Family Of Man In Skytrain Scuffle Threatened

[anterian]

If he had a Thais wife why did he not let her sort it out, when dealing with petty officials Thais instinctively know when to be meek and when to be firm. I just stand behind my partner looking bored and very slightly irritated.

[Nisa]

The most telling part in the video is at about 5:30 in where the guy himself is talking in English, and basically saying he's not perfect and in hindsight he shouldn't have done what he did. But he's maintaining he didn't deserve what he got.

The guy on the video being interviewed comes off a fair bit more calm and composed, of course, than the maniac at the BTS station the day all this occurred.

I have no idea what is going through his head now but if he saw his actions in the video and is already aware of the outrage (unjust) this incident has caused then he should have taken more responsibility than implying his actions weren't perfect. Right or wrong this teacher needs to learn his words and actions can have consequences.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Nisa

[Nisa]

I have to ask do they actually have signs up saying 'no balloons allowed '

knowing how some police and security guards react here I can fully understand how this could have started (they can be very obnoxious and loud) . especially as he said they had been on the skytrain already with the balloons (which were a gift for his daughter)

yes. he should have controlled his temper but would you if you had just been bashed around the head hard enough to draw blood.

I'm pretty sure I would be as angry as him.

There are signs at many of the BTS as shown below and there is one at the station he went on now but some question if it was there when this happened but even if it was maybe the sign wasn't big enough, maybe he missed it, maybe the icons where not clear to him and he was not asked to sign a paper stating he understood all the rules of the BTS before entering ... does this somehow excuse not just taking the word of the numerous staff who were telling him they were not allowed?

Edited March 25, 2012 by Nisa

[oggie911]

if thailandland dont want irish to go to thailand tell us to to stay away from there country then we know report will be sent to national irish/uk newspapers and i will send a report to irish tv to tell people to stay away i wlll send this report now

[chrisinth]

If he had a Thais wife why did he not let her sort it out, when dealing with petty officials Thais instinctively know when to be meek and when to be firm. I just stand behind my partner looking bored and very slightly irritated.

His wife wasn't with him when the incident happened, only his daughter. The daughter apparently translated what was said to him by security, but this was ignored.

[canuckamuck]

I have to ask do they actually have signs up saying 'no balloons allowed '

knowing how some police and security guards react here I can fully understand how this could have started (they can be very obnoxious and loud) . especially as he said they had been on the skytrain already with the balloons (which were a gift for his daughter)

yes. he should have controlled his temper but would you if you had just been bashed around the head hard enough to draw blood.

I'm pretty sure I would be as angry as him.

There are signs at many of the BTS as shown below and there is one at the station he went on now but some question if it was there when this happened but even if it was maybe the sign wasn't big enough, maybe he missed it, maybe the icons where not clear to him and he was not asked to sign a paper stating he understood all the rules of the BTS before entering ... does this somehow excuse not just taking the word of the numerous staff who were telling him they were not allowed?

I have seen nearly all of theses warnings ignored, especially the no Scottish terriers and no planting rice rules

[thaicbr]

I have to ask do they actually have signs up saying 'no balloons allowed '

knowing how some police and security guards react here I can fully understand how this could have started (they can be very obnoxious and loud) . especially as he said they had been on the skytrain already with the balloons (which were a gift for his daughter)

yes. he should have controlled his temper but would you if you had just been bashed around the head hard enough to draw blood.

I'm pretty sure I would be as angry as him.

There are signs at many of the BTS as shown below and there is one at the station he went on now but some question if it was there when this happened but even if it was maybe the sign wasn't big enough, maybe he missed it, maybe the icons where not clear to him and he was not asked to sign a paper stating he understood all the rules of the BTS before entering ... does this somehow excuse not just taking the word of the numerous staff who were telling him they were not allowed?

When rules are not enforced uniformly then YES sometimes you may disbelieve. especially after getting clobbered around the head with a heavy object.

I'm certainly not saying he was correct BUT I can understand how it happened. remember he was hit before the clip that we saw on YouTube.

also those that say he broke a Thai law. he didn't he broke a private company rule. one that obviously is not actually enforced uniformly. confusing. Yes.

