# What do outsiders think about Thai politics? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714 "2010-04-11T07:20:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/21 "2010-04-12T14:22:56Z")
I’m nearly done with a masters degree in international public policy, and I’ve spent a not insignificant time in Southeast Asia. I don’t really know much about Thai politics, other than it’s quite chaotic and they keep having coups. YMMV. (I can get some policy recommendations for you and have a nice powerpoint presentation on them ready in the next couple days, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/22 "2010-04-12T14:36:01Z")
The throwing of blood was gross. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/23 "2010-04-12T15:03:31Z")
You’re totally not getting the “average man on the street” perspective here - I’m a well read American whose job involves tons of periodicals, and I can tell you: 1. Thailand has a king and queen, and I know what they look like because there’s always pictures of them in Thai restaurants 2. There’s some sort of red shirt thing going on. Most Americans won’t know #2, and many won’t even know #1. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/24 "2010-04-12T15:43:45Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > You’re totally not getting the “average man on the street” perspective here - I’m a well read American whose job involves tons of periodicals, and I can tell you: > > 1. Thailand has a king and queen, and I know what they look like because there’s always pictures of them in Thai restaurants > 2. There’s some sort of red shirt thing going on. > > Most Americans won’t know #2, and many won’t even know #1. 😃 :dubious: OK! And I recall many or even most Americans conflating Thailand and Taiwan! I thought that the huge and chaotic “demonstration” in Bangkok would have been a headline item and led to some commentary, but I guess I was mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/25 "2010-04-12T15:56:42Z")
I don’t want to prolong this discussion either but … > [@simple\_homer](#): > > You were vague in what you claim to be American owned businesses that gouge tourists, so I suggested, that maybe you were claiming American chains like Kfc or Subway. I do not think either of those gouge tourists. > Ripleys might be one example, but since you put “American owned businesses” in bold, you make it sound as though there are many that are guilty of gouging tourists. > So, how about this, you are the one making the claim, how about examples of American owned businesses that are gouging tourists ? > I doubt there are many, if any. No. _You_ were vague about “price gouging” and the KFC/Subway example, now retracted, is the _only_ example you’ve offered. You’re “if any” suggests that you’ve already dismissed the Ripley’s example; I won’t bother you with more. > [@](#): > > Also, why is it so very common that to defend one country, it seems so necessary to bring America into the discussion ? U.S.A. has a favored status in Thailand so Americans have ownership rights other foreigners do not have. My mention of America was based partly on familiarity. I know not if you’ll deign to offer any examples of “price gouging” but, to mention America again, many examples will be _very_ similar to the policy of Las Vegas venues which give discounts to those with Nevada driver’s licenses. > [@](#): > > You also make it sound as if a large percentage of crime is tourist against tourist, and that is just not true… I didn’t say “tourist” vs “tourist”; I said “foreigner” vs “foreigner”. The expat community is huge. Your emphasis on “tourist” suggests that your 3 visits were all to tourist resorts; I probably wouldn’t have responded to your message at all if you’d replaced “Thais” with “Thais who operate against tourists in tourists resorts”, as perhaps you should have. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/26 "2010-04-12T16:09:20Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > 😃 :dubious: OK! And I recall many or even most Americans conflating Thailand and Taiwan! I thought that the huge and chaotic “demonstration” in Bangkok would have been a headline item and led to some commentary, but I guess I was mistaken. No - I think Tiger Woods probably had sex with somebody, or didn’t have sex with somebody, that day. 🙂 Really, I’ve been reading the newspapers assiduously lately because of this election we were in locally - nothing. Think I saw something about Thailand from the New York Times, but not the local paper. ETA - My dad never gets confused because he thinks Taiwan is still called Formosa. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/27 "2010-04-12T16:18:39Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > **You** were vague about “price gouging” and the KFC/Subway example, now retracted, is the _only_ example you’ve offered. To forestall a superfluous rejoinder, no one actually thought you claimed KFC or Subway “price gouged.” (However, your comment made no sense whatsoever unless you had the highly peculiar notion that _I_ thought KFC or Subway price gouged! But let’s move on.) I apologize for the almost-sarcastic repetition of KFC/Subway. It was just meant to call attention to the fact that the whole sub-thread concerned “price gouging in Thailand” for which you’ve still offered zero examples. (By the way, I knew of at least one Westerner-owned go-go bar in Pattaya several years ago that required its female personnel to eat barbituates! We’ll need to start a new thread if you want to continue this, but I _hope_ that example will help you understand why Westerners whingeing about mistreatment by Thais can be annoying.) ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/28 "2010-04-12T16:55:57Z")
> [@](#): > > It was just meant to call attention to the fact that the whole sub-thread concerned “price gouging in Thailand” for which you’ve still offered zero examples. Maybe this is in reference to the “tourist price” phenomena that visitors often experience for the first time when shopping. That is what I thought, and that was why I said that tourists are free to say no if they feel that prices are too high. I’m just glad that I was able to get two porcelain veneer laminates for $240 USD each (US cost = $1400 each). I spent less on the dental work + plane ticket + hotel than I would have spent in the USA on just the office visit. How’s that for price gouging! ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/29 "2010-04-12T19:06:04Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I’m just glad that I was able to get two porcelain veneer laminates for $240 USD each (US cost = $1400 each). I spent less on the dental work + plane ticket + hotel than I would have spent in the USA on just the office visit. How’s that for price gouging! Damned price gouging Thai bastards! 