Reductio ad Absurdum...

“The truth is a terrible thing, but not compared to falsehood.”
Jordan Peterson

Back in my favourite C Store this morning and enjoying temperatures in the mid 20s C. I would normally say that I was also enjoying the coffee, but this particular cup tastes a tad sour for some strange reason, a fact pointed out by several other customers. The lass behind the counter seems a little perplexed, she has the lid off of the coffee machine and is looking into it....
It’s been an intersting week or so. I have, via a VPN, had access to several sites that would normally be difficult to get here in China. During various discussions of late a certain problem has arisen again and again. In these debates, I have found myself somewhat surprised at being accused of being ‘right wing’ by those who identify with the left, particular the UK’s Labour Party, but also called ‘left wing’ by those who identify with the right, again in the UK those who would consider themselves Convservatives Party voters.
The issues were, in turn: transgenderism, austerity, people attempting to ‘work the system’ on council estates and trickle down economics. Apparently, at least according to those who responded to me, I am either a left wing loony or a right wing pig, at one and the same time it seems (to myself, I seem like a relatively gentle soul with an interest in the social movements of his times).
Firtsly, let me deal with each of these issues, albeit rather simplisticly as none of them are the point that I actually intend to address. I hope my readers will forgive my bluntness here. Countless books and articles have been written on each and it is not my intention to actually debate them today.
Transgenderism - doesn’t actually exist. No male with XY chromozones has ever transitioned into a female and, indeed, can ever actually do so. The same can be said of XX females ‘identifying’ as men. This is simply because it is impossible for one sex to ‘transition’ into the other. Attempting to maintain anything else is, how can I put it, absurd given the biological evidence.

Austerity - has been a failure everywhere it has been tried. It constricts economies and ensures that money is not allowed to flow through the system. It is almost a guaranteed way to bring on a recession. The UK government’s version hasn’t worked in Britain. The EU’s version hasn’t worked in Spain, Portugal, Italy or Greece.

Council Estates - I lived on one for twenty years and my experience mirrors most other people’s. Whilst the vast majority of people were perfectly decent members of society, there was also a sizeable chunk who were anything but, doing anything and everything they could to ‘game’ the system. Denial doesn’t make such reprobates disappear.

Trickle Down Economics - this sacred cow of the right has been a failure everywhere it has been attempted. The notion is that of stacked champagne glasses; when you fill the top glass the overflow trickles down into the other glasses below it. That’s the theory anyway. In practice, as the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby noted, all that tends to actually happen is that the top glass grows bigger until it crushes all the glasses below it.

These issues are just examples of an underlying problem. that problem being the identification of oneself with a political party or movement, or even with seeing oneself as left wing or right. When this happens it seems that many people seem to feel the need to align themselves with all the postions taken on that side of the debate no matter how absurd or obviously flawed they are. Within themselves, many Tories must know that trickle down economics has been a profound failure and is a deeply flawed model but feel the need to defend it because their particular ‘tribe’ hold that position.
It is hard to believe that any sane person who understands that cells have either XX or XY chromozones can serioiusly pretend that transgenderism actually exists...but they do. Or, perhaps to be more precise, they say that they do. It is hard to beleive that in their heart of hearts, as the saying goes, they do not recognise the simple reality that such a notion is physically impossible.

Perhaps what is needed is for sane and rational people, and even politicians, to move away from the identification with left and right, with Tory or Socialist, and start to look at what is sane, what is rational, what is responsible; in short, what actually works.
Here in China they suffered many years under the sad delusion that they were building a utopian communist society. It was a disaster from start to finish, with literally millions dying in these ill fated efforts. Fortunately, in the early eighties, they were lucky enough to have one Deng Xiao Ping at the helm. As he himself said: “It doesn’t matter if the cat is white or black, so long as it catches mice!” He moved the country away from flawed ideologies and towards pragmatism (although one doubts if the Communist Party of China would actually agree out loud). Now China essentially has no political philosophy, left or right, but simply does what it perceives to work. Once the ideological nonsense was dropped, the resultant miracle here over the last thirty odd years has been truly stunning to witness.

So, in summary, my point is that perhaps we all need to mature beyond aligned party politics to a place where people are able to express blatant realities rather than feel pressured to keep up positions that, in reality, are untenable or even absurd. If it is not oxymoronic to say so, politics needs to become apoltical. Perhaps even, as political entities, we all need to grow up a bit?
Back in C Store, the very charming lass behind the counter has thoughtfully refilled my coffee cup with a freshly brewed concoction. It tastes a lot better than the last. We exchange friendly greetings through translation apps and go on to exchange views on the chaos taking place outside. Parking is a problem in Dongguan, too may cars and too few places, and it can be quite fascinating to simply gaze out of the window here and witness the ongoing disputes that seem to flare up every ten minutes or so. As ever, it is all very entertaining, but as with the issues outlined above, one can’t help but think that sometimes this is a very, very....mad World!

