“I don’t know. These could just be the white trash of South Africa.”
I recently spent about three hours sitting next to a South African guy in a restaurant. He was a professional person, not “white trash.” He had not returned to South Africa in 8 years. He said it is now extremely dangerous for a white person to visit South Africa. After reflecting for a while, he finally mentioned that Durban might be ok, but Jo-Burg, definitely not. Cape Town, no, no, no.
Racism? Yes. But not whites against blacks, the reverse. And not with words only; with clubs, knives and guns.
As bad as South Africa is now, Zimbabwe is much, much worse for all the same reasons.
I visited South Africa last year. I walked around the area my hotel was in in both Johanesberg and Cape Town and didn’t have any problems. I went to the Mandela mall in Jo’berg and some other mall in Cape Town. We hired a guide to drive us around Jo’berg and so Mandela’s house in Soweto. Soweto’s not so bad. I grew up in Detroit, it is much much worse. So are a dozen other inner city ghettos in the USA like Newark, Trenton, Oakland flats, parts of LA, etc.
We had lunch in the Soweto mall. Everyone was nice, no rude comments or stares.
I was traveling for business, so stayed in first class hotels, and followed the advice of the desk men before venturing out. I was told in Jo’berg: be back by dark or take a taxi.
A close friend went for the world cup, was there for 13 days with his kids and had a great time. Caution, planning and hiring reliable guides for the more adventurous parts of the trip and I think it’s safe enough.
Living there might be a whole different experience. People who go to Detroit and only see the airport, the suburbs and perhaps the RenCen might think it’s safe too.