Different Worlds

For my South African and New Zealand friends I now have a nice example of just how different the two countries really are.

From an article in the Concord Monitor:

The other day, a friend watched an upscale pizza restaurant get held up by men with AK-47s. It was a place not far from our house, on a posh little strip of outdoor cafés and boutiques.

At the bar across the street, my friend and the happy-hour crowd watched from the balcony as the pizzeria diners lay on the floor, hands behind their heads. Some minutes later, the robbers fled without injuring anyone.

The people at the bar started to laugh. And the people at the restaurant got up to finish their meals.

Well, of course, said a white South African woman I met at a dinner party. What else are you going to do? ... They're crazy here, I said to my husband as we drove home. Totally nuts.

If the robbery had occurred in New Zealand it would have been the lead news item on all of the local channels. The major newspapers across the land would splash huge headlines across their front pages. The meals would not be finished. The witnesses would all be shocked and traumatised for life. There would have been free counselling for all concerned. Questions would be raised in Parliament about how AK47's have made it into private hands. Huge manhunts would be started. Hotlines for tips would be set up. Call back radio would be in a furore about how life has changed for the worse.

The robbery probably never even made the news in South Africa.

On second thoughts, I am not too sure that the people from each country could walk in the other person's shoes. After all, wouldn't the New Zealand response be a little over the top?

4:27:43 PM