I was wondering what Asians think about Westerners. I have a few ideas but would like to hear what comments others would make (if any). This could be an important issue within the next 4 years or so. Should we westerners be planning our escape, or do the Asians/ the Khmer really love us for more than our money? If so, what would you say are our good points when they view us.

juansweetpotato wrote:I was wondering what Asians think about Westerners. I have a few ideas but would like to hear what comments others would make (if any). This could be an important issue within the next 4 years or so. Should we westerners be planning our escape, or do the Asians/ the Khmer really love us for more than our money? If so, what would you say are our good points when they view us.

Could make for a good topic but I think lumping all "Asians" together does not make a lot of sense. I suspect there are big differences too based on age and how much exposure to "Westerners" they have had.

Cheers,

RD

They think you have one sweet potato.

OK so lets not generalize as no one ever does that. Its just not human. I think what you are saying is that if people are viewed as a group it isn't accurate, but if one takes a person out of the group and has personal contact with them , their view changes. Hmmmm.
I think you are forgetting the impact of media.
If you don't want to share your views that's OK, but for me this is not only an interesting topic, but could well be a life saver in the not too distant future.

MekongMouse wrote:They think you have one sweet potato.

Well, you live out of country so it is academic for you. Refer to above post. If everything that is possibly contentious to your own views is not 'sweet' then you are destined for a happy life of (fill in the blank). It does seem you have things to say but are too worried about saying them. I'm actually far more interested in what the Asians/ Khmer have to say on this one.

Oh come on man, that was a harmless post. I don't have anything to say on this thread because it is too broad at the moment. I'll probably jump in when the fighting starts.

juansweetpotato wrote:OK so lets not generalize as no one ever does that. Its just not human. I think what you are saying is that if people are viewed as a group it isn't accurate, but if one takes a person out of the group and has personal contact with them , their view changes. Hmmmm.
I think you are forgetting the impact of media.
If you don't want to share your views that's OK, but for me this is not only an interesting topic, but could well be a life saver in the not too distant future.

No -- I am not talking about generalizing regarding the Target (in this case "Westerners") I am saying that Asia is far too diverse to lump everyone together and then expect to have a coherent discussion about "What they think".

I think if you go to Sapporo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sihanoukville you might find widely divergent views about "Westerners" and those views will be further split by age, social status, and amount of personal contact they have actually had with westerners.

BTW, FWIW I think our Cambodian Participants here have already started a thread on how they think Cambodians view Barang.

In my experience, 20 years in SEA, the only consistent theme as to seeing how we are viewed is that we are more "Free, Open, and Expressive" while they feel more restrained by societal expectations. How that is processed depends on the individual's own worldview. Some "admiring" our ability and freedom to express ourselves --- Others resenting what they see as "Boorish Behavior" on our part and lacking in traditional Confucian values.

Genuine question. If a Cambodian person wanted to learn about "Westerners" and relied solely on reading K440 to form their opinion, what do you think they would conclude?

Cheers,

RD

as most of us are NOT asians
how can we answer?

phuketrichard wrote:as most of us are NOT asians
how can we answer?

This. And the small fact that "Asian" = half the population of the world. I would expect to find some widely differing views in that sample size. I'm guessing that a member of ISIS might feel somewhat differently compared to a member of the Singaporean government...