Racist and placist

As I overheard the news on the tv about how 2 bloggers were hauled to court and charged with ''sedition for posting racist comments online'', I was rather terrified. With the other bloggers rushing to review their own posts, I reminded myself to be never never tempted to put a joke about Ah Beng, Ali or Ah Singh, no matter how funny it is.

I did not have a chance to read their blogs, so I am really wondering what have they said? Were they really racists? In this part of the world, communities from different races are so well integrated that it is not weird to see a table of friends from different races enjoying a good laugh over a cup of 'teh tarik' and have share some of these 'racist' jokes.

True, racist jokes tend to be categorical, a sweeping statement just like the 'blond' jokes. The question is what is the 'intention' of the joke? Derogatory? Discriminative? Or just a way we 'simplify' things and register the information in our neural system?

Jokes are something that I can avoid, no problem. This is not a 'jokes' blog. But as a travel blogger, my concern is how do I describe the most important element: PEOPLE.

If you cannot provide honest description of your observation , in fact it is personal observation about people and places, where is the fun? My interest in the people that I meet. Therefore, to play safe, I better find out more about the rules.

So, what is racism? My Oxford online dictionary told me that
''racism'' :

noun 1 the belief that there are characteristics, abilities, or
qualities specific to each race. 2 discrimination against or
antagonism towards other races

How many are guilty about the first one? But the 2nd one?

I think I am guilty about the first one.

I think Thai massuers are the best! Thai girls are really petite and
pretty, intelligent and hardworking.And if I were a man, I will go for a
Thai girl. I also think many Thai men are remarkably gentle. However, if you need to get your service staff you get something fast for you, tell them about it. Else they will take their own pace.

So... am I guilty? Or is it ok to say this elsewhere but not in Thailand? Other than being racist, is there something called ''placist''?