Negative posts

I do not know the poster in question's history, but to start a thread discussing/castigating that poster is a personal attack and doesn't that go against the TT's "Terms of Use"? Surely there are more interesting things to discuss?

On reflection, good point bb. But because of course it just gives him more publicity. (Cross-ref: "Feeding The Troll".) We should have (shall?) gone the correct route. pm to Roman.

Is there any other country in the world where ex residents trash their country in such a way ?.

We put up with this rubbish every day.

Plenty of problems in Paris, do we see loads of posts from ex French living in the states saying don’t visit Paris ? Not at all.

South Africa is fantastic. End of story.

South African Tours and Safaris

In case you haven't noticed, Sport Artist has been replying to posts on another thread. The original one where he just said SA has bad crime. Seems he is an artist. And an ex-SA cop, so knows what he's talking about....

No vested interests, hey colin? :)

I live in South Africa because I want to.

I get really fed up listening to people saying the usual negative things, instead of helping make things better.

I also organise township tours taking visitors to places white South Africans do not dream of going and have never had a problem.

South African Tours and Safaris

This thread has taught me quite a lot.
I know now that some posters get pursued through different threads if they don't hype the general sentiment.
I've discovered the "troll" in me.
The one or other may actually go off and tell on somebody for being "naughty" about the terms.
Some consider themselves to be the penultimate instance before eternal wisdom and therefore always put things "right", and then some, proffering guidance on how to live one's life.
Well, why not . . . Makes it all the more colourful for all I care.

But there is something that intrigues me about colind. So, here I go trolling along for all it's worth.

When people write something the reader forms a mental picture of the writer, which, more often than not, is probably totally wrong. But nevertheless it has influence over the response and may turn it into a retort. I admit to being guilty of that. But anyway - colind, I'd like to ask you something in the way of the impression I've formed about you on the strength of what you posted in this thread.

Am I correct in assuming that you are -
A non-white Brit, who is happy to be allowed to live in SA, and not an illegal alien.
You are living in a Township around PE where unemployment stands at 60 %.
You are making a living out of taking tourist to your personal haunts, "where no white South African ever dreams of going to", and, by extension, that these places are also not to be found on any "regular" tour itinerary or tour brochure.
That you are running your "business" as a sole proprietorship and without Public Driving Permit and Road Transport Permit and outside the supervision (membership) of any governing body.
That you are not exactly a shining example as a tax payer but nevertheless want to make things better.

Am I right so far? Correct me if I'm wrong. In the end it doesn't matter to me and I'd say go for it, even if I'm right. But I sure like to know more about those places you take people to which are of such nature that they totally escape imagination. Of course your personal happiness about these places is only half the story. One would also need to ask those tourist who've come back from these jaunts what they have to say about it. But this is something we'll certainly never will find out about. But I'm just a little curious about it.

Just hypothetically, if, even against all odds, something should happen to one of your tourists, where it would have been avoidable by keeping them out of harms way, what would be your reaction to that?

P.S. The French who are leaving their country are going to the UK and moan from there, not from the US (source: TIME Magazine).

"Some consider themselves to be the penultimate instance before eternal wisdom"

I must remember that sentence, it sounds really good.
Now all I have to do is work out what it means.

No I am a white Brit, with permanent residency in SA, which took forever and was difficult to get.

I don't live in a Township and would not.

I have a company, have the transport permit which also takes for ever to get.

Sorry also pay tax, SARS here is the South African Revenue Service not an Asian flu.

I have a Professional Drivers Permit and employ a township tour guide, who is a registered tour guide who also has a PDP and have others similarly qualified when need be.

I am a member of SATSA which is as close to a governing body as we have.

Have 5 million accident cover for tourists in the vehicle and 5 million public liability insurance.

Loads of happy clients have many emails, generaly they find the townships rather sad but vibrant and certainly not unsafe.

I don't make a living out of it, I enjoy showing people South Africa.

Does out of harms way mean moving to Southend and offering tours of the city ?

South African Tours and Safaris

Good point about SARS - :>) - but just like Asian Flue they can be quite a pain, sometimes. But if you don't make a living out of your Tour Business, you are a non-profit organisation and shouldn't have much of a problem in that quarter anyway.

Not living in a Township as a White Emigrant is a good and sensible choice, and since you emphasize that you "would not", you are also aware of the reasons. Seeing that you employ a "Township Tour Guide" to take the tourists to those places "white South Africans don't dream of" makes good sense. Particularly so, if the tour guide looks like the Township Residents and can count on their natural sympathies as one of them. Accords the tourists some protection, too, I'd say. But this point still troubles me a bit, since it seems as if you are avoiding the gauntlet yourself, but are sending the tourists on their "merry fact finding mission". But like you say, they are still happy about it when they come back and would presumably do it again. But then, couldn't a white South African masquerade as a tourist and also go on one of your tours to those ominous places you mentioned before, if he should ever have a mind of doing so? Maybe this is an untapped market?

Anyway, I wish you well and that your tourists will only have happy memories of their stay in SA. Like I said before, this is what we need to counter the "negative element" which unfortunately does exist. And if we can move the proportion from one negative incident in a hundred to one in a thousand and beyond, we, as a country will all be winning and may eventually even attract real investors who come here to build factories and create the much needed jobs and not just let their money play around on the stock exchange and interest accounts. If you contribute to that, you are doing a great job! But this is what I meant by "keeping them out of harms way" to make sure that the proportion of "happy to unhappy" prospers positively and not inversely.