[Nisa]

I have to ask do they actually have signs up saying 'no balloons allowed '

knowing how some police and security guards react here I can fully understand how this could have started (they can be very obnoxious and loud) . especially as he said they had been on the skytrain already with the balloons (which were a gift for his daughter)

yes. he should have controlled his temper but would you if you had just been bashed around the head hard enough to draw blood.

I'm pretty sure I would be as angry as him.

There are signs at many of the BTS as shown below and there is one at the station he went on now but some question if it was there when this happened but even if it was maybe the sign wasn't big enough, maybe he missed it, maybe the icons where not clear to him and he was not asked to sign a paper stating he understood all the rules of the BTS before entering ... does this somehow excuse not just taking the word of the numerous staff who were telling him they were not allowed?

<picture removed>

When rules are not enforced uniformly then YES sometimes you may disbelieve. especially after getting clobbered around the head with a heavy object.

I'm certainly not saying he was correct BUT I can understand how it happened. remember he was hit before the clip that we saw on YouTube.

also those that say he broke a Thai law. he didn't he broke a private company rule. one that obviously is not actually enforced uniformly. confusing. Yes.

If after being told and clubbed in the head you are still not getting it then that that should indicate a serious issue on your (his) part.

Neither you or I are likely qualified in Thai law but I would suspect if the laws are similar to the west ... When you are told you cannot enter somewhere and you do anyway, it is called trespassing. Assault is also illegal as is probably disturbing the peace and possibly bringing banned items onto a public transit is also ... keep in mind too that balloons are banned on airlines also. What do you think would have happened if he pulled this at an airport?

Edited March 25, 2012 by Nisa

[bigbamboo]

if thailandland dont want irish to go to thailand tell us to to stay away from there country then we know report will be sent to national irish/uk newspapers and i will send a report to irish tv to tell people to stay away i wlll send this report now

The Irish are just farangs to Thais.

[DP25]

if thailandland dont want irish to go to thailand tell us to to stay away from there country then we know report will be sent to national irish/uk newspapers and i will send a report to irish tv to tell people to stay away i wlll send this report now

The Irish are just farangs to Thais.

I saw comments in Thai on the youtube video (before Andrew Drummond removed all the comments) about how since the guy was Irish he must have been drunk and therefore was at fault

[TexasRanger]

No matter what happened, this worm should not be threatening his family. Hopefully the fact that it was done over the phone indicates a lack of balls on the part of the caller means nothing further will happen. Not taking sides but the fear of threats should not have to scare his family.

[Nisa]

No matter what happened, this worm should not be threatening his family. Hopefully the fact that it was done over the phone indicates a lack of balls on the part of the caller means nothing further will happen. Not taking sides but the fear of threats should not have to scare his family.

and add any other icons to show 100% agreement

Edited March 25, 2012 by Nisa

[thaicbr]

I have to ask do they actually have signs up saying 'no balloons allowed '

knowing how some police and security guards react here I can fully understand how this could have started (they can be very obnoxious and loud) . especially as he said they had been on the skytrain already with the balloons (which were a gift for his daughter)

yes. he should have controlled his temper but would you if you had just been bashed around the head hard enough to draw blood.

I'm pretty sure I would be as angry as him.

There are signs at many of the BTS as shown below and there is one at the station he went on now but some question if it was there when this happened but even if it was maybe the sign wasn't big enough, maybe he missed it, maybe the icons where not clear to him and he was not asked to sign a paper stating he understood all the rules of the BTS before entering ... does this somehow excuse not just taking the word of the numerous staff who were telling him they were not allowed?

<picture removed>

When rules are not enforced uniformly then YES sometimes you may disbelieve. especially after getting clobbered around the head with a heavy object.

I'm certainly not saying he was correct BUT I can understand how it happened. remember he was hit before the clip that we saw on YouTube.

also those that say he broke a Thai law. he didn't he broke a private company rule. one that obviously is not actually enforced uniformly. confusing. Yes.

If after being told and clubbed in the head you are still not getting it then that that should indicate a serious issue on your (his) part.