Too many letters...

"Truth is ever to to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things."

Isaac Newton

After having wondered a couple of miles upstream towards the Bridge over the River Kwai (as made famouse in the David Lean film of the same name), today I find myself enjoying the cool and pleasant environs of Miss Coffee, an establishment that according to the owner has been open only for a grand total of four days. Oft times, I take a pic of the coffee shops I frequent and use them as a heading. This time the roles have been reversed. Being one of her early customers, the charming lass who runs the place took a pic of yours truly for inclusion on her website. There is something of a fondness in many Eastern cultures of making an art form of the practice of enjoying liquid libations. Such pleasant distractions seem enough to stir the loins of many a bon viveur of the oriental variety. Much time and energy is devoted to lifting the experience out of the mundane and into the extraordinary. This attitude goes back a long way. Such ancient cultures as Japan and China spent much time perfecting the art of enjoying a beverage with many writers devoting whole volumes to the preparation, presentation and consumption of such refreshments.
The past few days here have seen both an increase in, and a change in the type of heat. The local weather is now soggily sticky and stifling, which tends to suck the energy from the body unless one is extremely careful to expend one’s physical resources economically. What this does mean though, is a great excuse to spend even more time in air-conditioned cafes indulging in online flaneurial activities. Observing the World and the changes its societies and cultures are going through is the very essence of the role of a flaneur. Hopefully at least, one can apply a relatively detached and objective attitude, indeed, this is the very essence of flaneurism (hmm...I think I just invented another ‘ism’, just what the World needs right now...).
One of the changes that has, for the most part at least, been a relatively positive development in recent years has been the general acceptance, at least in most of the first World, of people’s various tastes in sexual expression. The LGB (Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual) movement was much needed to address a long standing intolerance, usually based on scripture from outdated religious movements, regarding people’s sexual preferences. The reasoning seemed to be that if some wandering semitic tribe or other didn’t approve of such things a few millenia back then we should endeavour to reinforce such antedeluvian prejudices for the rest of time. Many lives were seriously affected by such attitudes, especially when they were transcribed into law. Perhaps the most influential man of the 20th century, Alan Turing (the mathematician and codebroker whose seminal work lead to the development of computers, smart phones and all the other digital paraphenalia that affects each of our lives so fundamentally today), preferred men as sexual partners . For having this relatively common trait he was offered, by the British justice system of the time, the choice of prison time or chemical castration. He chose the latter, but it seems that the changes his body went through and the concurrent depression lead to his taking his own life.

The LGB community made a valid point and their contribution to the debate led to great changes to the legal standing of such folk throughout America, Europe and the Antipodes. Unfortunately, those demanding inclusivity then started to add ever more letters to original, perfectly clear, three. It has been interesting to watch this process which seems to have gone from the short and pithy original to the frankly absurd current state of affairs. To give a couple of examples, one version now reads LGBTQIAGNC, which apparently stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual and gender-non-conforming. Another, even catchier version gives us LGBTIQCAPGNGFNBA. In case you haven’t guessed already, this stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, curious, asexual, pansexual, gender-non-conforming, gender-fluid, non-binary, and androgynous... obviously.
(At times, it seems to me that to make sense of such acronyms one would need the memory of an elephant and the code breaking skills of Alan Turing himself!)
Where did it all go wrong? I would suggest that occurred from the moment the letter T was appended to the the LGB. Many of those within the community understand that this was a decidedly odd step to take. Up to that point the issue being addressed was that of sexual preferences. With the addition of the T though, a medical condition (body dysmorphia - or the belief that your body is other than it is) was included as if it is somehow part of the continuum.

