Video: Thailand's shame: "We should be like farangs and keep our own country clean"

[webfact]

Video: Thailand's shame: "We should be like farangs and keep our own country clean"

 

video screenshot

 

A western woman was secretly filmed picking up litter in Phuket.

 

But amid the standard praise for someone from abroad doing such a thing came something else. 

 

Comments of shame on behalf of the Thai people.

 

And posts that Thais need to be more responsible like westerners when it comes to littering. 

 

The unnamed woman was on a bike ride and was filmed for nearly two minutes conscientiously filling plastic bags draped over her handlebars with trash. 

 

She was not after public acclaim for doing what most westerners would consider a civic duty.

 

Comments on the "Voice of Phuket" page praised the woman. 

 

But among the first of many posters were others like Somyot Raileelot who said:

 

"Are you ashamed Thai people?"

 

And Nitchagaan Prkwattanawong who lamented:

 

"I feel ashamed on behalf of all the messy Thai people. Well done (to this woman)!"

 

But "Khun Sri" perhaps said it best:

 

"We should behave like farangs. We should keep our country clean and tidy for visitors in the first place". 

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-01-28

 

 
 

[robblok]

Plenty of foreigners who dump their trash too, however in general I think foreigners are far more conscious about littering. The problem in Thailand is that there are not many trash cans available to put your trash in when you have it. That also leads to littering. 

[SammyT]

4 minutes ago, robblok said:

The problem in Thailand is that there are not many trash cans available to put your trash in when you have it. That also leads to littering. 

 

Agreed, always the most frustrating thing is buying food or drink while wandering somewhere and then having to carry the litter for another 30 minutes until you can find somewhere to properly dispose of it. Pretty much the only consistent rubbish bins I've seen have been outside 7/11's. 

[Jai Dee]

An idiotic off-topic troll post and a reply have been removed,

[overherebc]

12 minutes ago, robblok said:

Plenty of foreigners who dump their trash too, however in general I think foreigners are far more conscious about littering. The problem in Thailand is that there are not many trash cans available to put your trash in when you have it. That also leads to littering. 

Nice to see a post that doesn't use the 'f' term.

[robblok]

2 minutes ago, overherebc said:

Nice to see a post that doesn't use the 'f' term.

I use farang and foreigner both.. I don't  feel farang is offensive. Others might think so I don't to each his / her own. 

[mok199]

What thais lack in shame they make up for in blame..

[mok199]

33 minutes ago, SammyT said:

 

Agreed, always the most frustrating thing is buying food or drink while wandering somewhere and then having to carry the litter for another 30 minutes until you can find somewhere to properly dispose of it. Pretty much the only consistent rubbish bins I've seen have been outside 7/11's. 

Not true...come to beach rd pattaya..and see the thai laziness

[Greyhat]

Hypothetically speaking.. I wonder what the reaction would be if some kind of "farang litter day" began. For example if TV members agreed to go around picking up rubbish on a specific date. Not sure if it'd come across as shaming Thais or genuine respect for the country.

[nickstav]

Too many Thais just don't care, whether it be litter, driving motorbikes on the sidewalk or on the wrong side of the road, or anything else. They know its not right, but they just don't care.

[stanleycoin]

1 minute ago, Greyhat said:

Hypothetically speaking.. I wonder what the reaction would be if some kind of "farang litter day" began. For example if TV members agreed to go around picking up rubbish on a specific date. Not sure if it'd come across as shaming Thais or genuine respect for the country.

It's no good picking up after children all the time.

They never learn,  if you do.

 

[4MyEgo]

Just this morning driving the kids to school, a task a gave up because what I see frustrates the crap out of me and this is in the country or provinces if you like.

 

As I drive through our village and the other 2 to get to the main road from around 7-7.30am, village people burning their rubbish and others having back burned their lands overnight with the smoke evident for the 20 minute drive to get the kids to school, fully knowing that they, the kids are going to have to stand in assembly for 30 minutes listening to the principal and others woffle on while the kids suck in the smoke that's in the air.

