HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Irked by Ron Fleitman’s proclamation that there are no Americans

Where is the much quoted Thai courtesy when behind the wheel?

Yet another view on telepathic drivers

Well Done Pattaya!

New franchise law will be a good thing

Irked by Ron Fleitman’s proclamation that there are no Americans

Editor;

Let me start off by saying that this is not an ‘America bashing’ letter of the type that has been circling the world in recent times due to political differences.

Mr. Fleitman declares that there are no Americans as such, that being an American citizen is a title obtained by people from other nations that have decided to start a new life in the Unites States of America. I have a few objections to this.

To start off with, according to his rationale and the most recently published research we might as well all start calling ourselves Africans. If he prefers, it might be ‘sanuk’ to typify people as primordial amoeba like sludge and decimate many controversies related to the declaration of the human species. In other words, I would like to bring to light the deceptively rapid evolution the world has experienced in the past 226 years and then some. Technological development has enlightened a significant proportion of the earth’s population on worldly affairs. Some of these affairs have involved America, a nation that has progressed into a country with its own political, social and economic agendas. A nation that has had a war of independence and a civil war, a nation that has acquired its own culture and way of living. America is more than just a title. America is a fully evolved concept, both in and outside the states that belong to it. American culture has spread throughout the world. As America developed so did the American passport its citizens are entitled to carry. This meaning there are Americans as such! Mr. Fleitman’s backtracking into history does not have to crawl back to the Big Bang and beyond, 226 years is sufficient.

I might also add that American immigration laws do nothing to further Mr. Fleitman’s image of orgasmically hedonistic, free political boundaries. ‘Settling down’ in the USA is not something done in an afternoon between tea and the evening gin & tonic.

Mr. Fleitman mentioned that he has traveled the world and fell in love with Thailand. I cannot blame him for this. He mentioned that American troops did not portray an accurate picture of his nation. I dwell on when troops of any nation ever have portrayed an accurate picture? He also mentioned that most knowledge of the Thai people on America came from theses troops. This point becomes debatable when one considers that I watched ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ here in 1990 and had my first ‘Big Mac’ in Bangkok. American culture has spread to the point where the word ‘Americanism’ has established itself as a concept at my university and many others. Technological and economic advances spearheaded by the USA are responsible for this proliferation of culture; military presence plays a supporting role.

Please do not mistake the above as European (Dutch to be precise) ‘arrogance’. Despite ‘our’ differences I have a fondness for America as a nation. I have lived in New York City for half my life and consider it one of my hometowns. Though populated by a vast amount of Americans this city has a feel unlike anywhere else in America I have been to (perhaps this contributed to Mr. Fleitman’s confusion).

I am a pedant. To conclude I have two statements directed towards Mr. Fleitman. Firstly, do not be ashamed of being American, there is nothing wrong with it. May I suggest in the future not to trample on the national pride of people in and outside the USA by announcing the inexistence of the American melting pot, passing citizens off as Thai, Indian, English, etc. There is no need for an epic time travel to the birth of life. Secondly, if Mr. Fleitman wishes to continue denying the existence of American citizenship and the culture that comes with it, may I suggest he ceases using the words ‘we’ and ‘us’ when referring to American figments of our imagination, for this might confuse some amongst us.

Yours truly,
David Bruyntjes
Amsterdam/Ban Chang

Where is the much quoted Thai courtesy when behind the wheel?

Editor;

Having just returned to Scotland after 12 years in Asia I had an unexpected bonus to counter the awful weather - I re-discovered that driving can be a pleasurable experience.

Those who defend the chaos on Thai roads seem a little naive. If the systems work so well why is the death rate so high, especially for those on motorbikes? It appears that watching for motorbike accidents is one of the main pastimes of the local population on the 3rd Road.

I can also bet that JL and others like him/her have never been involved in an accident where they were 100% in the right but were still forced to pay for all damages and hospital bills as they were farangs.

As for traffic congestion - it seems to me that the most effective answer to relieve this problem would be effective enforcement of the laws that already exist. Imagine how much money the police could raise if they fined all traffic violators on the spot rather than picking on every 10th vehicle or whatever is flavour of the month. Let then keep the money and leave us law-abiding drivers alone. The violators would soon learn to improve their driving.

Ever noticed that the only time a Thai is in a hurry is when they are behind the wheel! Where is the much quoted Thai courtesy then?

George the Jock

Yet another view on telepathic drivers

Dear Editor,

Before I visited Thailand for the first time, some twenty years ago, I read an article in an insurance magazine, which compared the driving skills of the inhabitants of various countries of the world. I still remember some parts of that article, almost word for word, because what was true twenty years ago is still true in Thailand today. Nothing much, if anything, seems to have changed in that respect. The six statements I remember best were as follows:

1. “The art of driving in Thailand is to change lanes as often as possible, for no particular reason, preferably without signalling.”

