And then they paid for my drink (continued)
I read with some surprise the reactions to the story 'and then they paid for my drink'. Because I'm missing something in those comments.
Thailand ranks high in the world rankings in the field of women's emancipation. I can even remember a year when Thailand was number 1. There is no glass ceiling in Thailand and there is a higher percentage of women working in higher management positions and boards of companies than in many Western countries, including the Netherlands.
Bangkok is the business center of the country and in particular many women live there who enjoy a high income and can take care of themselves and own their own house and car. A problem for these women is sometimes to find a man because they are too independent and/or do not want to accept the behavior of a Thai man. They prefer to remain single.
It is indeed normal for this kind of women to go out together for a weekend to a place like Pattaya, Phuket or Chiang Mai. And sometimes jumping out of the band a bit. After all, they just want to have fun from time to time. If I offer them something to drink, it is always a bottle of water, but can they also use alcohol? I do.
And then the other negative side of the Thai woman, which has been extensively discussed in the comments here. What a lamentation about untrustworthy prostitutes who manage to strip men of their money. They are simply good at their craft and many men are still falling for their arts.
I myself had a friend who, after a visit to Thailand and lost a lot of money, finally shot a bullet in his head after returning to the Netherlands. I had made a lot of effort in Thailand to convince him of his wrong behavior, which I failed to do. "These people love me, I've never been happier." He kept spouting that kind of nonsense as he moved around the country with 2 or 3 women at his side, from one bad place to another. Since then, I have never felt sorry for the losers who, despite warnings, continue to send money and other such nonsense to ladies of pleasure they know nothing about. They are just stupid and get what they ask for.
If you want to understand how the bar ladies make a living you can buy a great paperback at Asia Books: “Private Dancer” Again they are just good at their job and apparently too smart for many men from the west. I don't approve of their behavior, but the world is hard. Of course I also know my way around Bangkok and I have also been to Pattaya and Patong.
I go out with my wife in Bangkok almost every night, at least to eat in a good restaurant somewhere and often to drink a glass of wine or go to the cinema afterwards. I hardly ever walk anywhere on the street, go somewhere by Skytrain or taxi and then always end up indoors somewhere with air conditioning.
As a tourist you are and you walk outside a lot and that is a completely different world. I live in a world of luxury that does not exist in the Netherlands and that for an affordable price. While I live in the beginning of Sukhumvit I never see a prostitute, except when we have visitors from Holland and I have to take them to Nana and Soi Cowboy. When someone from Holland is cooing next to me like 'look, isn't he cute', then I always start about Private Dancer. She is not a sweetheart but a prostitute who is good at her job. By the way, it's a profession that was born out of necessity and they don't do it for fun or because they like you so much. They don't know you at all.
For many who write on the blog, their idea of Thailand is based on a snapshot. They have been there one or more times recently. I've been coming there for 35 years now and have seen a great development. The Thailand I first got to know no longer exists. Bangkok has become a completely different city and prostitution as it used to be fortunately no longer exists. Pattaya was still a village and nothing had been developed on Phuket. Patong had 1 hotels.
My in-laws in Chiangmai also had nothing. Now, 35 years later, they all have a good income, their own house and car, health insurance, in short, a good life that many Dutch people can envy. You now see the same in Bangkok in the shopping centers and the restaurants located there. Those restaurants are full almost every evening of the week, you often have to wait. 90% of the customers are Thai and more than half are always women who date each other. And the latter are really not prostitutes but normal people who are doing well.
My experience with the Dutch is that they do not want to sit in the air conditioning and want to stay outside as much as possible. The tourist spots outside, such as Sukhumvit, Patpong, etc., are not the best places to see normal Thai people in their own living environment. The wealthy Thai go to the Life Style Shopping Centers that offer a total package with air conditioning in terms of shopping, dining, coffee bars, cinema and more. Walking is for poor people, says a Thai, so on the street you mainly meet people who have to earn their money from tourists because they cannot afford it elsewhere.
I hope that after the many negative reactions I have been able to put some things in a more realistic perspective that will at least benefit the positive reader.
Written by Eric
Totally agree with you Eric. In my area here in Bkk, prostitution is just as rare as in Holland. Yes, you can look it up in the well-known neighborhoods, but outside of that you won't see anything besides a karaoke or drive-in hotel. The people all work in a respectable position and want to dress up as hi-so as possible. Walking or driving outside is not done, the worst thing that can happen to a Thai is tanning, that applies to everyone from high to low.