Neither you or I are likely qualified in Thai law but I would suspect if the laws are similar to the west ... When you are told you cannot enter somewhere and you do anyway, it is called trespassing. Assault is also illegal as is probably disturbing the peace and possibly bringing banned items onto a public transit is also ... keep in mind too that balloons are banned on airlines also. What do you think would have happened if he pulled this at an airport?

well if it was Swampy he would probably have been allowed. same thing applies there the rules are not uniformly applied.

personally I would not have known you could not take balloons or food and drink onto the skytrain. what do you do if you have been shopping????

[NewlyMintedThai]

if thailandland dont want irish to go to thailand tell us to to stay away from there country then we know report will be sent to national irish/uk newspapers and i will send a report to irish tv to tell people to stay away i wlll send this report now

The Irish are just farangs to Thais.

I saw comments in Thai on the youtube video (before Andrew Drummond removed all the comments) about how since the guy was Irish he must have been drunk and therefore was at fault

Who says Thais know nothing about foreign cultures? Lol

[Tanuki]

No you wouldnt be tazered in Canada at the skytrain station with hands full of balloons and teddy bears. Someone would be getting sued. Also nobody would call your work threatening your life. Get real this only happens in an uncivilized society. Surely his Irish temper got the better of him and yes should have let the balloons go but that being said he didn't have a club in his hand as far as we know and his hands were full of toys for his kid so tell me why it was necessary for this pu*** to hot him in the head with a club? The guard was fired so what does that tell you about the rents leading up to what we saw? Mafia tactics and cowardly behavior TIT eh

[Khonper]

if thailandland dont want irish to go to thailand tell us to to stay away from there country then we know report will be sent to national irish/uk newspapers and i will send a report to irish tv to tell people to stay away i wlll send this report now

I don't think thailand wants people fighting and acting like this prick. This is only one guy misbehaving. All the other irish guys are certainly welcomed. I think this guy should apologize to the BTS.

[Tanuki]

Once again,

Here is the danger of losing your temper in Thailand.

Now this family is being intimidated. All because this man created a confrontation. It's stupidity on his part. Who, with any knowledge of Thailand, would seriously consider causing a confrontation over a bunch of balloons?

Yes the assault was over the top, but let it be a lesson to everybody.

Don't fight in Thailand, don't be aggressive in Thailand, don't look for confrontation.

You will pay a price like you cannot believe, just as this guy has done.

Agree with this 100% seems this guy doesnt really have a clue about Thailand the gOlden rules don't fight or show aggression,avoid confrontation and always keep a low profile ,going on live tv has not helped him he is now one of the most known ferangs hardly keeping a low profile is he.

Obviously can't comment who wasvright or wrong here until you've seen all the video but it does seem all the way through this the westerner has not done himself any favours.

Fighting with Thais then going on tv so everyone knows you is just crazy.

People like you make me absolutely sick with your "holier than thou, I have been here in Thailand longer than you, you should behave like this in Thailand" - attitude.

It comes out on every thread when an incident between Thais and farangs occur and adds absolutely no value except you blowing smoke up your own..

It is demeaning to both the Thai people and to everyone who has ever had trouble in Thailand.

In your world the Jews in 1930s Germany should have kept their heads down and they would have been alright - they obviously caused it..

Here here. Excusing the behaviour in this way sickens me as well. Really got to stop with putting Thais in another class of humans yeah nobody likes to lose face, nobody enjoys confrontation but guess what most of us don't kill or even threaten others over it.

[phosphorescent]

I think this molehill is set to surpass everest in height.

[mikebell]

When i read about this I think of what would have happened in Canada, if he didnot comply with a quards request. Here is what I think would have happened especially if he tried to force his way through with the balloons. He would have probably been tasered. Then balloons and him taken to local police station and his wife and child would have had to arrange bail. He would have had to go to court and probably have a criminal record at the end of it all. He and his family should apologize to the quard, the BTS and pay the quard for lost wages , pain and suffering.

A public apology would help alot.

New York and he probably would have been shot...