In all but a tiny number of cases, all human beings have either XY or XX chromosomes. These are to be found in every cell of one’s body and define, at the most basic biological level, whether one is male or female. It is not a choice. It is not something that you can change on a daily basis. It is not a matter of societal roles, or some other such nonsense. It simply is. In the case of the male for example, no amount of estrogen or genital mutilation will change the basic fact that he is still a male. No matter what chemicals he takes, no matter what he chooses to wear, or what his stated preference - to use the pithy vernacular of my youth - a bloke in a dress is still a bloke in a dress.
For some reason, pointing out this all too obvious truth outrages some people, particularly those who have been exposed to the completely bogus academic field of ‘gender studies’. Groups representing these poor souls (Transgender people have a suicide rate at around 40% - an horrifically high number that has changed not a whit despite our more ‘enlightened’ times) have successfully pushed through legislation in several states in America and nationwide in Canada that forces people to use ‘preferred pronouns’. What this basically means is that a person can now be prosecuted for calling a man a man. These folk often accuse people who point out the absurdity of this situation of being ‘transphobic’. I would counter that those who insist on such spurious notions are, in point of fact, realityphobic.
By nature, and by practice, I am a libertarian. My belief is that as long as the activity doesn’t impinge on the choices of others, then people should be free to behave however they like. If a man wants to wear a dress, stockings and high heels it is of no concern to me. He can even pretend that he is a female in his own mind, that is again essentially his own affair. Where I would draw a line however, is in the insistence that I recognise his pretense as if it were reality. I may choose to use his preferred pronoun out of good manners, or even respect, but that is my choice, not his. To pass laws that tell me that I must say something that is quite contrary to the reality I perceive seems a very strange route for the legal system to go down.
A couple of hours have passed in these musings, and with it the worst of the days humidity. It is now time once more to sally forth in the direction of the slowly setting sun. It seems I am likely to leave this part of the World in the next few days, Northward bound for Guangzhou in China. That part of the World has its own charms (along with its own annoyances!), but I will miss the town of Kanchanaburi and several of the people I have got to know better whilst I have been here. Tis an oddly enigmatic little place, the whole town only having a population of around 30,000. The part I frequent is probably only a mere couple of thousand but...it has a an enigmatic quality of its own that somehow draws me back again and again. With some reservations, I really quite enjoy Thailand, but Kanchanaburi I actually love. Not completely sure why, but probably something to do with the unpretentious but charming nature of the place and the variety of characters that it draws to its generous bosom. Many, like me, come back year after year.
Long may it continue.

Sex, Love and Dodgy Food in Thailand...

I start this week blog from the cool confines of the Jolly Frog, a backpacker's hostelry with a rather pleasant garden overlooking the fast-flowing River Kwai. The garden itself is probably the best part of the entire establishment. It is always quiet, peaceful and encourages one to sit and read, or merely to ponder, amongst the palm and tamarind trees. There are even a pair of very copious hammocks, made from knotted webbing, slung between the palm trees, generously supplied for those who enjoy the delights of swinging rhythmically back and forth whilst they choose to contemplate the meaning of life or the content of their navel. The restaurant itself, where I am actually tapping happily away at my netbook, is somewhat less salubrious. In fact, the expression 'cheap and cheerful' could have been coined especially for it.

I have a fondness for the slightly down-market, down-at-heel, ambience of the place though, often enjoying a pause in the writing to look around at the eclectic collection of characters that this place attracts. By now (mid-morning), most of the clientèle have escaped the comfy confines of their beds and wandered, bleary eyed, into the restaurant to indulge in an incredibly wide range of food from egg and chips to pad sai-ee, from frankfurters to chicken chow mein. The menu is thick indeed, thick enough to cater for a very wide range of international tastes and, in a truly democratic manner, all the dishes are prepared to a similarly low standard. They can ruin almost anything here...

There are numerous gentlemen sitting around the tables, often of more advanced years, accompanied by much younger Thai females. Sometimes, these arrangements are temporary, but more often there is an ongoing relationship. They meet up with the lass in question whenever they come back to Thailand. In many cases, they may even subsidize the woman whilst they are away. The Thai woman for her part, will be faithful enough to the man in question whilst he is with her, but there may well be others when he returns to his part of the world. It is a very pragmatic attitude that such females have and, in general, it serves them well. The gents in question often know this is the case and usually don't mind too much. Some of the more naïve ones, as is ever the case in these matters, believe they have found the 'love of their lives' and act accordingly. Fortunately, this is not often the case, but it is always a little sad to see when it is.

Some of my friends have asked me for my thoughts on the exploitation that goes on in Thailand. In their minds they often have the notion that the Thai girls are exploited by the visiting Europeans (or Australians, Americans, etc.). From my perspective the reality is, as ever in life, a lot more nuanced, and it is often difficult to tell exactly who is exploiting who. For the most part, these situations seem to be largely symbiotic, with both parties taking what they need from the situation. If both are reasonably happy with the arrangement that ensues, then I would be the last to criticise or to judge.

Judging in such matters is always an easy option, but almost invariably a lazy one as well. Often it involves a certain amount cultural prejudice and just a tad of parochialism. It is strange how easily many folk, often even those who profess to have the most liberal of views in other matters, feel free to rant and rave about the perceived misdoings of middle-aged or elderly white males. It seems to be forever open season on such easy targets.

