Thais beating up their wifes in public.

[Scottish Gary]

I have just read a story in the Bangkok Post about an Aussie in Phuket who tried to stop a Thai kicking seven shades of shit out his wife in the middle of the road. Needless to say the Thai and his mates then turned on the good Samaritan from down under and kicked him into a hospital bed.
I have seen Thai men kick and punch their women before in public places and it always sickens me. They just dont care who sees them and its also shocking the way passing Thais just nonchalantly wander past as if its not happening.
The question is would you intervene?

[yortyiam]

I would hate myself for not going to the aid of anyone who was being attacked, but as the story behind the post highlights, it can be very dangerous to get involved in the business of feuding Thais. I reckon self preservation would stop me tbh.

[tomcat]

The question is would you intervene?

of course not: not my culture, not my business: no need to stick a do-gooder caucasian nose into a local fracas...

[Dillinger]

Ive intervened outside a nightclub with the bouncer kicking his wife in the head. I did it really calmly and had a laugh with him earlier in the night

I think id walk away next time. Not worth putting your life on the line for

[Pragmatic]

Have seen it once when the next door neighbour was trying to take the head off his wife with a machete. Another story.
What pisses me off is/was when Immigration came round to our houses the other year. I had to have 2 villagers there in attendance to verify one thing and another. And one of the questions to my wife, well two, was do I 'treat her well and give her money.' Fcuking hypocrites.

[Latindancer]

One does not always have to physically intervene.
Onlookers may be able to stop something like this by very obviously videoing and/or yelling. Doesn't always work, but worth a try.

[tomcat]

Onlookers may be able to stop something like this by very obviously videoing and/or yelling

or perhaps a quick rendition of Nessun Dorma...

[CaptainNemo]

I've witnessed this in Laoland, and I froze, but then I knew there were pistols around, and I worried that I may have been part of the problem - a jealousy thing. I think with hindsight, I did the safest thing by doing nothing; but I would probably want to notify local authories discretely. It is morally dubious, to not intervene, but imagine if you ended up dead, and the woman got beat up anyway, and felt guilty about getting you killed (not that I'm attributing blame, but a person could feel that way). Let the locals fix it.

[Thedogsbollix]

If the Thais themselves do not intervene why would a round eye ever want to go there.

On top of that if ya did get involved and then battered fuk out off no Thai would help you.

Leave the animals to their Zoo is the only answer.

Only one way to live in this shithouse and that is to simply not give one fuk about anything Thai related and mind ya own business.

Works brilliantly for me.

[AntRobertson]

Can honestly say I've never seen anything of the sort in all my time here. A few minor scuffles between some dudes, but that's it.

Actually now that I think about it the worst case of domestic violence I've heard of was between an Italian guy and his wife I met briefly once that tragically resulted in a murder-suicide.

[hick]

Stepped in twice. Once in Gorea and once in Thighland.

On both occasions, the friends magically appeared, jumped in and said long nose was beaten to a pulp and became a part of the street.

It wasn't pretty. I don't recommend it. One ended in hospitalization.

Also, each time the poor, beaten waif left (what appeared to be willingly) with her knight in beating armor.

[redhaze]

of course not: not my culture, not my business: no need to stick a do-gooder caucasian nose into a local fracas...

Yeah.....but a woman getting beaten up by a man is always someone else's business. Same with a child getting beaten. IMHO. That being said....

I think id walk away next time. Not worth putting your life on the line for

Stepped in twice. Once in Gorea and once in Thighland.

On both occasions, the friends magically appeared, jumped in and said long nose was beaten to a pulp and became a part of the street

These are fair points worth taking into consideration.

Just to be clear Jimbo, you are the "said long nose" in these situations?

[hick]

Yeah. I accomplished exactly two things by intervening...(really in both cases I didn't feel I had a choice ~ was already involved)

....jack and shit

[Dragonfly]

I have just read a story in the Bangkok Post about an Aussie in Phuket who tried to stop a Thai kicking seven shades of shit out his wife in the middle of the road. Needless to say the Thai and his mates then turned on the good Samaritan from down under and kicked him into a hospital bed.
I have seen Thai men kick and punch their women before in public places and it always sickens me. They just dont care who sees them and its also shocking the way passing Thais just nonchalantly wander past as if its not happening.
The question is would you intervene?

would you jump in the chimpanzee cage if one of them was beating the hell out of his female ? of course not, so why would you do it here ?

don't mess with monkeys, period, until they reach the age of civlization

[tomcat]

.but a woman getting beaten up by a man is always someone else's business.

a whiff of sexism noted...what about a dog getting beaten by a man? What about 3 youths beating an elderly man? Best to walk away before something is seen that can't be unseen...

