Category: Discuss!

A Tale of Two Maps

3/27/2014

Thailand is well-known as a nation that is welcoming to foreign tourists. Data displayed in the map below from the Washington Post agrees.

Thailand is a great destination for tourists, as it is indeed friendly and it welcomed twenty-two million foreign tourists in 2012 according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Twenty-two million people is an especially sizable amount in a country of sixty six million. The impact of tourism is not seen in all places in Thailand equally, as tourists tend to congregate in specific places that are marketed to them.

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/25-maps-make-sense-world/25-maps-welcoming-foreigners

Does this mean that Thailand is a tolerant nation? Acceptance of visitors is not the same, as this map below shows, with many countries as well as Thailand.

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/25-maps-make-sense-world/25-maps-racial-tolerance

"Another race," is not defined further on this map as 'race' is a difficult thing to define.

What do you think may account for the different information given by these two maps?

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Some Tips For Teaching History in Thailand

1/26/2014

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slavery-Chulalongkorn- Thailand- 100 baht- note- money

The back of most 100 baht bills shows King Chulalongkorn freeing the slaves in Thailand.

History can be a challenging subject to teach in Thailand for a number of reasons. The vocabulary is often about processes that are sometimes hard to make visual or translate for English language learners. Students can also find it difficult to relate to some of the material or understand its value.

Relate Ideas to What Students Know

Student centered teaching methods have been popular in Thailand for some time (even though many educators can't agree on what the term actually means.) It helps to use something familiar or interactive to engage the students on a topic. For example, when discussing slavery a teacher could show a 100 baht bill, something the students have seen many times. Asking the students' Thai Teacher what he/she is doing in class may also help you find material that the students already know.

Use Media

Some teachers may have a projector or smart board in their classroom which can help to make ideas more visual. Photographing and projecting the back of the 100 baht note will be much more visually compelling and show the image more clearly. Google Earth is free and also works well in teaching Geography, you can start from where your school is and enter the country that you are studying and the globe will spin to show you the location searched. Younger students enjoy pretending that they are 'flying' there. Video is also a great tool but unfortunately some of them are narrated to fast to be understood by English Language Learners. Many free video programs can be used to slow down videos to make them more understandable and YouTube has automatic voice captioning (which will make some mistakes that can be corrected when uploading videos.)

Use Humor

Horrible Histories is both a video series and a book series that students enjoy. There are lots of other ways to try and add humor to lessons whenever possible. Adding humor when the subject is appropriate helps to keep students interested and when the subject is too serious for humor the seriousness is emphasized by the absence of humor. Again, media and video editing are useful in using humor as funny history is easy to find. Below is an example cut from Monty Python's Life of Brian that was used in a PowerPoint to review Roman inventions in a unit. While showing the entire film would not be suitable, this short clip with text added for clarity and review helped students remember.

Make Interactive Displays

While not every school has a projector in the classroom, interactive displays can also be made from paper. Timelines can be hung up as a border around the room with the years that you will study written on them. Once a new event is discussed in class, students can pin it on the timeline making a visual display that they take part in. Maps can also be interactive as borders change and sometimes overlap in history. Kite paper readily available in Thailand is semi transparent which can be cut and tacked to a map marking a place, people or event and blue tack can also be used to move labels, pictures and borders around on a map.

Map display for a Grade Five US History class.

We will be adding more suggestions and resources as we find them. Please let us know if you have things that you would like to add or your own teaching tips to share!

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Bringin' Reason Back is Sadly Not Sexy

1/19/2014

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Hitler- Mustache- Thailand- Thai- Abisit- Thaksin- Nazi- Politics- Newspaper- Bias- Nazi chic

It was bound to happen again. Thursday, in an online 'survey' Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck overtook Adolf Hitler as "The World's Worst Leaders," former Thai PM Abisit was also listed at number thirteen. The survey was from the optins.com, an entertainment site that does not claim to be scientific or news based. This has been restated as a reputable source and disseminated into the political discussion. [Link to the Bangkok Post article at the end of this post.]

No, just no.

We are very opposed to these comparisons being made as they spread ignorance and signal the end of reasonable discussion. We are very pro-reasonable and believe that facts, empathy and understanding History are ways forward for all.

