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Gulf War veteran, 55, was killed by a single punch from a bouncer in Thailand


Pumpuynarak

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  • 2 weeks later...

The death of Mike Jones-Mathias bothered me a lot.  It seemed absurdly tragic that a Gulf War vet should lose his life over something as trivial as a bill in a go go bar.  Although we don't know exactly what happened in the bar,  Jones-Mathias posed no threat to the Thai bouncer and the force the bouncer used against a much older man was way out of proportion. This case reminded me to some degree of the stabbing death of a taxi passenger in Bangkok over a 51-baht fare.

A lot of visitors to Thailand don't seem to realize how fast things can spiral out of control in what's called the Land of Smiles.  The taxi passenger not only  got out of the cab without paying the 51 baht  because he thought the driver had rigged the meter, but also threw a cup of coffee in the driver's face.  That by the wildest stretch of the imagination by no means justifies the stabbing, but it's also true that if the passenger had paid the fare and drunk his coffee, he'd likely be alive today.

The following video is another indication of how wrong things can go in LOS. It's been posted many times,  but serves as a classic example of what not to do when disputing a bar bill.  The farang in the video could easily have been killed, especially when the Thai guy stomped his face.  Pounding the counter is what set the Thais off.  

 

I'm not saying anything that the members who post on this level haven't heard before.  But visitors to Pattaya with less experience may not be aware of what can happen if you use the wrong approach in a potential conflict situation.  I put a post in the Holiday Chat thread called Resolving Everyday Conflicts in LOS that could be of use to someone who has never been in Thailand before.

I think it is important to remind newbies that there's nothing to be gained and a lot at risk by aggressively "standing up" to Thais in minor conflict situations.  Outcomes that are largely unimagineable in the newbie's home country can and do happen in Thailand.  The prime directive has to be to avoid physical confrontations while you're here.

Evil

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3 minutes ago, Evil Penevil said:

The death of Mike Jones-Mathias bothered me a lot.  It seemed absurdly tragic that a Gulf War vet should lose his life over something as trivial as a bill in a go go bar.  Although we don't know exactly what happened in the bar,  Jones-Mathias posed no threat to the Thai bouncer and the force the bouncer used against a much older man was way out of proportion. This case reminded me to some degree of the stabbing death of a taxi passenger in Bangkok over a 51-baht fare.

A lot of visitors to Thailand don't seem to realize how fast things can spiral out of control in what's called the Land of Smiles.  The taxi passenger not only  got out of the cab without paying the 51 baht  because he thought the driver had rigged the meter, but also threw a cup of coffee in the driver's face.  That by the wildest stretch of the imagination by no means justifies the stabbing, but it's also true that if the passenger had paid the fare and drunk his coffee, he'd likely be alive today.

The following video is another indication of how wrong things can go in LOS. It's been posted many times,  but serves as a classic example of what not to do when disputing a bar bill.  The farang in the video could easily have been killed, especially when the Thai guy stomped his face.  Pounding the counter is what set the Thais off.  

 

I'm not saying anything that the members who post on this level haven't heard before.  But visitors to Pattaya with less experience may not be aware of what can happen if you use the wrong approach in a potential conflict situation.  I put a post in the Holiday Chat thread called Resolving Everyday Conflicts in LOS that could be of use to someone who has never been in Thailand before.

I think it is important to remind newbies that there's nothing to be gained and a lot at risk by aggressively "standing up" to Thais in minor conflict situations.  Outcomes that are largely unimagineable in the newbie's home country can and do happen in Thailand.  The prime directive has to be to avoid physical confrontations while you're here.

Evil

100% agree!!

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  • 1 month later...
On 11/14/2019 at 7:37 PM, Evil Penevil said:

I think it is important to remind newbies that there's nothing to be gained and a lot at risk by aggressively "standing up" to Thais in minor conflict situations.  Outcomes that are largely unimagineable in the newbie's home country can and do happen in Thailand.  The prime directive has to be to avoid physical confrontations while you're here.

Evil

Bro -- sometimes it is just impossible regardless ... believe me ....

I have never understood what sets off some of these fucks .... and when a Thai goes after you it is a " free for all " for all Thais to jump in ...

Just make CERTAIN you knock down ( preferably knock out ) the first guy that comes at you ... and do it quick .. it will slow down or other wise make the others stop and think .. that is all you need is a couple of seconds to either get away or continue .... 

But, I agree ... avoid any and all possible confrontations here especially if you are just a tourists ... suck up your pride so you can get on down the road ....

It is never a good idea for anyone to get so fucking drunk they have problems paying a check bin ... or arguing over a check bin ( drunk or sober ) .. inexcusable ... IMHO

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