Racist Comments I

This is a list of comments from random people which I have interpreted as somewhat racist since I’ve been in Lesotho/South Africa:

1. At a well-known steak chain-restaurant in Bloemfontein just after a football match. The (young, white male) waiter asked what we thought of the new work done at the stadium. We said we thought the stadium was excellent. I actually apparently missed what he said next: “Some people are worried that the blacks will take over the stadium [for the 2010 world cup] but I’m not because the prices are too high so they can’t afford them.
   
   I thought he was complaining that the prices were too high for a lot of South Africans to afford so told him that for South African residents, there were tickets for in the region of R140 to R180 but that everyone else had to pay minimum US$60 to $80. I said I didn't think that the price for SA residents was too expensive so he shouldn’t worry. I noticed he looked confused, and after I was told I’d misheard what he said.
   
   Apparently even after 7 months here, I still have a mental block and assume that comments are not racist.

2. My car broke down just outside Pietermaritzburg. I was still able to crawl into town and found a garage that was still open – very lucky just after lunchtime on a Saturday when most things close. The garage was owned by a coloured (in South African parlance) man and his son. They were very, very kind to me, and ran me all over town helping me look for a minibus-taxi, a bus (coach) or a place to hire a car so I could get home. All minibus taxis had left, as had all busses. We tried a few rent-a-car places and I finally managed to hire one at the airport. They drove me around for over an hour, so we chatted quite a bit and I found them very friendly, and they figuratively ‘saved my life’.
   
   I had noticed that the son spoke Zulu with a number of people. He also told me he was married with a son. I was curious what language he spoke at home, and he told me English. He waved vaguely towards some black people walking by and said that he “only speak[s] Zulu with these black things”. I quickly moved the conversation on.

3. Not racist per se, but an interesting insight into people’s lives, thoughts, friendship groups etc. and perhaps an indication of a certain ignorance that might lead people without racist emotions or strict beliefs to act in a racist way. On a night out in Ladybrand, I found myself at what the bar people said was the ‘smallest bar in the Free State’. At some point during the night I ended up chatting with two white South African truck drivers. Both seemed fairly nice people, but inevitably questions start to arise as to why you are in South Africa when half of the white population and half of the educated population (correlated but increasingly imperfectly) want to get out. A comparison of countries ensues.
   
   Then, a fascinating question: ‘Do black people in your country live in shacks?’ The question was asked with a genuine interest, and not a hint of racist emotion.

4. Just over the border in South Africa there is a nice little town called Ladybrand. In the centre is a bar which appears to be Chinese-owned and frequented mostly by black customers.
   
   I was in there watching a football match and chatting with some random people about the teams (I know nothing about South African football). A black guy came up to me and started to tell me that he was not from the area. Fair enough.
   
   He then told me that he didn’t like anyone who lived around here. Especially not the Blacks. He likes only the white people and Xhosas. Very enlightened. I told him he was racist (he looked confused) and looked back towards the screen. He kept on badgering me and telling me how much he hated the Sotho and how much he liked whites and the Xhosa. In the end I got pretty angry and ended up shouting pretty loudly at him about how it didn’t matter and how he was a racist. He eventually left me alone.