The day before yesterday, for example, I drove past a temple (with short sleeves/pants in the sun, I'm so low-so haha) and there was a traffic jam of at least 3-4 km with expensive cars waiting for them to find a new- could say a prayer for a year. 100 meters after the temple is a parking lot that was full but not even double-parked. They all want to go to the temple by car (show off) and really don't want to park/get out in the sun and walk 100 meters….by the way, there was hardly any sun so that makes it even more entertaining.
A car of say 6 years old is already something to be ashamed of in Bkk, as well as a telephone that does not have WiFi / GPS etc. The wealthier Thais would all like to go on holiday to Europe. They say that they want to go to Eastern Europe because of the older buildings, but they mean because it is more affordable there. They all prefer to go to Paris, but that is not for everyone in terms of finances. Of course they want to eat out there 3 times a day, visit a star hotel and all the museums and that is simply expensive. No matter how many times I have been asked to invite them and show them Europe, I could start a travel agency tomorrow.
Otherwise, see for yourself what is for sale in a large mall, it is really all sold on a day, otherwise there would be other products for sale. Bangkok is the center of Thailand, not comparable to an outer city or anything. Bangkok is so big that even the 40-60 year olds who grew up there still don't know the whole city. Thai are all big spenders, at the end of the month (when the salary is finished) there are much fewer traffic jams than after payday. Several single ladies live here in our residential area who own 1 or more villas. I already know 100 at 3 meters from me. Furthermore, the residential area is not yet half inhabited, they live in their other houses until the neighborhood is fully developed or see it as an investment. The single ladies often have pets such as dogs or cats.
In the residential areas, people generally also speak English, with one exception. The managers/sellers of the park don't speak a word of English, but I can even use English in the convenience store. As soon as I drive out of the gate, it stops right away.
Children all go to a "good" school, not the school around the corner but with a taxi bus far away. Parents proudly tell which school they have their kids at and would like the child to speak a word of English with the farang as proof.
The whole idea that Thailand is infested with prostitutes is as real as that in Holland everyone is junky. Thai women do like richer men, so that's where the love for the farang comes into play, but a good-looking younger farang can find out here, he / she really doesn't have to be rich for it. Having farang friends is also status for the Thai, just like talking about the fat Benz of, for example, your second cousin at parties.
I sometimes don't get it.
If, as a Thai in Thailand (Bangkok), you want to live, eat, go out, take your children to school nicely, dress yourself nicely, have WiFi and GPRS telephone, and also have to pay for a not too old car, maintain and driven, as indicated by you, then I think you should earn at least 50.000 Baht per month. (I'm not going to make it with 100.000, I'm afraid).
And if I compare that with those lists and statistics about incomes / salaries in Thailand, see for example
http://www.worldsalaries.org/thailand.shtml
then I can hardly help but come to the conclusion that half of the people in Bangkok must be at least a bank manager or captain.
Incomes 10% above and 90% below the table. The latter is not for everyone. My previous neighbor retired police commissioner Pension 9000 Baht per month.
Yet they have it really good and buy a new car every year.
My daughter-in-law has completed university studies and has a very good job (salary 10000Baht per month above the table) Many are jealous of her.
Colleagues of hers certainly can't afford to pay drinks for a farang(are single)
Thailand is a sunny country. This includes colored glasses. Wretches are dumb and get what they ask for, or shoot themselves in the head. Stupidity must obviously be punished. Smart people live in air-conditioned environments and buy themselves silly on luxury items and then drink a good glass of wine. The natural habitat of the Thai is a “lifestyle shopping center”. Prostitution hardly occurs in Thailand, except in a few neighborhoods and if the women prostitute themselves, they are professionals who know all the tricks of the trade. Furthermore, the Thais nowadays have their own house, a car, health insurance and a good income, and mass tourism here focuses mainly on Europe.
I have also been coming to Thailand for over 30 years, but I will look again on the globe if there are perhaps two countries with that name, because the country where I come has a different reality. By the way, you don't have to know it for 35 years. Looking at a few statistics is also enough.
I cannot agree with this line of reasoning. I do agree with the observation that there are actually two countries named Thailand. For this very reason, Thailand has groups of reds and yellows. I wish the government would do more to find a solution to this, but I do not want to discuss politics further.
