western tourists getting more strange....

reply to post by Bluesma


According to the terms and conditions of this board we are not supposed to lie. This is not the fiction writing section either.

The OP has no credibility. He has claimed to be a US Vietnam veteran, a Japanese citizen, a doctor, a man, a woman, an "expat," and who knows what else. Why shouldn't we call him out on his falsehoods? When somebody who is not something pretends to be that thing, he hurts the people who really are that thing and damages their credibility. Especially when that somebody has an agenda to spread dischord among races or nations, or enjoys stereotyping and stirring up negative emotions.

The OP now wants the mods to lock this thread because he's been caught his own web of lies. If the OP were honorable he'd abandon his failed moniker and never use it again because he has broken basic terms and conditions of ATS and has no more credibility in this community.

Originally posted by mblahnikluver

So you are grouping an entire part of the world into one category because one person acted crazy to you? Wow, just wow. Stereo typing is really rude.

Did you ever think that maybe that person lived there as well?!?! Just because someone is a westerner doesn't always mean they are a tourist. You made your assumption on looks and language.

There are nut jobs all over the world!

Thats Ok.

Your right because you had an encounter with an idiot ALL western tourists are strange.

I ordered Chinese tonight and gave the delivery boy a 3$ tip, he didn't look happy with it. It must be all Chinese people are getting greedy nowadays.

Originally posted by manykapao

so you would defend that story?
or does honesty really have no bearing on how you measure the world?

I would hold no position on the truth of the story, it doesn't matter to me whether it is true or not.
I do not need to determine that.
I measure the world on MY experiences not those of others.

If so please unfriend me. I will not help people lie and perpetuate ignorance through lies or be associated with anyone who enjoys hate speech about a whole group of people. Even white westerners. You may do as you wish for whatever reasons you like.

As far as I know, we are not "friends" (?), otherwise I would gladly comply with that request.
Other peoples freedom of opinion and expression has nothing to do with my enjoyment. I don't need to enjoy it, (or agree with it) to recognize their right to have it and express it.

I do not think we are compatible. I have standards I will not modify. Truthfulness being one of them.

OK. I had no intent on asking you out anyway.
I value truthfulness also, so I strive to be truthful.
I also recognize that, our nature being subjective, truth is personal. Perspective is subjective. Three people witnessing the same car accident will have a different account, no matter how hard they strive to be truthful.
So.....I don't try to determine "the truth" by way of others.

reply to post by KarensHoliday


As far as calling him out, and how truthful his claims may or may not be, and the rules of this forum, maybe it is time for us to review them?

The Gray Area is a discussion forum that provides a dedicated area for members to post their confessions, disclosures, and related extraordinary personal experiences.

Like the highly speculative Skunk Works forum, The Gray Area will tolerate topics that may be unusually hypothetical or unproven for the purpose of vetting the stories of thread-starters by the ATS membership at large.

By nature, The Gray Area tends to involve unproven claims and anecdotal testimony that may arouse skepticism in some members.
As always, skepticism is fine, but only when expressed in accordance with the AboveTopSecret.com Terms And Conditions Of Use.

In particular, Courtesy Is Mandatory. Insults, ridicule, harassment, abuse and similar behavior constitute a direct attack on what this forum is intended for, and will be treated accordingly.

Members unable to politely discuss unusual, unproven or unorthodox subjects should avoid this forum..

If one has a very strong reaction to anecdotal stories being questionable, maybe this is a bad forum to hang out in?

reply to post by Bluesma


We are allowed to rebut falsehoods and show skepticism to claims that are clearly self-contradictory.

I don't have a "strong reaction" to the content on an emotional level, but aren't we supposed to "deny ignorance" on ATS and search for the truth?

The Grey Area is a forum for personal experiences, which means that the person who posts is at least partly the subject matter. What's wrong with calling into question that which is clearly questionable?

Although the material here is "speculative" that does not mean it is supposed to contain deliberate falsehoods.

ATS is not a role-playing game where we make up whatever we want. There is supposed to be a committment to the truth here. Of that I am quite sure.

reply to post by Bluesma


cop out if I ever saw one. I don't know how you manage to live in the real world. You always defend generalizing, stereotypes, and now lies.

Do not flatter yourself, I would not be interested. My wife is much hotter, a nice person, and not a defender of all things ignorant.

All people cannot be summed up by one persons account or a typifying thing about them. This story is a lie and is being defended by chauvinist bigots, and here you come along to defend them. You are probably a closet racist the way you defend stereotypes and generalizations. The only reason you are defending what is a blatant lie is because you enjoy vilifying someone. Very hateful.

I would not be interested in you physically and especially so on a personal level. People like you are hideous IMO.

And we were friends, I un-friended you from my profile.

Please have your last word or whatever your weirdo personality demands of the situation and then never speak to me again.

People like you are a sickness.

