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:
This letter is for the city engineer.
Since I came to Pattaya, I have wondered over the construction of Beach Road. How could anyone build a road which slopes to the beach side without adequate draining? I think none of us who enjoy walking on the beach promenade have escaped being soaked with dirty water as cars plough through the big pools of water. In the beginning, I thought there were no drains leading the water down to the beach. Well, if you look closely, there are drains hidden in the murky water. The drains are some strange constructions, about 14" by 8" and with rows of holes about 2" in diameter. No wonder there are big ponds along the beach side. So why don’t you do anything about it? The rainy season is here and everybody with normal eyesight must observe this. I feel pity for the city’s head gardener who must observe his never-ending attempt to keep his hedges pretty, being destroyed time and time again. If I were he, I would be fuming!
Why is nothing done to solve the problem? Lack of communication between the two departments? Surely, when you make drains with holes 2" in diameter, you must expect that all sorts of debris will clog the drains sooner or later.
As I see it, there are two ways of solving the problem. Command your people to open up the drains, preferably this year - remember Amazing Pattaya? Or replace the drains with a type that makes it possible to clean the rubbish as it will be lying on the top of the drain. I do not think that I have to describe what I have in mind.
Today I am writing this letter in a gloomy mood and I’m far from happy with the city’s head engineer.
Regards, frustrated,
Allan
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Editor;
I have noticed the recent wide-spread "No Child Sex Tourism" poster campaign in Pattaya. The groups that are responsible for these posters are the Tourist Police, TAT and ECPAT. There are three points that need to be made about this poster campaign.
Point number one is that the posters display a silhouette image of a girl only. They do not display a similar image of a boy. Why? Furthermore, all of the posters have been displayed at the heterosexual entertainment areas only. The people distributing the posters seem to have completely missed Boys Town.
What is the meaning of this? The people responsible for these posters must either feel that gay paedophiles don’t exist - or that if they do it’s not an important problem. As a man I am extremely offended by this, since the suggestion is that my gender is not worthy of the same protection from sexual predators as are girls.
The second point is that these posters have been displayed only at go-go bars and beer bars. There are no child prostitutes at these places and no evidence to suggest that there are. Why are the posters not displayed in such places as banks and grocery stores where there is as much child prostitution as in the go-go bars and beer bars (none).
By targeting the go-go bars and beer bars to the exclusion of any other places the people placing these posters are effectively suggesting that the patrons of these places are probably paedophiles. This is an extremely hostile and insulting offense against many innocent foreign tourists. It is like accusing any stranger on the street of being a paedophile. It is judging people to be guilty until proven innocent.
The final point is that these posters are only displayed in places that are patronized mainly by Westerners. Could you imagine a country such as the US or Canada spreading posters only in a particular ethnic community and accusing the people of that community of committing a particular crime?
What conclusion can be drawn from these points? The groups responsible for these posters are not really targeting child sex tourism as they claim, but rather, they are targeting the consenting adult go-go bars and beer bars. Furthermore, they are targeting only the heterosexual establishments. The "child sex tourism" angle is only a screen to hide behind for this purpose. The people behind the posters think it is an effective screen because they believe anyone will be afraid to challenge such posters.
Anyone who is as offended as I am about these posters should let the groups responsible for them know that we do not wish to be insulted in such a manner in the future. If the tourist police want to improve the city they should target some of the hundreds of aggressive katoeys that infest the city.
Regards,
Kevin Charlebois
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Dear Sir,
In Vol. V No. 39 of the 29th of September 1997, "A lecture from his Lordship", Dolf Riks writes about Sir Baden-Powell. This reminded me of the time I had the honour of being aide to Lady Baden-Powell and conducting her to see some of the sights of our beautiful country, such as Chiang Mai.During her visit, the first group of Girl Guides was initiated in an International school and my daughters were privileged to receive the Girl Guide pin from Lady Baden-Powel.
As for "How to stop smoking with success", it is possibly a good recipe for those who fear the dangers. Danger and perils are around us humans constantly and it is up to us to be alert. The proverb "One man’s meat is another man’s poison" is very true... some people are allergic to pollen, certain types of food, even another human being, etc. While others have a strong system and can tolerate anything. Most fear comes from the mind.
Some years ago a research was made on caffeine. Twelve volunteers were given milk to drink before they went to sleep. Six glasses of milk had caffeine added. The volunteers who drank the pure milk were told that caffeine had been added and they had a restless sleep... tossing and turning all night. The other six who had drank the milk with caffeine added slept all night! During World War II, medicine and anaesthetics were very scarce. There were many casualties that needed surgery, which had to be performed and the anaesthetise, using a dry mask would encourage the patient to "breathe in deeply", count numbers & even talk... to get the patient’s mind off from his pain. Thus it can be said, "The mind rules the body".
In a copy of the Newsweekly, an article "How to live to 100" tells of a French lady who is 122, who still enjoys a smoke and a glass of Port. My husband and I together have the good age of 167 years & we still drive ourselves all over Thailand. We have no special diet... enjoy all types of food; spicy, chilli-hot, sweet, fat, lean, vegetables, fruit, all in moderation with no "Junk-food" between meals. And I smoke about 10 cigarettes a day; plus "happy-hour" every evening with glasses of wine or Thai whisky.
Life is too short anyway... so enjoy every minute of it. If you are afraid of this, that & the other, build yourself a sterile capsule & stay in it. If you are concerned over fellow humans, why not turn your thoughts to the present problem, which is a killer... AIDS.
These are just a few thoughts from a puffer, who finds cigarettes are: 1. Helpful to digestion, 2. keep away insects, 3. something to calm nerves, 4. have a flame handy when needed, and 5. by growing tobacco, the farmers get an income.
Sincerely,
Mai Ben Arai
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Dear Editor:
This is in answer to St. Peter’s letter, in which he disagrees with St. James definition of the perfect tense in the English language.
St. James is right.
The perfect tense is an action which begins in the past and continues in the past (past perfect tense) or present.
An example of the present perfect (simple) tense: ‘I have been a doctor for ten years.’
The present perfect (progressive) tense: ‘I have been practising medicine for ten years.’
The phrase ‘I’m’ is in the present simple tense.
I have been teaching English (present perfect progressive) grammar to native speakers of English for twenty years. Thai students, although deficient in speaking skills, have a much more comprehensive knowledge of grammatical theory.
This letter is not meant to settle any arguments between St. Peter and St. James. The explanation is for young readers, who may have become confused.
An English Teacher
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