Very good, Eric. That puts many articles about the “Thai Girls” in a different perspective. The derogatory has to come off. I am wintering in Udon Thani for the third time, where my girlfriend has her own house and car. She has now ordered a Toyota Camry for 1.7 million Baht….and I really don't pay for that (anymore).
See few prostitutes, but a lot of farang in the shopping malls, and they don't look very happy. Maybe writing about the great experiences with one or more bargirls makes life more pleasant, but it doesn't do much for me.
And that a farang is being milked out financially is only a plus for the ladies, you allow it or not. The necessary good reading has also been published in Thailandblog about this. You are apparently being pampered and your status rises, especially after making some substantial investments. She knows that everything is in her name, and we just think that we are investing in a common future. I was also pretty good at the beginning. Now it is in balance, ie my hibernation costs me nothing extra, ergo the investment still works out well.
And with a dentist, a doctor in a university hospital, a doctor of Biology and many teachers in the family, it was better not to talk so much about the poor ladies in Thailand. Oh yes, the ladies in question also live in Isaan, you know, the cradle of the bar girls in Pattaya and Phuket…
Keep on dreaming or have an eye for reality.
Greetings from Louwrens
1,7 million Baht for a car. With a depreciation of 10% per year and an interest of 5% per year, this costs about 21.250 Baht per month. Plus insurance, maintenance and fuel.
May I be so bold as to ask what your girlfriend's job is and what she does?
She trades in a Toyota Altis for 3,5K, and haggled another 1K off the new price. And, it goes against the grain, but she doesn't take depreciation into account, well. The interest is 3%, but since half is outstanding on average during the term, that actually means 6% interest.
She is a teacher, but also works in a national project to give more shape to education in English. I don't give her salary and additional income, but it is above average.
I think it's really nice for you all those good people in your in-laws.
But having an eye for reality is always that I am more poor around Udon Thani
families than richer ones and there are more than enough bars with their ladies.
Also outside in the countryside in Udon Thani there are karaoke bars everywhere with the ladies,
this has nothing to do with negativity for that at all.
And since almost no dog goes on holiday to Udon Thani, the conclusion can be drawn quickly where the farang living there got to know their love.
As far as the farmers are concerned, most of them only have one rice crop per year, so that doesn't help, because that also means little work and income in the countryside.
(and then something went wrong)
So she has already concluded that if she wants to get better financially with her and her family, this will not work in Udon Thani.
Why keep on dreaming??
For the tourist who wants to explore Thailand, Udon Thani is easy to reach by plane and it is certainly worth a few days to tour there by motorbike (from June), but this aside,
Many tourists come to Udon, also because it is a gateway to Laos (via Nong Khai). But also this aside.
In a city with almost 500.000 inhabitants, it is of course inconceivable that there would be no karaoke bars. But it only occupies a few venues in the center, absolutely nothing like Pattaya or Phuket.
The farmers you are talking about are indeed not well off. And the gap between rich and poor will only increase. Nevertheless, a fairly large group of residents have access to both a large house and 1 or more cars.
And where you get the wisdom from, that my girlfriend can't get better financially in Udon Thani, is a mystery to me. She has been living and working there for almost 20 years. I support her financially, but mainly by giving her mother a caretaker who can look after her day and night.
Hello Louwrens
And then something went wrong, I was typing and then the lot was suddenly sent and I didn't supplement it properly. It was about my girlfriend who found out that she can't get any further (financially) there.
By the way, udon thani barely has 250,000 inhabitants and you can't count those few occasions on one hand, but of course you can't compare it with pat. and Phuket. That does not matter and of course there are richer people in Udon.
I just notice that the majority of the population does not have it that wide there, especially outside Udon Thani.
OK. Just checked, but Udon Thani does have 500.000 inhabitants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udon_Thani
good reading bottom right on your mentioned website population 255.243 the dutch wikipedia talks about an even lower number as well as other websites about udon thani.
Perhaps you are right, I had considered the sentence below as the population of Mueang Udon Thani, but perhaps they mean all townspeople in the province:
The province of Udon Thani has a population of 1,467.200, the city alone 500.000.
In your piece you write that barmaids are smart. I'd rather call that sneaky.
In your world of luxury, ladies also come for pleasure. A cousin of my wife is learning English. The teaching material simply contains tips on where to show herself in order to come into contact with a falang.
the development you have experienced in 35 years also applies to the group of bar ladies. the places have expanded explosively, do not forget that this is the tip of the iceberg, the thai man does not go to patong to score a lady, this group is many times bigger.