In the UK, the offender would have been given counselling; free bus-pass; he would receive family credit; free medical attention;a council house;injection for rabies and a bunch of new balloons.

[Gone]

This particular thread is not about Polish people being tazered in Canada or Thai's comments on youtube or losing face etc. It is about a person calling and threatening this guys family ok.

I think this Irish guy is a loser and should stand down however the guy that called and made the threats is even worse.

I hope they find the guy making the phone threats and put him away as this is just NOT GOOD. Wether the Irish guy is right or wrong he has a little daughter and does she deserve to be threatened? NO !!!!!!!

What the Irish guy and the BTS issue is will be dealt with via authorities. What the Thai guy did by calling in a threat is not only cowardly but plain ignorant and stupid.

The poor young girl. Imagine her existance at school now with this. Does she have to live in fear now for something her father did? Yes.

[hungryhippo]

It doesn't matter who is right or wrong in this whole thing. There are only two points that matter in this case:

1 - If it was a Thai person it wouldn't have been on the news.

2 - The guy shouldn't have received any death threats over something so stupid if at all.

Both points just show how xenophobic Thai people are.

[Nisa]

When rules are not enforced uniformly then YES sometimes you may disbelieve. especially after getting clobbered around the head with a heavy object.

I'm certainly not saying he was correct BUT I can understand how it happened. remember he was hit before the clip that we saw on YouTube.

also those that say he broke a Thai law. he didn't he broke a private company rule. one that obviously is not actually enforced uniformly. confusing. Yes.

If after being told and clubbed in the head you are still not getting it then that that should indicate a serious issue on your (his) part.

Neither you or I are likely qualified in Thai law but I would suspect if the laws are similar to the west ... When you are told you cannot enter somewhere and you do anyway, it is called trespassing. Assault is also illegal as is probably disturbing the peace and possibly bringing banned items onto a public transit is also ... keep in mind too that balloons are banned on airlines also. What do you think would have happened if he pulled this at an airport?

well if it was Swampy he would probably have been allowed. same thing applies there the rules are not uniformly applied.

personally I would not have known you could not take balloons or food and drink onto the skytrain. what do you do if you have been shopping????

If you have a lot of items when shopping then you take a taxi because bringing a bunch of bulky items onboard is also banned though I am guessing that is just not to do with taking up seats of paying passengers but also to prevent people from commercially using the BTS to transfer goods across the city.

There is an icon in the sign showing you cannot bring a bunch of items onboard. I guess they could have printed all the signs in every language for every type of tourist and even put the signs out in Brail and recorded messages in all languages as well as had sign language folks there to also communicate the rules but I became familiar with the rules the first time I saw this sign as I felt it was my duty to avoid incident in a foreign country. I even asked for clarification on what the Scales of Justice Symbol was banning and found out it was commerce. I have known for years balloons were banned even though I can't remember the last time I had balloons simply because at the time I didn't understand why it was a rule and it stood out in my mind ... I've since learned it is a rational rule but never once thought to disregard it because I didn't get it. And I have never thought to disregard security or police when they tell me not to break a rule simply because I have broken it before without being hassled and I certainly don't consider myself as anywhere near being a perfect person and actually have issues with authorities but I also know when to avoid making serious problems for myself ... at least now that I am an adult and emotionally more mature ... but we all screw up sometimes and simply need to take responsibilities for our actions and move on.

I have sat and stood around with Thai cops on a number of occasions and thrown my cigarette butts on the ground or down the sewer but then one day I got zapped with 2000 baht fine on Sukimvet. I ended up paying 500 baht by showing remorse for my ignorance of the law. I can only guess what the outcome would have been if I got loud and aggressive with them telling them I have done it all the time and should therefore continue to be able to do it.

[TexasRanger]

It doesn't matter who is right or wrong in this whole thing. There are only two points that matter in this case:

1 - If it was a Thai person it wouldn't have been on the news.

2 - The guy shouldn't have received any death threats over something so stupid if at all.

Both points just show how xenophobic Thai people are.

