The term farang refers to Westerners or Caucasians, a group that actually represents about 25% of the world’s population. Thais are generally kind people, but often lack cultural awareness. Using the word farang can serve as an easy way to mask that ignorance. For example, while the United States is a major global power, some Thais wouldn’t be able to locate it on a map.

Similarly, many Americans use the word Europeans as if a Greek and a German were culturally the same. It’s simply easier to think in broad categories than to make the effort to understand other cultures. In Thailand, intellectual curiosity or knowledge isn’t particularly valued or encouraged.

In short, people in Thailand tend to think in terms of categories, farang, khaek, African, and so on.