There's more sexual innuendo than sports information on Chang Heart of Goals sports (?) program - (screen-shot photo )

All legs and buffoonery on Thailand's Chang Heart of Goals sports (?) program - (screen-shot photo )

What is Thailand's Chang Heart of Goals sports (?) program all about? - (screen-shot photo )

France national team and Man U player Patrice Evra was ridiculed and insulted on a Thai TV sports show - (FIFA photo)   Luis Suarez was portrayed as an aggressor on on a Thai TV sports show - (Eigen werk photo)

Video Beat - THAI TV's RACIST BUFFOONERY

Richard Ricciardi - National Radio Text Service

Thailand's blatant racism is displayed on a sports commentary program sponsored by Thailand's Chang beer the major sponsor of the Everton football club in the English Premiere League. The co-hosts spoofing of the Patrice Evra Luis Suarez racist comment incident shows poor taste and disrespect - Recommended TV Listings

Saturday January 07, 2012

THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK

When it comes to being a buffoon Thai television ranks at the top of the list. While scanning channels we came upon an apparent football/soccer talk show program Chang Heart of Goals on the True Sport 1 pay television channel at 11 AM today. What caught our attention was as we hit the channel they had a photo of Manchester United's Patrice Evra being patted on the back of the head by Liverpool's Luis Suarez with a comic book like caption BLACKBURN IN ENGLISH.

For those that don't know for the past few months there has been a controversy regarding Suarez who is from Uruguay making racist comments to Evra who is French and of Senegalese descent during a game at Liverpool in October 2011. Evra took exception to the remark and slapped Suarez's hand away. The two went at it nose to nose with no punches being thrown. Suarez was penalized for the gesture and was suspended for eight matches and fined $62,000 by England's Football Association.

What makes this Thai TV show so absurd is that they chose to mock and make fun of a bad situation from such a long time ago not yesterday. As the photo was being shown on the TV screen one of the three male hosts on the program was walking around the set yelling IN ENGLISH and laughing while repeatedly saying Blackburn, Blackburn, Blackburn. The operative word here is BLACK.

The show isn't organized. It is presented in a party environment of cross talk conversation. All three male and two female hosts spoke in Thai with the exception being the repeating of the word Blackburn. What also was most noticeable was the girls wore short skirts up to their upper thigh. We're not prudish and don't mind the emphasis on the displaying the sexy hosts bodies. What is troublesome is what they thought to be humor and felt it was necessary to be more racist than Suarez in their portraying the incident in a harsh and insulting manner. It's this type of thinking that confirms our opinion that Thailand is the most racist country that we've ever visited.

In 1989 we walked into the entrance of the Nana entertainment complex in Bangkok. On the bar of the first business on the right was a sign that read NO MUSLIMS ALLOWED.

Thailand also has clubs where ONLY JAPANESE are permitted entrance. This type of attitude is embedded in the Thai thinking by foreigners including the Japanese. The Bridge on the River Kwai is an example of Thai approval. The more that time goes by the Thais are more exposed to foreigner prejudices. Some Thais adopt some of the racist language and concepts. Thailand is not what it used to be. This program is an example.

Thais and other Asian countries are racist among themselves. The lighter skinned Thais look down on their darker complexioned countrymen. It is believed that being a person with dark skin indicates poverty. All over Asia on an overcast day with no sun you will see women holding an umbrella over their heads. We have witnessed that particularly in Thailand, Laos and China. Shielding themselves with an umbrella when there is no rain or sun is a sign of insecurity and lack of self esteem.

The two female TV hosts were fair skinned which is considered white in Thailand. The three male hosts were dark skinned considered black. The host yelling BLACKBURN is considered black in Thailand but apparently he doesn't feel that way.

The back-story irony of the Suarez, Evra story is that as the information slowly comes out what was said between the two it is now revealed that Suarez called Evra a Negro. Negro is not considered a negative term in America a Mecca for racial discrimination. American politicians use that word often particularly during the human rights Martin Luther King era. Nigger is the negative term for Negro in the USA.

Suarez's grandfather is black making Suarez part black. His manager Kenny Dalglish said of Suarez that his wife calls her husband Negro. The TV show Chang Heart of Goals was way out of line on this issue. Chang is Chang beer the main sponsor of the Everton football club.

When you look at Thai history their indigenous people are black. According to a special regarding the Thai Chinese ethnic mix presented on Channel News Asia (CNA) this week the Chinese migrated there in the 1850's to work in the tin industry. By the early 1900's roughly 50% of the Thai population was Chinese.

Our experience in interviewing Thais over the years is that Thais from good families frown on interracial marriage. They want Thai to marry Thai only. That racist attitude carried over to the Chinese migration depicted in the CNA report and mixed Thai/Chinese children were ashamed to admit being part Chinese. The attitude has changed recently since China is an emerging economic power.

Other than the whitening of the dark skinned Thai race by the Chinese marriages other lighter skinned Thais emerged from prostitution with many of the poor dark Thai from the provinces giving birth to children having white fathers. Basically much of the Thai light skinned population area result of prostitution.

The TV shows emphasis is to be humorous with two sexy girls on the set showing off their assets. The bottom line is the show is more about ass than about class and sports information. It also raises questions about the backgrounds of those involved and what their point was in focusing on such an incident. With the co-hosts speaking in Thai but the spoken racial comments IN ENGLISH and the title of the show on the backdrop of the set being printed IN ENGLISH what does that mean? What audience is this show trying to impress? Why the mixed signals?

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