 

One of the villages over the bridge next to ours, i.e. in the opposite direction 200 metres away have their yellow bins, and no burning of any kind is permitted in the village, we obviously have the wrong mayor, too interested in his gambling habits, however he is not solely to blame, as I am told the old council members don't want to have to pay for the bins, as the residents don't have the funds to pay for a garbage service as well.

 

So the Thai solution is burn baby burn.....I'm all choked up ????

 

[realfunster]

What I don’t understand is why there doesn’t appear to be a consistent government public service campaign via the media on this and other related ‘social’ matters.

 

Seems odd for an authoritarian and bureaucratic state.

 

Worthwhile targets :

Learning to swim

Driving/drunk driving/seatbelts/ crash helmets

Littering/environmental

Corruption

etc, etc. 

 

 

[4MyEgo]

2 minutes ago, realfunster said:

What I don’t understand is why there doesn’t appear to be a consistent government public service campaign via the media on this and other related ‘social’ matters.

 

Seems odd for an authoritarian and bureaucratic state.

 

Worthwhile targets :

Learning to swim

Driving/drunk driving/seatbelts/ crash helmets

Littering/environmental

Corruption

etc, etc. 

 

 

That would mean that there would be less money for the brass up top to put in their pockets, how dare you think of such an idea, Thai's are for Thai's, i.e. their own pockets, why take money out of their kitty to spend on another, absurd, however, one would have to adopt a common sense approach and become selfless, not in their vocabulary, sadly. 

[stanleycoin]

5 minutes ago, realfunster said:

What I don’t understand is why there doesn’t appear to be a consistent government public service campaign via the media on this and other related ‘social’ matters.

 

Seems odd for an authoritarian and bureaucratic state.

 

Worthwhile targets :

Learning to swim

Driving/drunk driving/seatbelts/ crash helmets

Littering/environmental

Corruption

etc, etc. 

 

 

Just maybe its linked to the face thing.

As most of what you have pointed out,  shows them up in there falling to there citizens and to themselves.

 

 

[roo860]

What thais lack in shame they make up for in blame..

Well said!!![emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[SAFETY FIRST]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

woman was on a bike ride and was filmed for nearly two minutes conscientiously filling plastic bags draped over her handlebars with trash. 

 

sadly the rubbish will be there again tomorrow.

[briansbiology]

1 hour ago, Greyhat said:

Hypothetically speaking.. I wonder what the reaction would be if some kind of "farang litter day" began. For example if TV members agreed to go around picking up rubbish on a specific date. Not sure if it'd come across as shaming Thais or genuine respect for the country.

great idea. sometimes shaming thais into action works.  When walking my dog I used to always stop behind my neighbour walking his dog and collect his poo also. then the other neighbours teased him relentlessly about it. He now makes a point of cleaning up after my dog.  IF you or anyone else wants to actually organise this I will join with my 3 sons. 

[robsamui]

The vast majority of Thais, I am convinced, really don't mind litter and garbage, don't appear to notice it, are content to live surrounded by it and can't see what the fuss is all about.

The 'Voice of Phuket' used a quote from 'Khun Sri' which hit the nail on the head . . . "We should behave like farangs. We should keep our country clean and tidy for visitors in the first place". 

She didn't say "We all really hate the mess and stink and eyesore of garbage". Perhaps if a few more Thai people really felt that way then there wouldn't be so much garbage everywhere. No, she said that Thais should keep the place clean for visitors, and that just about sums it all up.

When did you ever see a Thai out with a bag collecting scattered garbage like this foreign woman in the video?  Now THAT would be a newsworthy event, for sure!
 

 

[Longcut]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

Plenty of foreigners who dump their trash too, however in general I think foreigners are far more conscious about littering. The problem in Thailand is that there are not many trash cans available to put your trash in when you have it. That also leads to littering. 

I put a trash can outside my gate once. It was gone by the next day. 