2. “Thai people may be amongst the most friendly, easy-going and courteous people in the world, should you have the pleasure of meeting them in the normal way, away from any motorized vehicle that is. However, they seem to have a sudden and extreme personality change as soon as they get behind the wheel of a car, when they become aggressive to the point of being completely mindless about anything other than preventing any other vehicle getting in front of them.”

3. “The traffic laws in Thailand seem to prohibit the use of brakes whenever another vehicle tries to make a manuvre, instead the headlights are employed, in a manner which, anywhere-else in the world would indicate that the driver of the approaching vehicle is allowing the proposed manuvre, but in Thailand this indicates that you proceed at your own peril, because the accelerator is being applied at the same time as these headlights.”

4. “Whilst normal driving skills and road sense seem to be non-existent in Thailand, the main cause of small accidents seem to occur when parking. Most Thai drivers seem to have no idea whatsoever when it comes to reversing. They may go in and out of an adequate size parking space six or seven times before giving up and looking for a larger space, or moving on because they have damaged another car during their efforts to park in the previous space.”

5. “There are really some quite spectacular accidents on the roads in Thailand from time to time, the most spectacular involve coaches, lorries and juggernauts, who the police seem to allow to travel at any speed they like despite their inability to stop. The drivers of these vehicles often appear to be drunk and swerve erratically across two or three lanes sometimes ending up on their sides as a result.”

6. “A major hazard on the roads are the many motorcyclists, who seem to feel uncomfortable with only two people on a bike, and prefer to travel with up to four other friends on the same bike. Very often these heavily weighed down bikes are unable to travel quickly enough across roads, so they simply drive against the traffic, but these bikes will only be stopped by the police if the driver is not wearing a helmet; however, the many pillions seem to be exempt from this law. All too often these bikes have no working lights and given that their riders seem to prefer to wear black and that most cars have heavily tinted windows in Thailand to keep out the sunlight during the day, at night these motorcyclists are invisible especially when they are travelling in the wrong direction. The ex-pat community refers to these as suicidalists”.

The article ended by saying that despite the appalling number of accidents on the roads in Thailand, the results of the insurers are not too bad, mainly because Thai insurance companies do not pay claims.

Yours truly,

Richard

Well Done Pattaya!

Dear Sir;

May I through your columns express my congratulations to the city fathers and the Tourism Authority for yet another successful and well-organised Pattaya Marathon 2002.

The sight of 10,000 plus runners working their way through this seaside resort city was a very special sight. The whole atmosphere was electric, not just charged with the athletes own energy but that Sunday morning there was an air of something very special taking place. There are not that many cities that are capable of planning and organising such a huge event and it is to everyone’s credit that Pattaya can and does compete with the world’s best.

Congratulations too to 26 year old little Sunisa Sailomyen, winning the ladies race for Thailand for the second year in a row, and Russian Victor Baranov, the winner of the men’s race, both of whom won in very humid conditions. Congratulations to them both.

On a less positive note - what a pity the former dolphin roundabout, not a stones throw from City Hall was still not finished - this project does seem to be taking forever, and all the runners on Sunday morning had to run past the ongoing construction.

Also, the route for the quarter and half marathons ran down Central Pattaya Road (Pattaya Klang), and we had to run the gauntlet of the most vile odours venting from the open drains that dot the road surface every 30 yards or so. Not the best advert for a resort city promoting clean air and outdoor living. Do they need to be so open I wonder?

Other than that it was a glorious day and a wonderful celebration of a healthy, family friendly and environmentally friendly sporting activity that was truly world class.

Kind Regards,

Andrew J. Wood, General Manager, Royal Cliff Beach Resort

New franchise law will be a good thing

Dear Editor,

I’m referring to a business news story in Pattaya Mail from 12 July 2002 headlined “Nation’s new franchise bill to be drafted soon”.

I’m glad to see that the government is finally taking steps to protect investors who consider becoming franchisees in Thailand. For foreign investors (this law) could be an advantage, as it might help them with business practices and local business customs and know-how.

Due to the lack of qualified franchise organizations and franchise laws in Thailand, franchisers are able to take full advantage and often rip-off investors. This usually does not happen with international franchises, which are established around the world and have years of business experience. It is more often the case of locally established wannabe franchises with their interest in the quick bucks and short-term profit. These franchises often pretend to have a few established branches, but in many cases they do not exist. Their support and franchise structure is poor or non-existent at all.

One should be aware of these practices and, when in doubt, should seek professional advice, which we will have shortly, according to your news story.

Best Regards,

James Hawthorne

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