Godwin's Law has faded from popular use on the internet, but it was an informed idea that perhaps needs attention again. Godwin's Law is a humorous observation made by Mike Godwin in 1989 which has become an Internet adage. It states: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1."[3][2] In other words, Godwin put forth the sarcastic observation that, given enough time, all online discussions—regardless of topic or scope—inevitably end up being about Hitler and the Nazis. Godwin's law is often cited in online discussions as a deterrent against the use of arguments in the widespread Reductio ad Hitlerum form. The rule does not make any statement about whether any particular reference or comparison to Adolf Hitler or the Nazis might be appropriate, but only asserts that the likelihood of such a reference or comparison arising increases as the discussion progresses. It is precisely because such a comparison or reference may sometimes be appropriate, Godwin has argued[4] that overuse of Nazi and Hitler comparisons should be avoided, because it robs the valid comparisons of their impact. [Italicized text from Wikipedia.]

Flip references to Hitler and Nazis also diminish the understanding of the twelve million civilians that died, those that suffered under the Nazis and those that lost their lives on the Western Front during WWII. It is a lesson about the danger of considering any human any less than human and it is one that the World needs to know. Crimes against Humanity still continue today and knowledge is the best and first defense any society has to prevent them.

We are promoting reasonable, empathic discussion and education. Perhaps that isn't as sexy as memes that attract attention or impassioned speeches given to people that already agree. But reasonableness is sugarless, has no trans fats, gluten free and a good value too.

Bangkok Post article: Thaksin Worse than Hitler, Give Us a Break

Quick Review: Our Who is Not Hitler video

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Nazi Chic, Nazi Memorabilia and Oddness

11/5/2013

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November 5, 2013
Last week, while looking for Nazi items for sale from Thailand available internationally, we found more than a few odd items. Some were not objectionable, some were the Seven Star merchandise we've known about and the others show a general lack of knowledge about the symbols and usage (see below.)

Swastikas- Thailand- Odd- Nazi Chic- Nazi- Hitler- Bangkok- Thailnd- Pins- Amazon- Seven Star- sale- Gegen- SS- nazism

Who would buy this collection? Click to see this seller's items.

There are two sellers we found on Amazon from Thailand that sell various items that include Swastikas (and we don't mean the Indian version) and the other items that they sell represent a vast array of themes. This indicates to us that these sellers do not fully understand the historical context of the images. The seller above, AWESUMS sells pins with a variety of themes including bands like Linkin Park, Justin Beiber and the Bee Gees as well as other figures like Che Guevera, Mao Tse Tung and Paris Hilton. We are not by any means writing this as a free advertisement, just giving the context.

Nazi- Swastika- Thailand- Thai- Amazon- Marylin Monroe- Disney- Swastikas - Eagle- Thai

What do Disney princesses, Liverpool FC and Nazis have in common? No idea really.

Above is a screenshot from THAISTUFF 168's Amazon shop that once again shows these items surrounded by a bunch of other non-related things. We linked these pages on the day of writing which show the items only to show that these screenshots are real. You can decide for yourself if you wish to write to the sellers or Amazon about the issue. [Full disclosure: we do receive a small percentage of money for items bought on the Literature page of this website from Amazon, but not these items linked above.]

All of the items above have been produced recently, are not historically important nor informed. But what about the buyers, why are they buying these items? To find out, I looked at a Nazi flag that was linked on all of these pages under: Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed and found these: (Click on the picture for the actual page.)

Three of the reviewers feel the need to explain their verified purchase of this item by telling the reader that it is part of a collection about history, some to the point of nearly apologizing. One says it is for an event (somewhere there's a blog with a post, "Why I Fired the Party Planner,") and another taste-challenged individual hung it in his room and describes it as, "Quite a head turner." While most of the motives of the buyers here seem fine, a few fetishize the images which desensitizes a serious human rights issue and dehumanizes those that suffered the Holocaust.

Nazi memorabilia is banned by law in Austria, France, Germany and Hungary and the major auction houses in the UK will not sell even the genuine items. Aside from the general offensiveness of the symbolism these items hold, there were several reasons for this legislation- they do create a platform for hate by clearly showing support for it exists and it is sometimes questionable who profits from the sale of these items.

In Israel and the US, the symbols are not banned because it is considered a restriction of individuals' freedom. People that use the symbols openly are part of a subculture that knows its origin and are generally detested by the majority of the population. Hate speech and hate crime laws are complicated in both countries but generally large private communications companies tend to have rules in place that prohibit hate speech.

