our city budgeted $136 million in 2006 to support these homeless, add to this the matching Federal and private funds which includes an entire hospital and counseling centers devoted to their support and it ends up that the city of San Francisco spends more on our homeless than most countries spend on all of its peoples welfare... Sadly most our homeless are chronically so because of a mix of drug, alcohol and mental health issues... We are a free country and sadly that means that one is free to destroy ones self...

That's just tosh, Kevin. The fact is that the USA has a "If you're poor you deserve to be, it's the judgment of God" mentality so the homeless have few places to go, unlike other First World countries. And to compound the folly, I see that last week San Francisco had a "Feed the pets of the homeless" day. What idiocy

There was a programme on Logo last night about the Log Cabin Republicans. One of the fools who was profiled was a lesbian from Texas who couldn't find anyone from New Orleans after Katrina who met her exacting standards so she could show her "compassion" and take them into her home. How very American!

Actually, I also lived in the bay area for 25 years. Anybody who knows anything about homelessness knows that the problem has gotten much worse, and the homeless are by no means all drug addicts, mentally ill, or alkies. Add to that an increasing number of families and just regular unemployed people and working people who work in low wage jobs that don't even begin to pay rent on a modest apartment.

I had a bloke sleeping on a cardboard piece outside my apartment block the other day and i told the drunken prick to piss off and go get a job,.

Billy. It must be so comforting for the poor unfortunates you come across that you have such a sympathetic way with words.

[dab69]

No way do I mix with the street litter.I only stay in the finest hotels .

anyone else remember his post when they charged him a nights overstay for checking out of the roach hotel an hour or two late?

this is what happens when meds are not properly adjusted for midgets...