In December 2016, I traveled from my hometown of Los Angeles, California to visit Phuket, Thailand. 6 1/2 years later, I'm still here.
Since I'm not in Los Angeles, I can't truly tell you what it would feel like to be living there now. I can only go by what I've heard from my friends, speaking to them and reading their thoughts and feelings on social media. Gun violence. Insurgency. Climate change. Consequently, I actually feel quite safe here.
That feeling of safety comes from my experience with Thai people. I appreciate their strength, humor, beauty and unity. Having the chance to live with them is more than an honor, it’s my privilege.
I'm no stranger to the concept of privilege. It is part of the collective African-American ego, something that we all learn about as we grow up. But recently, the word has become a lighting rod, a flash of light illuminating the dark corners of American history. Being here in Thailand has given me an opportunity to step through the looking glass; to experience and to examine my own privileges.
And so, here are seven privileges I have in Thailand that I don’t have in the United States.
4. I’m financially stable here.
I live on a fixed income, a monthly amount that would just cover the rent alone for a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles. if I lived back there, I would need to continue to work just to make ends meet.
But here, my two bedroom house costs about $720 a month. Everything else is similarly inexpensive, so much so that I can live here without having to work. I can even afford high-quality health care and still have a bit of money left over at the end of the month. Thai people, though, I don’t know how some of them do it. When you have a very nice meal and you tip your server 50 Baht, the equivalent of $1.50, and you see the smile of gratitude on their face, you know that you aren’t in America anymore.
5. I’m old.
Let’s face it, America is not the place to be if you are an old person, especially if you have no children. For the large part, other people’s grandparents are ignored at best. At worst, they are considered to be not much more than a drag upon society. But, as it is in many other Asian countries, older people here are respected, cared for and included. Also, older people here are much more active, more alive than in the US. It is very common to see a woman in her eighties, driving a motorbike with her groceries in the front basket, coming home…from a full-days work.
6. I don’t have to worry about getting stopped by the police because of the way I look.
African-Americans grow up knowing that we have to be extra careful when dealing with the police and, even then, it’s easy for an incident to turn into a tragedy. And although I think that Thai police treat me with a certain amount of suspicion, it’s simply because I’m a foreigner, not because I’m Black. The only interaction I’ve had with them is when they setup checkpoints on the roads to see if you are wearing a helmet, have a license, the road tax on your motorbike is paid and, of course, to make sure that you are not under the influence. Police in Thailand don’t very much care what you look like. Just don’t fukk up.
7. I’m not White.
There are very few White people from America here. Most are from the UK, Europe, Austrailia and, here in Phuket, lots of Russians. Thais have a word for people like this: falang. To a Thai person, “falang” simply means someone who is not Thai; a foreigner. Some of the foreigners living here don’t like being called falang. I think it’s because, where they come from, they have a different name: normal. They aren’t used to being called something just because of the way they look, the irony of which is not lost on me.
I don’t know if there is a separate Thai word for Black people, although, once a Thai person told me that we are sometimes called something that translates in English as “chocolate man”, which I can totally get behind.
There aren’t many Black people here and when Thai people see me, they generally think that I’m from somewhere in Africa. Nigeria usually. When I go to a restaurant, they offer me the Halal menu, thinking that I must be Muslim.
But then, I say something in English and they are surprised. They say, “Where you from?” “I’m from America.” Now, I’m their best friend and they ask me if I know Obama. African-American is a good combo here.
So, yeah, Thailand. It’s so strange because, if I didn’t look at the internet, I would have no idea of what was going on in the States. Thai people don’t know who George Floyd was and the foreigners, unless they are American, don’t care. Because they don’t have to. That’s their privilege. I don’t what to take what I have found here for granted. I acknowledge my privilege here not just because it’s the right thing to do.
When acknowledge my privilege, it gives me another thing to be thankful for.