Beyond these more impermanent relationships, there are many who settle down with Thai wives and even raise families here. The arrangement, as with much in Thai life, often has a certain 'business-like' quality to it. There is an understanding, a mutual exchange between the persons involved, each getting what it is they want or need from the situation. There are some 'gold diggers' amongst the Thai women to be sure, but, to be fair once again, for the most part they keep to their side of the bargain and look after their husbands through thick and thin.

For my part, I have a certain admiration for the ex-pats that gather here. They are the select few who actually have had the courage to step out of the mode, to escape the rut, to break free of the often deeply hypocritical societal norms that those who criticize them purport to follow. Reality is that often those who sit on their immobile posteriors and make their observations from a great distance are simply lacking the courage themselves to step out of the rut that their 'normal' lives place them in and take the plunge, with all its concomitant risks.

It is certainly true that there are many drunkards, many reprobates, many ne'er-do-wells, amongst the ex-pat community. Some can be quite depressing at times. There are few things worse than being trapped at a bar with one such, often necessity finishing one's libation and an early exit . On the other hand, there are also many interesting, even at times fascinating, courageous and multi-faceted characters here as well. The conversations range from the pathetic to the profound, from Wayne Rooney's recent form to Buddhism's influence on Christianity, from the attractions of women with hair beneath their armpits to the literary contributions of Ernest Hemingway and Henry Miller , from the efficacy of a Thai massage to the role of linguistics in modern political discourse . In short, it is much like one would find in many a café, bar or pub back in Europe except that here the intensity and the immediacy is far greater.

Kanchanaburi itself is relatively restrained as far as the sex trade goes. There are a few bars at the end of the tourist strip, mostly rather sad at the moment and lacking in customers. Several of these are ladyboy joints apparently, with those working there often sitting outside the bar nattering amongst themselves, probably bemoaning the parlous state of business this year. (I am still rubbish at telling the difference, protruding adam's apples or not. Fortunately, because I tend to avoid the whole milieu, this is not a problem for me). In this particular town, there is still a client base for such things, oddly it is probably larger than that for the more 'normal' arrangements, which are somewhat less adequately catered for here in this part of Kanchanaburi.

A good friend of mine from back in Europe often informs me of how amazing he finds such 'women'. It always strikes a discordant note with me as, at the same time, he frequently expresses a horror of homosexuality. I have, amongst several of his friends, tried to point out the inconsistency of his position but, in his world at least, as long as the person in question is in possession of most of the female attributes, then the odd 'modification' is not a problem for him. Who am I to judge? If we are honest, each and every one of us has our own peccadilloes, our own preferences. It is strange how many people seem to free feel to criticise others whilst at the same time insisting that their own quirks are relatively 'normal'.

For my part, the so-called 'temptations' of Thai night-life hold little temptation at all. This is not due to the holding of any particularly moral position on these matters, but simply the perception that such an encounter holds no fascination for me. If others experience such things differently, and choose to indulge, then it is fine by me. A little less judging and a lot more tolerance would go a long way in this world. Many of those who are so quick to judge others for following their preferences often seem to be of a more onanistic disposition themselves, preferring their pleasures sans risk, and are simply expressing their own fears or envy.

Back in the jolly old Jolly Frog, most of the breakfasters have now dispersed and we are left with the usual absurd ratio of multiple members of staff to very few guests. One wonders how this place can possibly make any profit at all, but it is one of the longest surviving establishments in Kanchanaburi. Indeed, it is often said that this place started the whole backpacking tradition in this town. For all its limitations, it has its own charm in a 'spit and sawdust' kind of way. It's basic, very basic, but still a very comfortable place to be.

Much the same could be said of Thailand ...

PS. A short addendum to this blog: A couple of weeks after this was written I met an Irish bar owner in Bangkok who told me the story of an English friend of his. The man had decided to settle in Thailand's capital with a younger Thai wife. They bought a house together which, according to the bar owner, was beautifully appointed and very tastefully decorated. When I say 'they', I mean that the English guy put up the money whilst the house was registered in his wife's name, as is the law out here. After a couple of years, the man in question had to return home due to the ill health of a parent. On returning, two weeks later, he knocked on the door to his own house only to be answered by a complete stranger who told him that he was now the owner of the property. Of the Englishman's wife there was no sign and no forwarding address.

A few weeks later, and by sheer coincidence, the Englishman strolled on to a beach in Hua Hin only to come across his wife sunbathing with drink in hand. To his credit, he kept his cool, but did ask her what had happened. She openly admitted that she had sold the place and bough a new one in Udon Thani. She was completely matter-of-fact about this, seeming not even to conceive of her behaviour as in any way reprehensible.

Needless to say, the Englishman attempted to seek recompense through Thai law. Equally needless to say, he got none. Essentially, the law is set up in such a way as to give the 'farang' little or no chance in such circumstances.

Would be suitors beware...