Spent close to a year in TL in total on various trips and have visited all the seediest areas and haven't experienced any of this. Many foreigners act like complete cheapskate douchebags when they are there and get what they deserve most of the time. This article is complete exaggeration in my opinion. The Thais have a reason to hate foreigners because many act like pigs, trying to grind street vendors down to nothing when shopping. They say that the Thais try to gouge foreigners with pricing, when it's often the opposite with the foreigners the villains.
The Thais are pleasant people I've found that won't bother you unless provoked. I walked through the protest sites and never felt threatened, even at five in the morning with guys wearing bullet proof vests, however looking back that may not have been the wisest choice, but I was drunk.