[Greyhat]

26 minutes ago, briansbiology said:

IF you or anyone else wants to actually organise this I will join with my 3 sons. 

If someone [else] wants to make a thread+poll to see if there's any interest I'd be happy to take part. I'm not sure many other members would be interested. Although intentionally shaming Thais isn't what I had in mind and is bad optics, you'd lose me if it went in this direction.

[GeoMill]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

Plenty of foreigners who dump their trash too, however in general I think foreigners are far more conscious about littering. The problem in Thailand is that there are not many trash cans available to put your trash in when you have it. That also leads to littering. 

Lack of trash cans is a bad excuse. I have lived in Japan, where there are very few public trash cans, but nearly no litter at all. Not being able to throw away your garbage every 50 metres doesnt justify throwing it into nature. 

 

2 hours ago, SammyT said:

 

Agreed, always the most frustrating thing is buying food or drink while wandering somewhere and then having to carry the litter for another 30 minutes until you can find somewhere to properly dispose of it. Pretty much the only consistent rubbish bins I've seen have been outside 7/11's. 

I give it back to the shop, or any nearby shop (where I make a small purchase) and they are always willing to throw it in their bins. 

[DrTuner]

'We should be like farangs?'

 

I do not not for a single fraction of a second believe that came from a Thai übermensch. Must be some Russian troll or something.

[Just1Voice]

My 50 year old Thai wife has FINALLY learned, after 10 years of marriage, that if she just tosses trash anywhere, she's going to hear it from me as to how Thai are such pigs and lazy slobs, her included. 

[DM07]

You don't have to be like "farang", you just have to be "human"!

And you don't have to keep the country tidy for "the visitors" but for yourself and your children!

You just don't have to be lazy farts and act like you are living in a pig- sty!

Just turn on your brain and think about, what happens to your country, if you continue...oh...for a minute, I forgot, where i was!

Mai bpen rai!

[DrTuner]

23 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

My 50 year old Thai wife has FINALLY learned, after 10 years of marriage, that if she just tosses trash anywhere, she's going to hear it from me as to how Thai are such pigs and lazy slobs, her included. 

I too have noticed that after 12 years the farang way is finally starting to penetrate into her thinking. Just need to keep the pressure on 24/7/365 so she won't slip back into Thainess. The pull of the dark side is strong.

[hansnl]

3 hours ago, robblok said:

I use farang and foreigner both.. I don't  feel farang is offensive. Others might think so I don't to each his / her own. 

"Farang" has got a slight deragotory meaning, foreigner is an English word, chautangchat is the Thai word for foreigner without deragotory meaning.

 

[legend49]

3 hours ago, robblok said:

Plenty of foreigners who dump their trash too, however in general I think foreigners are far more conscious about littering. The problem in Thailand is that there are not many trash cans available to put your trash in when you have it. That also leads to littering. 

Good comment about trash cans. See how many you can find in a shopping mall.

[Ossy]

3 hours ago, robblok said:

Plenty of foreigners who dump their trash too,

Where, exactly? Pray tell and then I can visit this trashy farang place, tell the culprits what I think of them and maybe watch them apologetically pick-up their rubbish. A little surprised you didn't do this, robblok, knowing your liking for head-to-heads ????

 

And, as for a shortage of bins exacerbating the problem, that would hardly apply to trashy Thais who'd simply not appreciate why they were there, on the sidewalk or fixed to a lamp-post, and drop their litter next to them, without even being aware of the mess that they were constructing around them.

 

Only joking - OK, well, half-joking - about the trashy farangs, but I am surprised that you didn't pass a polite comment/rebuke to the culprits, unless there was real fear of being trashed yourself ????

[soalbundy]

3 hours ago, SammyT said:

 

Agreed, always the most frustrating thing is buying food or drink while wandering somewhere and then having to carry the litter for another 30 minutes until you can find somewhere to properly dispose of it. Pretty much the only consistent rubbish bins I've seen have been outside 7/11's. 

a pick-up is always at hand.