scottdisco
rip this joint please
But what's the conclusion that follows from the high crime stats being relevant? Some non-South African people who have chosen to visit for a sporting event are going to be in the same kind of danger (well, apart from staying in nice hotels and avoiding the 'bad areas' and stuff) as lots of people who have to deal with that every day? Should FIFA therefore not hold the WC in SA?
I can't recall much of this hysterical talk going on when the Lions fans visited SA last year, as a side point.
tbf the comparison between the fairly minor - when you brass tack it - sport of rugby, and the most popular spectator sport on the planet by a veldt mile, w the attendant large differences in incoming spectators, cachet, etc is a fairly big leap.
tbc, i'll just re-clarify, we're all on the same 'side' here (i think Sloane and Baboon know that of me for sure via private chat!), i am just pointing out the obvious. (as we all are, although not obvious enough for much of our traditional media.)
the Terreblanche murder has re-ignited media stupidity and lack of proportion for sure on this issue. (in the same way - and here i am not making this up - my beloved Daily Express * had a few days once covering Sudan in quite a bit of depth following that whole English teacher teddy bear incident. the next week i gratefully anticipated coverage of the CPA, an upsurge in communal violence in the south, al-Bashir's indictment and so on. alas, not. they had moved back to Diana.)
if that slaying had occurred prior to previous Rainbow Nation-hosted world rugby or cricket tournaments, i'm sure we would have got more of it then in the red tops (and some of the 'quality' papers).
we'll get a lot more of this obviously, alas, and i may flatter myself by including me with the rest of you, but everyone on this thread has a brain, which is not the case for ignorants in the pub mouthing off about violent Africans (as if the continent arrived fully formed in its present condition w no relations w other parts of the world prior to now)
* longtime somedisco readers know i am not a fan