Finally an opinion on this subject with which I completely agree.
I have written several times that especially the Thai ladies are doing well.
In my area there are several with a university education. and higher vocational education.
Most have well-paid jobs, and if married, both men and women work together
any children are cared for by family (often grandmother).
And my neighbor across the street is headmaster of a school and earns Bath 47.000 a month
Her husband also works and the two sons go to school.
Another woman on my street is a very senior civil servant and will also have a very good income. Her husband owns a woodworking factory/
Opposite lives a throat / nose etc specialist and his wife is a very good dentist.
And so on.
The inversities and colleges are full of students. Just like in the Netherlands, women are in the majority, and in proportion there are much more than the girls and women who go to Pattaya and other places.
Also there they often have normal jobs etc.
Gerrit
Gerrit
The head of a school earns 47.000 Baht a month and a professor 21.000?
http://www.worldsalaries.org/thailand.shtml
(Okay, figure from 2005, let it be 27.000 by now)
47.000 Baht per month is about 10 times the minimum wage in Thailand.
If you take the minimum wage in the Netherlands and you multiply that by 10, you will arrive at approximately Euro 14.500 per month. If every head of a school in the Netherlands would earn that, education would be completely unaffordable.
I just don't get it.
The figures of the worldsalaries website from 2005 are completely outdated after 7 years. In addition, the current government wants to increase the national minimum daily wage to 300 Baht in the short term. The starting salary for a graduate of what we call an HBO course will now be 15.000 Baht nationwide. Imagine the upward pressure on salaries in many professions just below that. I just hope that the economy can bear all this and that no foreign companies take off.
I also think that the comparison between Dutch and Thai conditions is always wrong. The Netherlands is the Netherlands and Thailand remains Thailand. You can't compare that like that.
Our daughter-in-law who earns 10000.//Bhtper month (uni opl)continues to earn 10000works for a private Jap.company.300.–Bht per day is nonsense, says i asked her yesterday)
Tip: use Google Chrome, you get a spell checker by default 😉
I believe I know what you mean John I will use them.
By "will" do you mean "will"?
And does "they're free" sometimes have to be "they're free"?
You can also walk quite close to 75. And still perfectly healthy. Been coming here since the Vietnam War. In the long run you think: Ah mai pen lai. But you're right: it must be readable.
But at my age I don't need spell check anymore.
A large part of my wife's family work in the flower (buddha) and have a daily salary of 250BATH per day. A few weeks ago, I had a cleaning crew of three women for cleaning up rental properties (really dirty!) and we gave 300BATH and food and drink. They want to come every day.
As for prostitution, I don't know udon, I live in Korat but if you come by I'll show you around and show you how thai prostitution works, if you don't know it you don't see it, it happens a bit hidden but very much a lot of.
I do, that has to do with status, I was allowed to hear with chattering ears that my girlfriend quietly lied about the level of her income to third parties, the same as not making a penny with the cars. but if you compare it with the Netherlands, the fleet is no less.
I do agree with the reaction that there are at least two worlds in Thailand, but what really pissed me off was Erik's closing sentence “I hope that after the many negative reactions I have been able to put things in a more realistic perspective ”. He describes a reality that applies to less than 10% of the population. His Thailand is only for the happy few, although I don't know if they are always more happy. Even a headmaster with Bht 47.000 per month belongs to the upper class, but still earns less than a benefit recipient in the Netherlands. I think that puts things in perspective.
I also agree with him that women work hard and can go far, but that there is no glass ceiling is not entirely correct. Women have to do more to achieve the same as a man and there is still discrimination in many jobs and even within families. However, this sometimes also works the other way around. Boys are then so spoiled, like little princes, that they ultimately do not have the mentality to achieve anything. Thailand certainly stands out positively compared to many surrounding countries when it comes to the position of women.
My reaction was to a story of ladies from Bangkok going out in Pattaya. My perspective was Bangkok and not Thailand as a whole. I think we pretty much agree. After Bangkok, Phuket is now the richest province in Thailand. According to the latest reports, Thailand's economy would be larger than that of the Netherlands by about 2050. With now 4x as many inhabitants as the Netherlands, they are not there yet, but the future looks quite rosy for the Thais who are being born now.
