Pattaya Mail — Letters
It is noticed that the letters herein in no way reflect the opinions of the editor or writers for Pattaya Mail, but are unsolicited letters from our readers, expressing their own opinions. No anonymous letters or those without genuine addresses are printed, and, whilst we do not object to the use of a nom de plume, preference will be given to those signed.
Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail will also be on our website .
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Dear Editor:
Since arriving in Pattaya almost two years ago, I have been a regular reader of the Pattaya Mail. As a resident, I enjoy seeing and reading about the social escapades and athletic abilities of my neighbors. The news is always timely and the reporters (for the most part) know when to mix a touch of humor in a serious article. I am challenged to be the first to complete your crossword puzzle and curious to know how Ambrosia can consume, in one sitting, all the savory dishes she describes. But the reason I eagerly await the next edition of the Pattaya Mail is to enjoy the memories and savory recipes of Dolf Riks. His well-written stories draw me into them and I can imagine the sound of the sea or aroma of the spice he describes.
Thailand has been the host country to many adventurers, writers, and artists. Once, on a visit to the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, I was privileged to meet the American author James Mitchner. Sometimes we are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I think I am very lucky to be here now, and to read the adventures and memories of a fascinating life. If Mr. Riks could be encouraged to publish his writings, I would be the first to purchase a copy.
Catherine Bond
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Editor:
Spending a weekend in Pattaya, we decided to spend a day on Koh Larn, about a 45 minute boat ride away.
We settled under a mass system of umbrellas overlapping to accommodate the masses arriving by small boats from Pattaya. I was shocked to find boats backing into the swimming area and tourists and children jumping out of the way of spinning propellers and dodging the fast moving jet skis. One small child just missed getting her legs cut off by two large outboard motors tilted back skimming the water while trying to maneuver backwards to disembark passengers.
In the early afternoon there was a mass exodus of Asian tourists in long overloaded open boats with the occupants jammed together without life jackets aboard. As soon as the large crowd disbursed, motorcycles appeared racing at high speed back and forth down the sand, causing tourists to run across trying to get back toward their lounge chairs. Obviously there are no rules or regulations being enforced on the island. It is just a matter of time before a serious accident occurs. Will the authorities responsible please look into this chaotic situation?
Gary Hacker
Visiting from San Francisco
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Dear Editor:
I would like to address the letter that was published last week, written by "Advisor", concerning prostitution. He states in his letter "Universal concern throughout the ages in respect of this issue has been centered on; nuisance, hygiene, the threat to stable relationships in society and worry related to associated crime (violence pimping and drugs)."
The arguments linking prostitution and these "concerns" have been de-bunked numerous times in the past. It is unfortunate that these arguments, in spite of their logical weakness, seem to have the robustness of a cockroach. Each of these "concerns" can be addressed as follows:
The "Nuisance" argument and the "associated crime" arguments are similar and can be treated as one. These arguments are the cause of the very problems that they claim to address. Prostitution becomes linked to violence and drugs simply because its illegality puts it into the arena of criminals, who are already involved in other crimes. Of course the nuisance follows. Commercial sex is available just about anywhere. However, due to the acceptance of the trade in Pattaya (in practice if not in the letter of the law) sex services here have been able to exist in a pleasant, safe environment. This has been one of the things that attracts westerners to Pattaya. However, this was more true in the past as Pattaya is now becoming more dangerous and ugly, much as a direct result of western attitudes and abhorrence toward the trade - thus proving my thesis.
Hygiene and disease control are health issues, not moral issues. They should be treated separately from moral issues and people should not get away with using health issues to push a separate agenda. Furthermore, driving the trade underground has always proven to increase the incidence of disease, not reduce it.
The "threat to stable relationships" argument is probably the worst. Men have had minor wives and have visited prostitutes since times when relationships were far more stable than they are now. What a man does in his free time is never an excuse for a marriage or relationship to fail. If a women is a good and caring partner for her man, it will be a very rare man indeed that will dump her, even if he does have a dalliance on the side once in a while. Most relationships are actually terminated by the women, often using "infidelity" as an excuse. If a women is so insecure and control-minded that she will cause a relationship to fail simply because she cannot have absolute dominance over her mate’s life, that is her problem - not societies problem. Such an argument as the "threat to stable relationship argument" is nothing more than "If I don’t get my way I’ll hold my breath until my face turns blue".
"Advisor’s" central point in the letter is that laws should focus on protecting the prostitute. In the spirit of equality, prostitutes should not be given special privileges that anyone else working for a living does not have. What exactly do we want to protect prostitutes from - violence? Recently, the customers of prostitutes appear to be the ones in need of protection.
Do we need to protect the prostitutes from the damaging lifestyle of prostitution? Much has been said about the damaging psychological effects that prostitution has on the prostitute. Such arguments have been shown to be tenuous to say the least. Much like the "nuisance" and the associated "crime" arguments, such an argument is the cause of the very problem it claims to address. For example, if a girl has it drummed into her head all of her life that being a prostitute is degrading, then it probably will be. On the other hand, if such judgments are not drummed into her, then such feelings of degradation will not occur should she choose to become a service girl.
On the other hand, one aspect of prostitution that is systematically ignored nowadays, by "Advisor" and others, is the problem of homosexual prostitution. The problem of homosexual prostitution is a much greater one than heterosexual prostitution for the following reason. The vast majority of the population is heterosexual. Therefore, most of the boys practicing male prostitution are probably heterosexual (although many may convince themselves otherwise in order to rationalize what they are doing). Unlike heterosexual women practicing heterosexual prostitution, these boys are doing something that is entirely contrary to their sexual nature as heterosexuals. The horrendous trauma and psychological damage that must occur to the boys in this activity cannot even be compared to the relatively benign activity that is the relationships between heterosexual prostitutes and their customers. Furthermore, since most of these boys are heterosexual, they will have sex with their girlfriends, thereby spreading AIDS (which is most efficiently transmitted through anal sex) from the homosexual to the heterosexual population.
Homosexual prostitution is a problem is that it is getting very little attention. While there is a myriad of women’s groups, NGOs, government organizations (Thai and international) protecting the rights (and privileges) of female prostitutes, there is virtually no support for boys, even though homosexual prostitution is probably just as widespread as heterosexual prostitution (look at the size of boy’s town in Pattaya). Don’t be fooled by the very few highly publicized cases like the recent one involving the Norwegian in Pattaya. The vast majority of homosexuals and homosexual pedophiles in this country go about their activities with immunity. By only focusing on the "problem" of females in prostitution, the people involved in suppressing prostitution are, by exclusion, sending the message that Thailand is open for business when it comes to homosexual prostitution and homosexual pedophiles.
As an example, I recently found an issue of a tourist guide for Chiang Mai. There were two full pages of ads for gay bars - not a single ad for a heterosexual establishment. Apparently the gay prostitution scene is filling an economic vacuum that has been left by the government’s efforts to stop the heterosexual trade. Thailand claims to be very concerned about it’s "reputation". If Thailand wishes to be known as the "Land of Homosexual Pedophiles", it is certainly going about it the right way.
Signed
"Alternative Advisor"
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