All Thai people are xenophobic? Wow

[Falcon]

Most of the time I would assume these crank calls are a load of hit air. In Thailand though I would tend to believe the warning and get the hell out of town.

When people choose to be faceless warriors by threatening over the phone its 99.9% the actions of a coward who has no intention or no courage of doing anything, its a simple way of feeling brave. If the person was going to do something then there would certainly be no warning.

This case is a clear case of 50/50 with both parties being in the wrong, yes the guy was wrong in trying to force his way through the barrier when the people told him he couldnt take the balloons on the train, he simply shouldnt have been allowed entry, this would have stopped the problems at the entrance and not have had it escalate further but the guard was also wrong for taking things too far by using the truncheon.

Thailand and the Thai's are no different from anyone else, everyone has their limits no matter where we are from and people saying that forigners shouldnt be aggresive or say how they feel in Thailand are talking foolish, if we were in our own countries, would people not say anything for fear of abuse or approach or state how we feel? I for one dont care where I am in the world, if I have anything to say then I will say it. RIght is right and no one should feel scared about voicing their opinions.

[Nisa]

It doesn't matter who is right or wrong in this whole thing. There are only two points that matter in this case:

1 - If it was a Thai person it wouldn't have been on the news.

2 - The guy shouldn't have received any death threats over something so stupid if at all.

Both points just show how xenophobic Thai people are.

Actually I think your post shows more about your extreme views of Thais than how any assumptions on your part of the news, what matters in this incident and what one caller has done represents Thais as a whole.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Nisa

[negreanu]

Gone:

I for one have no idea why this guy is allowed to continue teaching after he clearly showed a disregard for Thai law. He should be fired end of story. I would not want my son or daughter being taught by a hot headed guy with no respect for law.

I do believe in the Apple Forum on Thai Visa you are boasting how u have stolen $5000 worth of applications from the Apple Store!

Hardly think you are in a position to tell people to respect Thai Law do you?

Edited March 25, 2012 by negreanu

[Reasonableman]

Prejudice, racism and xenophobia can probably be found almost everywhere. It is more prevalent in some cultures, subcultures, and other groupings, in some places more than others, and in some individuals more than others, wherever they currently reside.

It doesn't matter who is right or wrong in this whole thing. There are only two points that matter in this case:

1 - If it was a Thai person it wouldn't have been on the news.

2 - The guy shouldn't have received any death threats over something so stupid if at all.

Both points just show how xenophobic Thai people are.

Actually I think your post shows more about your extreme views of Thais than how any assumptions on your part of the news, what matters in this incident and what one caller has done represents Thais as a whole.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Reasonableman

[chrisinth]

It doesn't matter who is right or wrong in this whole thing. There are only two points that matter in this case:

1 - If it was a Thai person it wouldn't have been on the news.

2 - The guy shouldn't have received any death threats over something so stupid if at all.

Both points just show how xenophobic Thai people are.

Agree entirely with your point 2, but would disagree with point 1. If this had happened to a Thai person, and the video was uploaded to U-Tube, then the same would happen.

The only difference would be, imo, that some posters would have different views.

[theanimaster]

Doesn't matter whose fault it is, the lesson is clear : don't take a dump in public, else you'll pay for it. It's the Thai law -- if you make a really rich entity lose face (or try to lose face) you'll pay for it. I'll admit, I was angry at the guy for allegedly starting the fight in the first place -- but now I'm just plain sorry. He's brought a sh_tload of hell on himself now. Or so it seems. I hope he's got his own set of connections, because the only thing that'll help is just that -- who has the better connections. That's what it boils down to. Not who's in the right or who's in the wrong -- it's just who has the bigger connections.

The threat is probably coming from someone who is directly involved -- no one likes losing their job because of a farang after all.

Wouldn't it be cool if someone from TV could step up and tell the Irish guy -- "Yo, ~I'VE got connections... I'll have your back mate" but nah -- that's not how connections work, right? Connections are for family only... and only direct family. Can't share connections, sorry... it's just for family -- always has been -- that's the Thai way, for Thai connections.

Edited March 25, 2012 by theanimaster

[anterian]

Does the bottom left icon mean no sitting?