I want to first say that I was born in America and grew up here. My outlook on Racism has always been of color and not social class or even racial groups. Here in America, people fall into race categories. Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, thats what seperates us where as say in England class seperates the people.
I go to school in America. I am American, nothing else. I was the first one born in this country in my family since the end of the war. I'm not just limited to this country. I went to Laos earlier this year, spending three weeks in Nongte, Champassak with relatives from my father's side. I also went to Japan for two months on a scholarship in the summer. I know the world, I know what goes on, I'm not ignorant.
I know my stories. Chao Fa Ngum and his 33 teeth, Chao Anouvong and his valiant fight, and recently Mr. Phetsarath and the Lao Issara.
This is led me to question one thing: why are some Lao so embarassed of who they are? This is especially strong to the Thais. Want an example?
My parents, especially my mom, tell me ALL THE TIME (or well when the word "Thai" comes up) that the Thai people look down on Lao people. I know, its partly true, I told you, I know my stories. But she puts it as ALL central Thais do. I told her in college I would love to spend a semester there at Thammasat University, but she just kept going on and on about how racist they are and she stereotypically calls them arrogrant.
I really don't know what I'm getting at. I think its this. If all those who feel Lao in them, why not show it? I had read a story of a Lao man that had carried a Kaen from Laos through Bangkok to Tokyo and then back to his home in the U.S. This man's story was so prideful, I loved it. He said people would stare but who cared? He said that a lot of Taxi drivers in Bangkok were from Issan and instead of calling themselves Issan, they would call themselves Lao.
At my school, there is a Thai exchange student. I hang out with him since when I was an exchange student in Japan, I did not get to do much after dark. Today I brought him and another student from Hong Kong everywhere. My parents reaction was this: they felt that this 16 year old kid's judgement on them ment the world. What I mean was that they really wanted to put on a good image for him. Its pathetic.
Why hide it anymore Khon Lao? Central Thai society has forces such a stigma and image on to you, why not break it now?
I also went to Japan on last January 2006 as an exchange student. I stayed with my step Japanese family in Nigata for one month. There were 15 students from Laos and another from Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philipines and the countries from Pacific Islands. We went there on behalf of Lao student from Laos, nobody look down at us. We can talked to each other as friends even Thai students also asked me in Thai word, I answered them in Lao word. I think many Thai were good only some bad habit Thai liked to look down people from another countries, don't make friend with them OK. We are from Vientiane High School.
I can understand your fustration about this issue, I am from Lao but now citizen of Australia I personally experienced with lot of RACISM so let have a look at the INSIGHT of the word RACISM, Lao people always believe that thai people look on lao...so let have a look at the australian particularly the White, as I told you my bad experiences with racism earlier. In the 80s when I first attended Univeristy, I met white students who were RACISTS they frequently abused me with all kind of bad language, these sort of things did affected me Psychologically. It made me sick in the stomach.
Many people believe that racists are sick people. RACISM is a desease, a sickness of the mind, Racism is like Cancer. Racists always believe that they are Superior than other race, but for me they are not civilised people, in fact they are a bunch of ugly, bad and bastards nothing else. So if you met a thai who behaved in such a way....Ignore it or try to find a way to fix his/her racist behaviour accordingly....
PeeNongLao don't be racist ; there are good lao people as there are bad lao people, the same is true for all nationalities around the world !
The most important thing to do as a civilized person is to show yourself as an intelligent person, capable to look beyond the ugly considerations...
I just to say : BE PROUD BEEING LAO !!! and STOP pronouncing W instead of V like Thai people do for example VELA (time) in Lao, not WELA which is a thai word..........Lao musicians such as CELLS, or many others pronounce like Thai : do you think they are proud to be LAO ? If you want to promote the good images of our Lao culture, START to speak correctly first OK ?
I'm not Lao, and I'm in no danger of being mistaken for a Lao or a Thai or a Shan or a Khmer, but what I can tell you all is that most people in the world could not tell the difference between people from Laos and Thailand (and Cambodia and the Shan states). Culture and attitudes (and even politics now the military has taken over in Thailand) are so similar from an outsider perspective. In fact, I know many Lao people with Thai, Viet, Chinese and Khmer ancestry, so I wonder in the end, whether it really matters where you come from, or what colour your skin is, or how flat or broad your nose is? People are people. I respect people who treat others how they wish to be treated. I ignore people who don't.