😃 How was the dentist? Would you recommend his or her work? Want to start a thread to recount the experience? I’m looking at some major dental and was considering doing the same this summer. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/30 "2010-04-12T23:54:46Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Want to start a thread to recount the experience? I’m looking at some major dental and was considering doing the same this summer. I’ll reply if you start one. ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/31 "2010-04-13T12:28:55Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I’m just glad that I was able to get two porcelain veneer laminates for $240 USD each (US cost = $1400 each). I spent less on the dental work + plane ticket + hotel than I would have spent in the USA on just the office visit. How’s that for price gouging! Your salary in America is 5 to 10 times higher than a Thai persons salary with the same job, so of course prices in Thailand are lower. If you knew that you paid 2 or 3 times as much as a Thai person paid for the exact same services would you consider that price gouging since you paid more only because you are a foreigner ? I live in China, and there are dozens of places outside my school where you can get a huge meal for only 60 to 75 cents. Sounds really cheap until you learn that the Chinese teachers only earn about US$300 a month. A Chinese person can get their teeth cleaned by a dentist here for about $7, I was quoted $22. China is not Thailand, but the same price gouging happens in both countries. America is one of the most expensive countries in the world, it is foolish, IMHO, to compare prices in America to prices in third world countries. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/32 "2010-04-22T19:06:15Z")
You are all wrong, and you are all correct. That about sums it up as best I can. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/33 "2010-04-22T20:24:55Z")
I don’t. Sorry? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/34 "2010-04-23T05:23:58Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > I don’t … think about Thai politics? When I spend my two seconds per day glancing at Google News headlines, a quick glance at “Bombings in Bangkok” looks just like “Bombings in Baghdad”! I was afraid the 15-second news flash on Thailand was “popular uprising against dictatorship of the elite”; some of us consider the reality almost opposite to that. But I guess U.S. news channels can’t even spare 15 seconds for Bangkok. Otherwise viewers might have to remain in doubt about the hair-color of Tiger bimbo #12. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/35 "2010-04-23T05:25:28Z")
_shrug_ Get used to it. Major news here rarely makes it into the West, especially not the US. We may as well be Mars to many people. ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/36 "2010-04-23T09:46:37Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > U.S.A. has a favored status in Thailand so Americans have ownership rights other foreigners do not have. My understanding is that Americans have the same ownership rights that other foreigners have in Thailand. Do you have any sites that states otherwise ? Anything that shows that Americans will not get screwed over as bad as other foreigners ? So, currents events such as those mentioned in the press and also by Siam Sam just continue to support my opinions of Thailand. > **[There's Rioting in Our Streets, Part 2](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=560617)** > > Following on my original thread of a couple of years ago. Well, the wife and I had hoped to return to an improved situation after our sojourn in Vietnam, but it seems to be going tits up. Tonight (Thursday night), Sala Daeng Skytrain Station on... ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/37 "2010-04-23T10:20:26Z")
I see no reason whatsoever for Americans to pay attention to this stuff, as it doesn’t seem to have any connection (so far) to the Tea Party movement, and Sara Palin hasn’t been asked to speak at any of the rallies (yet). ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/38 "2010-04-23T13:58:21Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > My understanding is that Americans have the same ownership rights that other foreigners have in Thailand. Do you have any sites that states otherwise ? > Anything that shows that Americans will not get screwed over as bad as other foreigners ? [Here’s one cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.%E2%80%93Thai_Treaty_of_Amity) From American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand website two clicks got me to some pdfs, excerpted here, but I was unable to devise a one-click URL 😕 : > [@](#): > > Many U.S. businesses, enjoy investment benefits through the > U.S.-Thailand Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations (AER), > originally signed in 1833. The 1966 iteration of the Treaty allows > U.S. citizens and businesses incorporated in the U.S., or > in Thailand that are majority-owned by U.S. citizens, to engage > in business on the same basis as Thai companies, exempting > them from most of the restrictions on foreign investment imposed > by the Foreign Business Act. Under the Treaty, Thailand > restricts American investment only in the fields of communications, > transport, fiduciary functions, banking involving depository > functions, the exploitation of land or other natural > resources, and domestic trade in agricultural products. Notwithstanding > their treaty rights, many Americans choose to > form joint ventures with Thai partners, allowing the Thai side > to hold the majority stake because of the advantages that come > from familiarity with the Thai economy and local regulations. Neither of these cites _proves_ that _other_ nationalities lack the special “amity” but that is well known (at least among the relatively few foreigners that know of the “amity” at all!) And I, **septimus** , disclaim all responsibility for Thais screwing you over, American or not! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/39 "2010-04-23T14:27:21Z")
That’s only for business purposes. Foreigner individuals cannot own land, be they Americans or others. They can own condo units, but no more than 49% of the units – or floor space? – in a building can be foreign-owned. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714/40 "2010-04-23T14:28:26Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > I see no reason whatsoever for Americans to pay attention to this stuff, as it doesn’t seem to have any connection (so far) to the Tea Party movement, and Sara Palin hasn’t been asked to speak at any of the rallies (yet). That’s really correct. Worse stuff than what’s going on here happens in Burma every day, but how much of that gets into the American press? If that doesn’t make it, hard to see why our troubles would. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-outsiders-think-about-thai-politics/535714.md?page=1)