Erik, great response in follow-up to my story. I'm glad you explained it a bit further. For a number of readers here it is apparently hard to imagine that not every Thai woman is after money.
Another friend of mine (32 years old) lives and works in Bangkok as a doctor. She is from a good background and currently has a salary of 170.000 baht per month, which will of course increase based on experience. This lady is therefore perfectly capable of taking care of herself and can afford to go out regularly in the more expensive restaurants and clubs of Bangkok.
Thais also like to live beyond their means, so they have debts that they still have to pay off. In addition, showing off wealth has become a popular sport. They like to work 1.5 months to give the partner an iphone, gives status to both.
Furthermore, they eat very cheaply and do not drink for capitals such as farang. Money also comes in under the table and legacies etc. also count.
All in all, they're not bad at all. But I don't really understand that police officers, among others, belong to the high incomes. If they want to keep up under the table, it must come from somewhere, I think.
Without wanting to label Thai women as being from another planet, but as a lover of feminine beauty, I find it pleasing that most women always dress so correctly when they visit a shopping mall and the like in their free time.
They didn't just put on something easy from the wardrobe like a simple t-shirt, dilapidated jeans with worn sneakers, flip flops or even worse with those hideous croc clogs.
Almost all of them are dressed in a graceful dress or charming skirt with a matching blouse and footwear without excessively high heels.
The accessories have also been thought about, such as the handbag and jewelery without being flashy 'blingbling' and if they do have jeans then it is not dirty and worn out as if they have just worked in the garden.
On the other hand, they also dress a bit prudishly, I think again as an enthusiast and therefore say it with a big wink because a low cleavage is not so likely to be found in public areas in Thailand where other norms and values apply than in the private sphere.
The second photo is therefore, in my humble opinion, not quite right, but it is a beautiful one.
Besides, I believe that there is even a law in Thailand that it is officially forbidden for women to go out without a bra, how that law is then applied and supervised by the authorities is a mystery to me, but seems to me more food for comedians .
I got the impression that the second photo is one with katoeys, because the ladies have some masculine traits (face and upper arms) but that could be just me. :p
Furthermore, I agree with the submitted article and your comments (but I know nothing about a BH Act 555).
Checking whether or not the ladies wear a bra seems like a nice job to me, but the Thai ladies love their lingerie, because that's what it looks like with those push ups ha ha ..
I googled it and checked with my Thai girlfriend and her friends who giggled to hear, that bizarre law does exist.
It turns out that it is forbidden for anyone to go out on the street without underwear, so according to the letter of the law, the bra is also part of that.
No one could give me an answer on how to check things. For example, every country has a bizarre law that is impossible to enforce.
Hans, in one reaction you say, no dog is coming to Udon Thani yet and in the other reaction you say it is worth going there. I've been coming there for 10 years and for me it's definitely worth it.
I made that comment extra to point out to the average tourist that Udon Thani and the natural beauty around it is definitely worth a visit. Especially when the dry season is over and the rice fields are planted again and everything is green.
I did indeed write that few tourists come there and that is true, this is of course partly due to the travel organizations with their standard way. From bangkok with the night train to changmai/rai north and then back to eg . phuket.
I have almost never seen a travel brochure with the slogan visit the Isaan , hence
John, you're right about that, but it only goes so unnoticed if you get carried away too much.
It is striking that in these parts Bangkok = Thailand. Look further into the country, than just the places where (the vast majority of) the farang settle. Then you see a country where people are happy with daily food for the family. Where the children are not given the opportunity to learn because there is no money.
I think these pieces give a very black and white picture of Thailand, while it only concerns a very small part of the population there.
Indeed, in my opinion very well formulated. Bangkok is only a very small part of Thailand in the end, and is certainly not a measure of value for the rest of the country, here in Isaan we always say Bangkok is very, very far away. The vast majority of the population everywhere in Thailand is therefore working 7 out of 7 and 10 to 12 hours to eat only today and to pay the fixed costs this month. In my opinion, Thailand is currently only a good country for the small group of wealthier Thais and farangs, believe me, the vast majority of the Thai population has it much harder than most here, but also dare to suspect. What you see is not always what you really see, and Thais will always want to pretend to be better than they really are so as not to lose their face. Thais live above their means, they are boasters and vain from rich to poor. After living in this fantastic country for 3 years, some masks have already fallen off and somewhere in between Thai life is something different than just coming on holiday every now and then.
