Angela Killian

If you plan to visit and / or live in Thailand, be prepared for blatant double standards and racism. Yes, there are so many wonderful things about Thailand – the beaches, the friendly (and not so friendly) locals, the amazing food, cheap beer and lack of law enforcement. However, when you live here long-term, the whole racism thing gets old quickly.

I’ve mentioned before about the salary disparity between farang and Thais. Because I am a foreigner, I am able to earn 3 – 10X the salary of a Thai person in the EXACT same position. Bear in mind, the higher salary is still much lower than the minimum wage in American and European countries so you won’t be “rolling in dough”. It’s common for Thais to discuss salaries openly, so rest assured that your entire department will know that you make more money than them. There’s also an unspoken notion that foreigners are harder workers than the Thais, which is why they are paid more. Another unspoken notion is that the labor laws only apply to the Thai workers, which is untrue in theory. I have never personally tried to fight a case at the Thai labor department, but I have also seen many foreign workers come and go overnight with no obligatory severance pay.  

I always try my hardest to treat Thai people and expats as equals. Coming from America, it’s how I’ve been programed. The fact of the matter is this – foreigners will never be Thai. Even if you marry a Thai, you will still be an outsider. Speaking Thai can be beneficial and earn a few brownie points with locals, but some people would rather keep foreigners in the dark so they can discuss certain things in front of oblivious farang.

The system has been set up in a way that promotes double standards and everyone seems to be okay with it.

Racism Against Thais

Foreigners are ripped off constantly, but also get a lot of benefits that the Thai people don’t. Security guards rarely stop foreigners before allowing them to enter places. This is usually because the security guard can’t speak English. However, Thai people get 3^rd degree questioning by neighborhood patrols and police officers.

Because of the hierarchy system, Thai people don’t treat each other equally either. It is generally assumed that foreigners have a higher status in society than most Thais. For some reason that I can’t figure out, Thais treat each other poorly while favoring them over the foreigners at the same time – super confusing. Thai waiters, guest relation workers and even prostitutes who cater to foreigners often treat other Thai people like second class citizens. I have been told this is because they know the Thai people won’t pay as high of a price as the foreign clients. If you’re foreign and in a tourist-friendly place, you pretty much have free reign unless something is meant to be for Thais only in which case you will not be welcome.

Racism Against Farang

Most advertisements here are in Thai – after all, this is Thailand. The confusing part is that most deals and promotions would be taken advantage of by foreigners and Thais alike, but companies do not target the foreign population for some reason. Promotions are reserved for Thai people only. Why? Nobody can answer this so I can only conclude that it is racism. Customers of banks and employees of companies should be treated as equals. Isn’t the objective to have as much consumer awareness as possible?

Foreigners are charged more at markets and food stands because locals know they earn more money than the Thais. Foreigner friendly Thai restaurants routinely have Thai language menus in the back with much lower prices for the same dishes. I can’t read Thai, but the prices are clearly listed and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s going on there. Nothing is more annoying than feeling ripped off because of your nationality. This makes me shy away from buying locally because it’s too much of a headache to deal with the constant bargaining only to be ripped off. I’d much rather pay the price on the tag at Tesco which is controlled and fair for everyone. Although everyone accepts this depraved system without question, it can also create a lot of animosity between Thais and foreigners.

A prime example of racism is the upcoming Night Run in Phuket , which is meant to boost tourism in Phuket Town. However, you can see by the awards below, that only Thai people qualify for the cash prizes. I was in the process of registering for this race until I saw that remark. Very disappointing.

I don’t want to make more money than the Thais or be given any special privileges. Every legal worker should be able to earn a fair wage and have the same working standards. Local market restaurant prices should be negotiable if that’s the culture, but not fixed in the favor of one nationality. In the long run, these types of practices not only damage tourist / expat perceptions of Thailand and Thai people, but they also breed arrogance, segregation and non-acceptance of anyone who is not “Thai blood”.