Is this from one of his books?
[QUOTE=Custard;1599951]Let me tell you the unpleasant truth, white boy. The single most important thing you have to know about living among Thais is this: they don't like you. Yeah, I know, they wai you like crazy, and they salute you every time you walk through a door, and they shout out that you're a handsome man when you're just walking down the street. It's all pretty pleasant, I admit, sort of like standing in a warm shower all day long. The problem, of course, is eventually you start believing that bullshit and think you've found the one place on earth where your true worth as a human being has finally been recognized. Don't be stupid. Regardless of how deferentially Thais may act toward you, they truly don't like you, not even a little bit. Worse, all their phony groveling has probably caused you to forget who you really are. So here's the thing to remember: no matter how much they fawn over you, you're still just the same hopeless schmuck you were back in Fresno or Stuttgart or Birmingham. Keep that in mind, and you'll probably get by okay.
Jake Needham.
Author.
This really makes a lot of sense. We are just customers![/QUOTE]It may make sense in BKK or Phuket, but get out into the real Thailand, red shirt territory and you'll find it is not all that way.
Some indicators makes them feel less superior to foreigners
[QUOTE=Goatscrot;1603163]Nope just a quote and spot on. My friends who live in other SE Asian and East Asian nations all have local male friends. Good friends as well. In Thailand I just don't know Western guys who have really close male Thai friends. One exception being Thais that spent the majority of their lives in the West and returned. And those Thais even feel a bit alienated from the Thai males here.
It is not just a function of language. There are different things at play here.
I would agree that when you get beyond the Farang Ghetto of Lower Suk in BKK and away from the beach areas it changes. People are far more "friendly. " Do they "like" us? Perhaps a bit more. But most Thais (particularly the men) feel that the are superior to foreigners. One needs look no father than the laws regarding foreigners and immigration policies. The women are a bit better, but many of them hold the same attitude.
I do like half this island![/QUOTE]I think they know that the way the drive compared to us is just the tip of the iceberg.