Originally posted by Expat888
at present in ho chi minh city visiting my son and daughter in law .... anyhow I go for coffee the morning at a small cafe here thats off the usual haunts of western tourists and businessmen minding my own business having coffee ( vietnam has excellent coffee ) ... surfing ats on my mobile when next thing know theres a westerner standing in front of me at the table - american from the clothes and accent ... telling me " I know what you are and I'm not afraid of you while at same time he is making some kind of gesture waving a bible around .... rather than cause further scene pulled my usual dont understand english act and quietly told the girl at the coffeeshop in vietnamese to call the police to deal with the lunatic ... paid for my coffee and started to leave when the idiot westerner decides he is going to follow me and continue spouting his gibberish... he made mistake put hand on my shoulder I dont put up with strangers putting a hand on me much less crazy westerners.. applied a simple wristlock on him at that point and held him that way till the police showed up and took him in for causing a disturbance. really wish they wouldnt give lunatics passports... ahh well hopefully the rest of the day will be less eventfulll... are things getting that bad over there that they let the lunatics out of the asylums?

My bullet point list:

1.) If somehow in the future, If the OP of this thread and I ever meet, do not touch them.

2.) As said in the last bullet point, if we would meet, also do not talk to them.

3.) Anything that contains religious context the OP deems as western in origin they do not like, and apparently due to the man he/she mentioned speaking about it implies that he is crazy. So refer to all previous bullet points as reference.

The man that was so "crazy" to you was probably just trying to be nice, even though you disagreed with his viewpoints. It may have been him just trying to make conversation; and of your own admission he simply touched you. I do not see how you explain in any detail that he deserved what you did in response to him touching you. It sounds in no way like he was trying to perpetrate any violence against you whatsoever. It seems to me that the only crazy thing is how you responded to his gestures that you did not like or appreciate (which I do not understand his statement about "knowing what you are and not being afraid of you" line... seems rude to me, but responding with violence just doesnt seem appropriate to me in any manner for the instance you described).

reply to post by KarensHoliday


My comment was mostly refer to the very .um...... passionate posts done by the person whose handle is manykapow? Look at the post directly underneath yours, and the ones they did before to the OP.

There is a difference between hostile insults and harrassment, and normal healthy skepticsm.

reply to post by manykapao



You are certainly the perfect example of compassion, and opposite of hatred and judgment, aren't you?

I have no idea why you would put me as a "friend" as you have already made similar attacks and harrassment of me in other threads, as you have done here. But in any case, I cannot undo that- only you can. Your request was futile.

Originally posted by Bluesma
reply to post by manykapao

 

You are certainly the perfect example of compassion, and opposite of hatred and judgment, aren't you?

I have no idea why you would put me as a "friend" as you have already made similar attacks and harrassment of me in other threads, as you have done here. But in any case, I cannot undo that- only you can. Your request was futile.

Peoples behavior on here sometimes makes me shake my head. It almost seems like this poster you mentioned is looking at ATS like facebook with making "friends". It's not always about making friends. It's about contributing your knowledge, thoughts and opinions on a conspiracy based forum. We will not always agree. But it's about taking the good comments with the harsh ones and still contributing as individuals and increasing each others knowledge base. Telling someone that you will not talk to them or "unfriend" them based on a difference of view or opinion is childish.

On topic, I still believe that the OP's post is the same in a way, referring to someone being a "crazy" westerner for trying to converse with him about their beliefs, and his subsequent actions after.

reply to post by Rubicant13


no we had a discussion on another thread about, guess what, American criticism. I was cordial and made my peace, tried to smooth things over and be civil, and even accepted her flawed judgment. I in turn made her a friend since we had a good conversation and I had nothing against her. I even complimented her as being a "logical person" to diffuse the situation. I doubt she would have done the same.

Where she says that I attacked her is beyond me. I made peace and acted cordially, even though she was basically defending making stereo types and generalizations.

I don't even like FB. I friended her to keep the peace and because I respected her. She ended up following my posts, responding in threads I made that she found worthy of debate. She took the opposite argument to my OP´s but that is fine. That respect, I now lost, seeing as her position is not based on any ideal, but out of spite. There is nothing else to say. This story is a blatant lie. How people can defend it is beyond me.

If the OP had been honest and outright said what he thought of US citizens, then I could have respected him for his opinion, like I did with Blues ma, I would disagree, but respect the others opinion.

What was done was concoct a story to make a whole group of people look bad, like was done for many years about other groups of people out of ignorance.

I do not think that sort of behavior is in line with the ethos this community tries to hold in high standards.

reply to post by manykapao


You made the same insults and accusations you did here.
Perhaps you have some trouble determining what is socially acceptable behavior and what is not. As you have already been banned for it and I have watched numerous threads be shut down because of your behavior.

Anyway...... back on subject
this kind of encounter that the OP described (be it true or not) IS something that happens.
Most of us have come across crazy individuals of this sort, no?

It happens often to tourists, as result of culture shock, causing hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions.

This happens to many different nationalities, outside of their own country. Paris Syndrome was foremost outlined to refer to a very common occurance of it in Japanese people, in Paris.

The cultures are SO different that some nationalities may be more "shocked" than others in a certain place.
A Brit in France is maybe less likely to have this happen to them, for example.


The east and west have some some very very different basic ways of thought, so that often westerners cannot even wrap their heads around eastern philosophy if they tried!


So it is NOT totally irrational, nor automatically "hateful" to suggest that people from a specific culture might have this happen more often in one country or another.


It is an interesting subject, from a psychological, sociological, or anthropological, point of view!

Thread closed .........

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