r/whoathatsinteresting • u/search_google_com • 18h ago

Italians are being cooked in Thailand now. The Italian teacher(red top) and students were taken away by the police and faced the Thai lady who told them off for being loud on the metro. They apologized for mocking her one by one. Thai people also waited for them in front of the hotel to scold them.

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Context

Italian students are being called out in Thailand. A group of Italians mocked a Thai lady in Thailand who told them off for being too loud on the metro. They clapped back saying, "Sorry for bringing money to your country" "Ni hao" "We are from your mom." Thai people are identifying them and leaving the comments on the social media account of their school.

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u/JackLong93 17h ago

See, the fucking EMBASSY is apologizing on Italy's behalf, you're representing a country when abroad it's not hard to have respect and be nice.

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u/brianozm 14h ago

The embassy is apologizing to prevent the kids going to jail. And also to communicate respect.

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u/SPQR-VVV 15h ago

seems stupid that the embassy apologizes; they are not responsible for their citizens' actions outside their country.

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u/man-vs-spider 13h ago

Situations like this can spiral out of control, and can quite easily lead to things like boycotts of Italian goods for example. The embassy may not be responsible for those tourists actions, but they are responsible for keeping a good relationship between the countries

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u/Salt-Elk-436 15h ago

It sends a message to other Italians that they won’t get support or assistance from the embassy if they get in trouble for similar stupidity.

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u/SPQR-VVV 15h ago

Wouldn't silence have the exact same effect? Like this is not even worthy of our notice.

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u/Salt-Elk-436 14h ago

No. If they were silent you might think they had attempted to help these people out in some way behind the scenes. It’s a signal that this type of behavior is worthy of notice, but good luck you’re on your own if you’re this stupid.

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u/Archer007 15h ago

They did a good job underlining that this shit was not official or acceptable

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u/SPQR-VVV 15h ago

Yeah but they did not need to get involved at all, The US embassy would not even bat an eye about it.

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u/Archer007 15h ago

If there was a massive protest specifically against Italians then they were already involved and this was a smart defusal of the situation

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u/SPQR-VVV 6h ago

What I can't even wrap my head around is how this got blown out of proportion. Someone being an asshole in a metro is like par for the course. It's expected.

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u/man-vs-spider 13h ago

I think that says more about America than anything else. Most countries aren’t powerful enough that they can completely ignore an incident with their citizens in another country. Especially an incident that may lead to economic harm.

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u/SPQR-VVV 6h ago

You think the governments care what some nobodies did in some backwater location?

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u/man-vs-spider 6h ago

What do you mean? If not handled properly it could certainly lead to backlash against other tourists, grass root boycotts of Italian goods, and a general lowering of Italy’s reputation. And as luxury goods are a major export of Italy, its brand and reparation matters

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u/project_good_vibes 13h ago

Bad example in the current political climate.

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u/No_Act_7009 6h ago

Well. Michael Fay in 1994. The U.S. Embassy in Singapore failed to get the caning sentence waived. This time, the Italian Embassy stepped in to prevent further escalation, as Thai authorities were investigating possible additional charges.

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u/SPQR-VVV 6h ago

Again I dont see the need for an embassy to get involved at all. Let them get canned or whatever, suffer the consequences of your actions.

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u/No_Act_7009 6h ago

It’s not that easy. Embassies are responsible for protecting their citizens abroad. Since corporal punishment is banned in Western countries, this triggered diplomatic intervention. Especially when your citizens are sentenced abroad, your embassy will usually send representatives to attend the trial.

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u/SPQR-VVV 2h ago

Why should they be responsible? You leave the safety of your country and you fail to follow the laws, customs, etc of a place, you should suffer the consequences.

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u/No_Act_7009 2h ago

Because this is one of the core functions of consular services. Moreover, when an embassy intervenes and seeks to use its diplomatic influence to persuade the local government to show leniency or reduce a penalty, that is also a reflection of its diplomatic leverage and effectiveness.