this country is going down the tubes

"there is no way to avoid 'racist undertones' here. the simple heavy truth is that washington is mainly a black city, and that most of the violent crime is therefore committed by blacks - not always against whites, but often enough to make the relatively wealthy white population very nervous about random social contacts with their fellow black citizens. after only ten days in this town i have noticed the fear syndrome clouding even my own mind: i find myself ignoring black hitchhikers, and every time i do it i wonder, 'why the f*ck did you do that?' and i tell myself, 'well, i'll pick up the next one i see.' and sometimes i do, but not always..." - hst

the fear syndrome or scare factor sure has gripped me in my time in south africa. i drive with my windows up and my doors locked. i make sure the electric gates are closed behind me when i enter or leave my folks property. i keep a suspicious eye on anyone of colour who happens to walk past me on the beach front. stories of rape and murder and ak-47's and savage animal-like brutality have put me on edge.

"it's terrible... the black's don't value life at all - they'll kill you for your cell phone", is one of the most common descriptions of the new south africa. "this dude, he pulled over at spaghetti junction to answer his phone - that's what the law says you should do - and they shot him... for his cell phone... can you believe it?"

there's no control. absolutely no control. the policing in this country is a joke. all they care about is speeding fines and parking violations. they only target us innocent folk. the folk that made this country what it is. we are easy targets. they turn a blind eye to break-ins, hijacking, rape, murder. it's disgusting.

and who's fault is it? it's the government's. they are useless, uneducated, thick, gorilla oafs. they have no idea. and they are corrupt. these people come in and think it easy to run a country. without the whites this country would be nothing - just like the rest of africa: no infrastructure. no eductation. disease. poverty. malnutrition. hyper-inflationary economies. civil war. bloodshed. even the black people say that they were better off under apartheid.

and it's nothing to do with us - the 'normal' people. we do what we can: we don't drink drive; we refuse to bribe corrupt government officials; we bitch and moan about the current conditions within our social circles on the telephone and at braais on the weekend; we highlight the problems with the world cup 2010 at every opportunity; we alert the international community to these horrors via our blogs; but nothing seems to slow the increasingly quickening downward spiral.

thank god for aids... it's the only way we will bring this country under control.

on the bright side - durban sure does have one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in the whole world ever.