In Thailand, the symbols are not banned but past international controversy forced sellers of Nazi and Hitler themed items to be a bit less blatant about it. In the past the images would surface and an incident would gain international attention, the people involved often apologize and the cycle repeats itself. Our concern is that the incidents are more and more common and the controversy fails to have a lasting effect. We do not advocate the banning of the symbols in Thailand for two reasons. First, some of the swastikas in Thailand originate from the Indian symbol and while it is often obvious which is which, there can be a grey area. Bans also are ineffective in Thailand, they backfire often and things that are explicitly banned can become more popular. The song "One Night in Bangkok" was banned in 1985 here and it still enjoys popularity here, probably more than it would have without the ban.

People decide to collect these items for various reasons, some of them collect for legitimate reasons and those people are often allies against bigotry. While we find the idea of a hobby collecting the items a bit off-putting and odd, we aren't against off-putting and odd. (What do we like to look at and talk about outside of work? Definitely not Nazi stuff.) So, here is our latest infographic on the issue and next time we will blog about Nazi swastikas versus Indian ones.

Nazi- nazi chic- thailand- thai- Hitler- Hipsters- History- UK- France- Germany- Hungary- China- Taiwan- Korea- Japan- India- infographic

Click for interactive graphic

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Talking Subculture

10/7/2013

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From Japan, but really!? We're speechless.

It seems that the group of people in Thailand that consider Nazi and Hitler items to be fashion are part of a subculture. That may sound like good news (and it is partly because not everyone is wearing this stuff) but it is harder in some ways to reach out to a smaller more niche group. Globalization and the retro craze have made all sorts of things crossover and things get a bit complicated.

The closest comparison with this subculture would be to punk, as the music and the crossover into art seem similar (disagree? Let us know in the comments!) And so, we're off to study this working theory and this Thai subculture further.

Perhaps with the Worldwide retro fashion craze nothing is dead (even though we're really hoping harem pants are.) Originally, a few of the early punks of the 1970s did wear swastikas on shirts, usually they were handmade and almost all of them were destroyed after the marker fumes wore off and people came to their senses. The one thing the retro craze can't bring back is context, and that is something that gets lost in time and translation.

Our next project is still being researched, and it's on this very subject. While its necessary to give the history and context, we want to lighten things up and make it fun and hopefully reach the people that might be influenced by punk. We're by no means anti-expression nor anti-punk but a good look at meaning and message is necessary.

The author, if only to prove that we're totally okay with looking funny.

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An Infographic for Clarification Purposes

9/15/2013

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It started as a flowchart, but that became so complicated that it looks like it should be a video, not an infographic.

Even this chart ended up having an 'interesting area' where the yellow and blue overlap, which is not easy to explain. Things that parody would often fall into this category, which can be a grey area. A few references we won't even weigh in on- an example being Seinfeld's 'Soup Nazi'. It is not glamorous, it is based on a real person while some find it amusing and others find it de-sensitizes people to the issue.

infographic-RHEA-Hitler-reference-History-Responsible-Education-Venn-Action-guide-Hitler-reference-Seinfeld

Thailand-Thai-Nazi-Hitler-Adolf-Bangkok-On Nut-Tee shirt-swastika-fashion-controversy-hate speech-Bang Na

Spotted in On Nut, Bangkok.

The image on the left is more along the lines of where our concern lies. There is no context in the image that says the image is a comment or a parody. While sometimes English language can be mangled on tee shirts in other cultures, we still scratch our heads as to why these images and this language is chosen.

Symbols are sometimes misused when used outside of the cultures they came from, and when they are people often get offended. As the World continues to get smaller, we all benefit from learning more about each others' values and sensitivities.

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When is a Hitler joke okay?

9/5/2013

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What do you think? Give us our very first comment, respond, pontificate, write a song, speak your mind, have a dialogue (keep it respectful please.)
And while we shouldn't have to say this, any and all hate speech will be pointed at while laughing and then unapologetically deleted.

Perhaps a flowchart is in order?

Since we're asking, we thought some media that is funny should be included. Be advised that the last youtube link has a fair amount of bad language. Video clips after the jump.

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A Tale of Two Maps

Some Tips For Teaching History in Thailand

Bringin' Reason Back is Sadly Not Sexy

Nazi Chic, Nazi Memorabilia and Oddness

Talking Subculture

An Infographic for Clarification Purposes

When is a Hitler joke okay?

There is only 'us'

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