HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Domestic violence not a gender equality issue

Where’s the transparency?

Another year and the baht bus thieves continue their crimes

Chrome pole intellectuals

Goodbye friend

Turn down the music at midnight

Re: Tour operators lodge complaint

Domestic violence not a gender equality issue

Dear Editors,
I’m writing regarding Michael Catalanello’s column on domestic violence in the December 9 issue of the Pattaya Mail.

Dr. Catalanello rightly pointed out that, like just about everywhere else in this world, domestic violence is rampant in Thailand. Unfortunately he perpetuates the canard that women are always victims, never perpetrators, of domestic violence.

In reality, in at least half of all cases, the perpetrators are women. Domestic violence is no more a “male problem” than it is a “blond problem” or a “gay problem” or a “left-handed problem.” Women batter their men with the same frequency, the same severity, and with broadly the same causes. Domestic violence rates do not significantly differ between heterosexual couples, lesbian couples and gay male couples. In short, it is not a gender equality issue.

The academic evidence for this is overwhelming and startlingly consistent, starting right from the landmark studies by Strauss, Gelles and Steinmetz to the National Family Violence Survey and National Violence Against Women Survey (!) in the United States, the Dunedin longitudinal study in New Zealand, and the annual statistics compiled by Statistics Canada. There is no room in this letter to list the hundreds of studies I could cite, but the scientific data are voluminous and publicly available, and they all point in one direction: Women are violent to their partners, on average, just as frequently and severely as men, if not more.

The study Dr. Catalanello cited simply assumed that only women were the victims, and did not bother to survey men about their suffering. This approach is typical.

A real solution to the problem of domestic violence will not be found until we start looking for the real causes of domestic violence, instead of twisting the facts into a stick to bludgeon men with.
Informed Reader
Jomtien

Where’s the transparency?

Editor;
During the last few weeks I have noticed that the Land Transport department is checking minibuses in Bangkok with regard to how safe they are technically, etc. Then I must say that it’s a strange thing that I have never ever seen anything like that being done in Pattaya about all these public transport pick-ups - e.g. the baht buses.

Also it’s obvious that a wider and reasonable discussion about safety is absent, and I mean of course that minibuses definitely are safer than pick-ups. Besides, if the land transport servants really appeared here they could see for themselves how much cheating and irregularities are going on and how standards, safety and routines differ from other cities in Thailand where minibuses and ordinary buses coexists in order.

As far as I know it is, for instance, stated by law that buses, pick-ups, etc., in public transport have to carry signs about prices in both English and Thai.

And how come authorities, both on a local and a regional level, are so absent about all the problems, irregularities, and complaints that have been paraded for decades? How can we all help Pattaya to - after decades of gangsterism and insufficiencies - establish a network of transport that is free from all the actual problems?

I think we all deserve more transparency and clarity in this matter.
Mr. Ninh A & P Jampaht

Another year and the baht bus thieves continue their crimes

Editor;
I am all too aware that petrol costs have risen; I after all drive a gas guzzler back in the United States. I was surprised to see the same fare charts on most of the baht buses still showing the very confusing 5 baht fare in Thai. My friends told me that the fare was now 10 baht for everyone, Thai and farang but my own eyes tell me it is not so. The thievery continues unabated on the streets of Pattaya as the unsuspecting farang are charged double what a Thai is charged. To prove this, I had my Thai lady pay for herself. The greedy criminal happily demanded 10 baht from me after accepting 5 baht from her.

I do not know of another example where so many people break the law so often and with such impunity. I have paid my 5 baht only to be harassed and threatened by some of the low-life baht bus drivers. It seems they get very angry that a farang is on to their deceit. While most of the farang will opine that it is only 10 baht, they miss the bigger issue - that being the amount of theft committed daily by often cheerful drivers who remain so as long as you overpay them. I can only hope that the Buddha will frown upon such an open display of immorality and give them a life of horror on the next go around. I will pray tonight that the offending drivers reap a new life as a buffalo in Issan.

What astounds me is the absolute acceptance of this by normal Thai people. When I asked my favorite chef why he didn’t charge me 100 baht for the normal 50 baht yom woonsen, he explained that it was the same food whether eaten by a Thai or a Farang. “I cook food for everyone,” he said. When I told him that my seat on the bus was no different than any Thai he defended the criminals saying, “10 baht for farang, 5 baht for Thai”. I know several Thai people with more money in the bank than me, so what is it about me that invites petty theft?
Howard Bloom
Jomtien Beach

Chrome pole intellectuals

Editor;
The 100th anniversary of the publication of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity seems to have passed unnoticed in Pattaya, not helping our image in the global scientific community.

To redress this failing, I wish to place on record that The Besotted Wretch and the Living Dead A-Go-Go patrons held a joint series of lectures and novel demonstrations, with guest lecturers from Imperial College.

A great time was had by all and Miss Nong was voted “Miss e=mc2”
John Angus

Goodbye friend

Dear Pattaya Mail;
A very good friend of mine, and of many more, Robin Wilkin died Saturday December 10, 2005 in Edinburgh. He was diagnosed with cancer early in the year. After an operation we thought he had beaten it, but unfortunately no. Robin was well known in the golfing circles, a member at Siam CC, supporter of the Rising Sun Golf, and stayed in Markland for a lot of years. He will be dearly missed.
Matt Anderson

Robin Wilkin

Turn down the music at midnight

Dear Editor,
As the controversy over bar closing time(s) continues, maybe we can all compromise. Why not let the bars stay open as long as they like, but turn down that awful noise they call ‘music’ at 12 or 1 o’clock?

The noise is the real complaint, and as a resident near Central Road, away from the bars, I can tell you that the sound carries all over town, especially that irritating ‘thump, thump, thump’ bass line. It’s true that some tourists are drawn to loud places, but it is very hard to talk to the ladies in there. And people like me (Thai and foreign) would like our right to peaceful sleep also respected.
Sincerely,
Fred Borman

Re: Tour operators lodge complaint

Editor;
In regards to the tour operators complaining about the taxis working illegally, if so many of the tour operators weren’t such rip offs to begin with the taxis wouldn’t have a look in.

Not every falang is a millionaire, although most Thais tend to think they are. I would much rather pay 800bt plus 150bt tolls than pay 1800-2000bt to do the same job; i.e., getting me to the airport in 2 hrs.

There are more and more people catching taxis to Pattaya now than ever before due to people being disgruntled with the closed shop of tour operators. Once upon a time you could negotiate but now it seems some sort of ruling body covers all the cars at Don Muang.
Rodney Virgin

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