Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

America bashing at Esplanade Mall

By gohmer, Created on: 09/05/2010, Last updated on: 11/06/2011

» I putting this post up because it is related to international relationships with American citizens living and visiting Thailand. It illustrated to me that little is known about America by most people in Thailand, in fact, I think that few in the world truly understand what America is about and how...

• aeshubby commented : Being an American who lives here, I have developed some thick skin, especially being that I am a former soldier who served 2 years in Iraq. Obviously, in America we protect speech, even the speech we do not like, I have fought for people's right to say what they want. Don't get me wrong, I want to cram my fist down their throat everytime I hear them talk badly about the US for doing what is neccessary. Still, I refrain because I know they have the right to do so. I would even say the need for free speech is even needed here in Thailand, I mean how can you fix a problem, if you can't even talk about it. So therefore I think that the writer has to right to say his piece and in part he is right. In part the writer was correct, most people I have met here, particularly europeans, do not understand the way Americans think. I would not go as far as saying they do not understand American values, but their thoughts were not molded in the same manners as we were, so I would agree that they do not understand the way Americans think. I even have some American friends though that do not understand what it means to be an American, mainly because they were raised in more international environments in the US and managed to avoid the patriotic upbringing that I had as a young lad. Just like I have no idea what it means to be raised in New York. Still we all have different perspectives and it is from these different perspectives that magic happens and ideas are created. For the record, I am right they are wrong about a host of things, Bush was a good president and we had every right to go into Iraq and clean that mess up. That being said, I would like to say that I do not agree that a boycott of esplanade mall is warranted. If it was basic human dignity that you are pushing for there are many more aggregious violations of human dignity in Thailand than a T-shirt you do not like. Start with them and if you have time for the T-shirt then later we will work on that. Then again, all this is opinion, so te writer has every right to tell the writer has to right to tell me off. Just remember we are all one community, so be respecful of each other and odo not be overly critical of someone who is commenting on something that offends him, it is his right.

• GenetheMachine commented : I feel the need to say I am American. I acknowledge the US has done many things wrong over the years. Hopefully we will do less so in the future. But back to the main point. Yes there is free speech in the USA but with limitations such as you can not yell "fire" in a movie theater nor advocate the violent overthrow of the government. That is the law. Then there is good taste. Most of us don't use bad language in front of children or our Mothers. The store owner has the right to sell that t-shirt. And he has the right to display it in his window. But I do not believe displaying it for all to see is good taste. Such display is teaching children hate and bad sign language that they need not know until they are older. While Bush was president I felt ashamed to be an American. And I felt like giving him the finger. Saddam was a bad person but that did not give us the right to invade Iraq. There were no WMDs or terrorist camps. Nor was he tied to 9/11 but many Americans believed so because of the Bush-Cheney speeches. I wonder if they realize that invading Iraq has killed more Americans than 9/11. Also his team put a limits on free speech here. He also broke US and international law. But all of this is for another discussion. There is free speech and there is good taste. I hope we can agree on good taste and practice it.

• thaicapital commented : You should add in your post that many Americans seem overly sensitive too! Thais don't mean anything by these t-shirts - some of them are just plain hilarious. As for US foreign policy I tend to side with Noam Chomsky, who asserts that America has (and is) using it's power in illegitimate ways; US consumption and over-reliance on oil imports from the middle-east helps to fund terrorist activities and necessitates an ongoing presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

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