I will post this in English (I may or may not translate it to Thai later) to answer some criticism I got about the video I posted yesterday, where I was denied service in a restaurant because they do not accept foreigners.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗼𝗿 𝘅𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽?

There is racism and xenophobia everywhere, and if you ask me, it is not okay anywhere. Just because it happens elsewhere does not make it right. I happen to live in Thailand, so I see it here and call it out here, but I would do so wherever I live. And by the way, I am not personally responsible for everything that happens in my country of citizenship.

𝗕𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗼𝗿 𝘅𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝗮𝗱.

No. I am not calling out Thailand as a country. I am not implying that racism and xenophobia are frequent in Thailand. Actually they are not: I am happy with the interactions I have with most Thai people, in all capacities. I am just saying that racism and xenophobia do exist, and deserve to be exposed and debated when they happen. Beyond this, some people may indeed have used my post to display their own griefs against Thailand as a country, but then this is their view and not mine.

𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲? 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹?

Indeed that is what I would do. And indeed, one restaurant refusing to serve me is, at best, a petty anecdote. But in my view, there is a public interest in raising awareness and opening a debate about the issue of racial and national discrimination in the country, as Thailand hosts a more and more diverse society, comprised of foreign nationals, and Thai nationals with non-East-Asian ethnicity (including my children).

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁.

I reckon I went with the intent to make a story. That’s what bloggers and vloggers do. I had a neutral approach though. Had I been accepted, I would have been keen on disproving the rumor of racism and xenophobia (and I would have ordered some food). As I have been rejected, then the story became about racism and xenophobia.

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 (𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲) 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲.

I am no legal expert so I can’t say yes or no here. I will just note that article 27 of the present Thai constitution forbids discrimination on race, among other criteria. Anyway, my point is not about whether or not it is legal, but about whether or not it is a sensible thing to do. It should be fair to criticize a behavior that is arguably insensitive, regardless of its legality. And in my clip, I invite viewers to give their opinion on the matter, for it to be a debate.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

No. I did not say anything bad about this business, I actually said the place looks nice. I am just exposing the refusal to service foreigners (where foreigners are defined as such on the basis of their looks), and it is something that the business does and has to own. My purpose is neither to harm or defame them nor to seek any benefit for myself. It is, once again, to raise awareness and open a debate about an issue of public interest.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀.

You are right, the staff is just following orders, and they acted politely. I also did my best to act politely. And I made sure to hide their faces in the video. My point is not to harass or to expose any individual.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀 กู/มึง 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀?

I may have listened too much to Thai rap 🙂. I did not know these pronouns would piss people off. Later on, I might stick to polite pronouns.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 / 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻 / 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 / 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗱 / <𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧>

Thank you for your valuable contribution to the debate.

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