Text 23353, 114 rader
Skriven 2006-01-21 16:40:53 av Björn Forsström (2:203/614.61)
  Kommentar till text 22077 av Carol Shenkenberger (6:757/1)
Ärende: Editor's censorship
===========================

BF>> To be one of those who travels (obviously) I can't do anything else th To
BF>> be here in Thailand is something totally different from being at ho I'm
BF>> totally dependent on others and just have to follow their advice a to
BF>> behave and it's nothing at all like home.

 CS> Yes.  What is acceptable there doesnt meet in every aspect what any other
 CS> place expects but the specifics will vary.  The Thai are more apt to be
 CS> 'open' about telling you what's ok if you bother to ask, than most places.

They are very friendly once you get to know then and then they do anything
to help.

CS> One you are encountering (or have) is that it's NOT ok to be rude to a sex
 CS> change person just because the culture you have, doenst accept them (I am
 CS> not saying that yours does not, it may.  Americans have trouble with that
 CS> one and we spend lots of time warning the ship people about it).

I don't bother about them as long as they don't bother me.

 CS> If meeting a sexchange 'lady' bothers you, just be polite and say so in
 CS> simple non abusive ways like 'I'm sorry, it's not for me but I wish you
 CS> well'.

One Thai guy told us that there are many gays here but we haven't seen
that many and besides, we don't look for them either.

BF>> If you just behave normal and ask before you do anything there usually any
BF>> problem.

 CS> True.  For the most part this is dead on.  There's a few frills that you
 CS> learn by living in a place long term about that specific area but the big
 CS> one is to smile at people and accept (ACCEPT) what you see.

Sure thing. It's none of my buisness but what bothers me alot are those
homeless dogs that's so full of lice so they almost scratch themself to
death. They get wounds that's infected and they look like yack. I feel so
sorry for them but they refuse to put them to sleep or cure them but as
I said, it's none of my problem.

FS>>> attack me ... heh heh heh ... my attitude usually reflects the at the
FS>>> participants in any echo.  People here tend to be intolerant.

 CS>> People here react fast to intolerance.  There's a difference there.

BF>> I agree.

 CS> He's not understanding it but not because he is stupid.  He lacks the
 CS> experience of living outside his culture zone of comfort.  Thats no slam,
 CS> its a true thing of most of us.  Because of that, many of us love to chat
 CS> as best as we can with folks of other zones to 'see vicariously what it
 CS> may be like'.

Right on and for us, we like to see it and experience it as well and this
evening we found out why they can afford all those expensive trucks.
They live in their cars. They watch the TV in the coupé and sleep on the
loading platform. It's true.

 CS> Frank isnt a horrible person.  He's just what I am calling 'mono-cultural'
 CS> and that exists outside the USA as well as within it.

That exists in every country.

 CS> I was largely mono-cultural before I came out to Asia, so I can look back
 CS> and see it, in myself, in my own posts.  I am a little embarrassed about
 CS> some of the things I said and did now, back long ago, but I was not a
 CS> 'meamie' (kid word, mean person).  I just asked some questions and didnt
 CS> understand the answers that came back as other than what I was used to.  I
 CS> 'tried' to accept them but had not the experience to really understand
 CS> what i was reading as the answers.  The answers were not misleading.  I
 CS> was misleading *myself* to try to add things that were not there or just
 CS> not listening to parts that I didnt want to hear.

Then, to see all this with your own eyes is very interesting. The most horrible
I've seen was in Tahiti. It was my first experience with *real* poverty that
I've
had and have made a very big impact on me and even in the country-side in
Bulgaria they haven't very much to cheer about.

 CS> When presented with a choice in reply, I will normally assume if the
 CS> message questioned me in a rude way, that one of us misunderstood
 CS> something and start from there.  Oftener than not, this was the right
 CS> tactic to use as it turned out there was a mis-juncture someplace.

A nice way to keep it civil.

FS>>> I'm *far* more flexible than you seem to think ...

 CS>> Perhaps.  I think there is hope for you.

BF>> Let's hope so but so far he's far to agressive towards any that isn't

 CS> Yes, he is.  He doenst seem to realize that but it may come from something
 CS> else.  He's said he was prime poster in some politics related echo and
 CS> kept the traffic flowing well.  He may be stirring the pot to forment
 CS> other discussions but I think he means well and is just saying his mind in
 CS> ways that start conversations.

It's *very* easy for a non-American to get very upset by just listening to all
that American propaganda he's providing and that every other country is a
third-world country. That isn't the way to get on with other countries and
make friends, it only makes the rest of the world to be even more anti-
American but in some strange way he doesn't realize that.

  CS> Ah well, reading messges just typed to me.  I leave for sea in 12 hours
 CS> and have to sleep so if there are gaps, please forgive me.

No problem.
I'll have to get some sleep too. Early tomorrow we will be picked up for
a trip to Kho Samet that they say is a very wonderful island with white
sand on the beach and a waterfall.

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 * Origin: . (2:203/614.61)