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Hi from Europe!
I wish the concerns about the streets becoming moral battlefields expressed in my previous newsletter were just paranoia. But after I clicked “send”, wishing you a non-violent weekend ahead, darkness prevailed.
Berlin, where ten years ago a rejected asylum seeker from Tunisia rammed a truck into a Christmas market, killing 13, now experienced another attack by an Islamic State admirer during the Berlin Pride. Abdul Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots, drove a van into a crowd, taking one woman’s life and injuring 29 others.
With extremist terror threatening the European “way of life”, scenes of thousands of Moroccans illegally crossing into Spain, risking life to find a better one, reinforce the fears of cultural clashes.
Can people learn and adopt the rules defending different values once they cross a border?
Not necessarily. What happens when Europeans go to Asia, for instance?
Last week’s incident on a Bangkok train, when a group of loud Italian students harassed a local commuter who only asked them to lower their voices, ended up with fines, apologies, and even police protection.
A viral incident aboard Bangkok’s BTS Skytrain has reignited concerns about racial superiority and disrespect toward Asians by some Western tourists.
According to the passenger who recorded the incident, a large group of Italian students boarded the train near Sala Daeng Station…
— Mars Thanat (@marsthanat) July 24, 2026
Between insulting gestures and condescending sneers, one especially entitled statement could be heard during the altercation: “Sorry for bringing money to your country.”
If that rings a bell, it’s because, just a year ago, an Israeli tourist brat refusing to remove her shoes at a restaurant in Thailand caused a similar public outrage when she said: “I’m sorry, but my money built your country.”
🇹🇭🇮🇱 An Israeli tourist in Thailand refused to remove her shoes at a restaurant, prompting the owner to respond, “You are not welcome here!”
She fires back with “my money built your country!” pic.twitter.com/nK2p4mZTJl
— HOT SPOT (@HotSpotHotSpot) May 5, 2025
The semantic structure is practically the same: starting with a fake apologetic intro (sorry, but not sorry), and then expressing a racial/ethnic supremacy with a suggestion that a doubtfully thicker wallet makes you privileged.
The Tourism Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul had to inform visitors to Thailand that their bank account doesn’t make them special: “The money tourists spend may buy goods and services, but it certainly cannot buy privileges over Thai citizens.”
He was not the only minister who had to remind people of their whereabouts last week.
During a crackdown on unauthorized foreign businesses, a man in the inspected Chabad House in Phuket said: “Don’t you know this is Israeli territory?”
Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwannachet, leading the operation, had to reject the idea that this Jewish community house would somehow be exempt from legal scrutiny: “This is Thailand. Everyone on Thai soil must comply with Thai law. No one has the right to claim sovereignty over Thailand.”
In a push for “quality tourism”, Bali also cracks down on foreign businesses operating without proper permits. The recent one to fall is Entourage Bali, a silent-disco run club, which came under scrutiny after accusations of accepting Westerners while refusing the applications of Indonesians. Two Dutch organizers have now been blacklisted from reentering the country.
The same way we expect others to follow our customs and rules within our country, once we cross its borders, we should respect locals and their regulations, no matter how different they are.
That means lowering your voice when someone kindly asks you to do that on public transport, taking your shoes off at a temple or a restaurant where everyone does the same, or obtaining all the permits needed to run a business in a foreign territory.
That also means not to pack a loaded magazine with bullets for your honeymoon – looking at you, IDF holidaymaker. And no, it cannot happen to anyone.
Have a respectful weekend,
Ivan Kralj
Pipeaway.com
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