I don't really want to call that living beyond their means Thai. Here in “the western world” status is just as important. Status that one tries to acquire by buying nonsensical luxury items, for the sole purpose of something bigger, something more expensive and something newer than what the neighbors, family and friends have. If there is no money, they will take out a loan for it. Is therefore a worldwide problem (and major cause of the current crisis).
Developing countries normally have the largest income gap. The writing introduces the reader to this gap. This is because the previous story was questioned. Because the richer are also normal people, they also want to have their fun normally. Involving others is a normal thing and is also possible because there is enough money.
Do you know which country has the most millionaires per . x .. inhabitants live? That is not America, but India, a developing country with a large group of very poor people.
The percentage of women in senior management positions in Thailand is the highest in the world at 45 percent. It is more than twice the world average. Source: Grant Thornton International Business Report.
On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of Bangkok Post, the newspaper published a special supplement entitled 65 Women of influence in contemporary Thailand.
A response to some comments.
In Thailand, many women do work in high/management positions. Those who claim otherwise here should take a good look around, for example, at all kinds of government agencies. Pay close attention to the epilettes on the shoulder; there are plenty of them walking around with “several stripes and stars”.
The remark that women are oppressed or discriminated against is completely nonsense, in fact, in Thailand the woman - certainly at home - wears the pants. There are of course always exceptions. The Thai man is quite macho and want to show this in the workplace, perhaps out of frustration. However, serious complaints about this can end badly for these gentlemen.
A well-educated senior civil servant in middle management earns between 25 to 40k baht per month; in higher management this can be from 40 to 100k + p/month. Place, position and especially connections are all decisive here.
Civil servants can borrow money more easily. Almost every sector has its own (state) bank. For example, there is the TMB (Thai Military Bank) and there is a bank for government employees (name forgotten). These banks apply different rules than commercial banks and can be seen as a kind of secondary employment condition. Buying a toyota Camry of 1,7 million will therefore not be a problem for a middle management official or higher.
Pensions are paid out in various ways here. Options are: a lifelong periodic payment through a kind of annuity with the banks mentioned, for a lump sum (a lump sum payment) or a combination thereof. The latter is most common; often to give the children an advance on the inheritance.
Harrold and Erik's piece finally puts the Thai ladies in a different light, chappeau! All too often the Thai ladies are portrayed by the so-called Thailand connoisseurs, who have often never got further than the well-known walking streets in the notorious places, as stupid, poor, unscrupulous prostitutes, by definition from the Isaan, who have only foreseen it on the money bag of the poor westerner, who himself traveled to Thailand without any ulterior motives and only wants the best for the "poor" Thai ladies. Must be frustrating for these gentlemen to hear that there are also many more ladies who are not waiting for a free drink and 500 baht for a night of pleasure for these gentlemen.
I would also like to add that there are also women of humble origins who have not studied but who have definitely chosen not to work in a bar but in a factory for a meager salary and then pay the vast majority of it every month. to give to their family.
Women who don't want to think about hanging around a bar in skimpy clothing for a few drinks and then going to a hotel room with a 'handsome man' to earn their money.
Then rather a daily rhythm of working, eating, watching a bit of TV and sleeping in a small room somewhere in Bangkok. Sundays are often free, which if possible is spent as a diversion with colleagues by visiting a cinema or purchasing some necessary items in the nearest BigC. Mind you, on that free Sunday, the work clothes must also be washed by hand.
Take a look at those gritty factory areas in SamutPrakan bordering Bangkok, the sweetest and beautiful women can be found there who work 8 to 12 hours a day, eagerly awaiting the upcoming Songkran to celebrate with relatives in their hometown.
Coincidentally yesterday I had a conversation with a senior official at TMB, was a woman.
Her right hand is a woman.
The other bank you mean is the GSB (Government Savings Bank) for the Thai: Tanakan Omtin.
A piece with the editor's vision. That's allowed.
However, I get the firm impression that the editor has little empathy.
There are so many more people on this earth with a different upbringing, a different vision of life, and a different attitude to life. These differences are already clearly visible in a small country like NL.
How often do we talk about a rookie? (and I don't mean contacts with women). Everything that you have not done, and in which you have no example, you must learn.
If I continue as a businessman tomorrow, I will be down many times, for the above reasons. So am I suddenly stupid, or an asshole?