[redhaze]

a whiff of sexism noted

Nah, if it was a female bodybuilder I'd have no such compunction. I don't like an unfair fight, not when the bigger person is the one doing the beating. This mindset doesn't come without risk I'll admit that. Sometimes you hope it can be defused with words.

I've never seen this situation happen in Thailand for what that is worth. But it happens everywhere I don't doubt that

What about 3 youths beating an elderly man?

Yeah that would qualify for an intervention. On principle. Not saying I would do it, but I would at least consider weighing the odds of successfully preventing the beatdown. That's a tough one though because three against one. But one youth beating an elderly man, on the other hand, yeah I mean do what you can.

Yeah. I accomplished exactly two things by intervening...(really in both cases I didn't feel I had a choice ~ was already involved)

....jack and shit

Yeah this is unfortunate. Its the same bullshit everywhere though. People stay with abusers.

You still did the right thing. Its like when you give money to homeless people you don't really worry about what they are gonna spend it on if you see what I'm saying. You just do what you think is best at the time and whatever else is just what happens.

[tomcat]

I don't like an unfair fight

few folks do, but always remember where you are and who you are...

[redhaze]

Same applies in America really. Plenty of guns, and the people are generally bigger and just as pissed off.

I wouldn't dismiss intervention on principle, but I agree you gotta be careful and double so as a foreigner.

[hick]

Its like when you give money to homeless people you don't really worry about what they are gonna spend it on if you see what I'm saying. You just do what you think is best at the time and whatever else is just what happens.

Well, I got a little too involved with that once as well, in Bkk. Was threatened over the phone by a private number. They really are owned.

Moral: Just give bits of food, but DO NOT try to organize a soup kitchen!

[redhaze]

LMAO, truer words...

[taxexile]

The question is would you intervene?

my wifes parents lived in a small narrow sub soi off one of the main sukhumvit sois, the soi is too narrow for cars. about ten years ago it was populated by a wide variety of characters, most of them not so great although these days it has improved somewhat. the soi was a kind of a self contained little community.

one day, whilst sitting in the front room of the house, it was a thai shophouse that opens up completely at the front right on to the soi, they ran a small ma and pa shop from the front room, i heard a scuffle and went to the entrance to see what was going on.

in the soi there was a large thai yelling and man beating hell out of a young thai girl who was on her knees crying, wai-ing, and shielding herself from the onslaught.

seeing this a red mist came over me and i rushed out, my in laws tried to hold me back but i pushed them away and out i went and started yelling at this man to stop what he was doing and tried to take the stick from him.

he was shocked and looking up at me stopped the beating at which point the girl got up, thanked me profusely and ran off out of the soi like a scaled cat.

the thai man then turned his attention to me, suddenly all the shutters in the soi started closing as the neighbours hurriedly closed their houses. i couldnt really understand what was going on and the thai man started yelling at me and coming at me with the stick. i noticed a gun in his belt.

at that moment my mother in law came out wai-ing madly and spoke to the man in beseeching terms for a couple of minutes and dragged me back into the house.

back in the house when things had cooled off a bit the situation was explained to me.

the big thai man was the sois enforcer. he controlled the criminal element that lived in the soi, he knew the local police, he operated the money lending, the motorcycle taxis and the drug sellers who operated in the soi and paid off the police.

because of him, even though thieves and low-lives lived in the soi, there had never been a theft or any violence against anyone who lived there. men had died at his hand. he was untouchable.

the girl who was on the receiving end of the beating had come into his territory to deal pills one too may times and hence the beating.

and by my intervention i had made him lose face in the soi and the family were worried about the consequences. my mother in law went to his apartment to try to smooth things over, he was known for his foul temper and unpredictability.

an hour later she returned, she had explained to him my naivety about local customs and my chivalry was not to be confused with an attack on his status in the soi.

i was advised to keep a low profile for a while and if i ever bumped into him in the soi i should apologise to him.

that was the first and last time i intervene in anything going off between anybody in this country.

[thaimeme]

Savages.


Another continuing civilising mission is in order.
That'll set 'em straight.

[tomcat]

that was the first and last time i intervene in anything going off between anybody in this country.

...and yet, there are still falang who see themselves as white knights leaping to the rescue of damsels in distress: gross acts of cultural imperialism...

[Pragmatic]

and yet, there are still falang who see themselves as white knights leaping to the rescue of damsels in distress: gross acts of cultural imperialism...

Yep I was one of them. Due to the fact children were involved in the physical violence being dished out to their mother.
I'm not going to rewrite my story as I posted it before on a similar thread. But to anyone who can stand by and see a child watch her mother being hacked at with a machete isn't right in the head. I'm not Thai. I don't stand and watch and take pictures.

[tomcat]

I'm not Thai

...exactly: move on...