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lil'babykitten · Dec 31, 2003, 11:15 AM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3359311.stm

South African police will crack down hard on anybody throwing old fridges from high-rise buildings during the New Year's holiday, they say

davesimondotcom · Dec 31, 2003, 11:19 AM

Originally posted by lil'babykitten:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3359311.stm

Fridges, microwaves, rubbish bins and condoms...

"One of these things is not like the others..."

engaged · Dec 31, 2003, 11:22 AM

'Some also aim their New Year fireworks horizontally, so they go from one high-rise apartment into another.'

eklipse · Dec 31, 2003, 11:25 AM

disectamac · Dec 31, 2003, 12:01 PM

I hope they're smart enough to remove the beer from the fridge before throwing it out.

theolein · Dec 31, 2003, 12:07 PM

I used to live in Hillbrow, the suburb mentioned in that report. In those days it was one of the unofficial "grey zones" of apartheid South Africa, where people of all races lived, fought, stole, but mostly partied. It was very wild back then, and I remember some new year's celebration when the whole city seemed to flock the streets and would try to provoke the cops as far as they could, just for the hell of it.

It has since declined into one of the most dangerous places in South Africa, and that is saying something. Walking from one end to the other without getting accosted for your money or just because you're there is no mean feat.

Superchicken · Dec 31, 2003, 12:08 PM

Originally posted by engaged:
'Some also aim their New Year fireworks horizontally, so they go from one high-rise apartment into another.'

Rats I was hoping to post that first... dang... did anyone else laugh and then feel bad after reading that?

lil'babykitten · Dec 31, 2003, 12:16 PM

Originally posted by theolein:
I used to live in Hillbrow, the suburb mentioned in that report. In those days it was one of the unofficial "grey zones" of apartheid South Africa, where people of all races lived, fought, stole, but mostly partied. It was very wild back then, and I remember some new year's celebration when the whole city seemed to flock the streets and would try to provoke the cops as far as they could, just for the hell of it.

It has since declined into one of the most dangerous places in South Africa, and that is saying something. Walking from one end to the other without getting accosted for your money or just because you're there is no mean feat.

I would have thought that you could at least walk through the streets of anywhere without fear of a fridge falling on your head though!

theolein · 12:42 PM

I don't think that the fireworks or the fridges are the real problem. There are so many people with guns in that area, that New Year inevitably ends with numerous people getting hit by bullets suffering the effects of gravity after many hundreds of people fire their weapons into the sky.

That's not counting those who fire their weapons horizontally with wild abandon.

Let me tell a little story of my student days:

My best friend used to live in that light blue building in the foreground of this image

One building further back (low roofed place) used to be an disco called "San Lorenzo". It was a place that truly reflected the contradictions of South African life back then. You couldn't get in wearing sneakers, T-shirts or jeans, but once you were in almost anything was allowed. It was a place of cheap booze, bad music, cheap women and far too many totally drunken men often fighting over the women who were outnumbered by about 10 to one. Even looking at someone else's girlfriend was often an invitation for a round of massive fighting, and the police, who in those days were more like Nazi SS Stormtroopers in their regard for human life and health, were no stranger to the place.

Whenever a fight got too bad, the cops would simply through in about 10 tear gas grenades and then club everyone running out blinded by tears and coughing or vomiting their lungs out (Booze and tear gas don't mix well).

One night, me and my friend and his wife were on the balcony and as the disco was closing the usual drunken crowd of ruffians were gathering in the parking lot behind the disco. Some rich bugger (In those days people used to flaunt their BMW's and gold chains and stuff, which would almost certainly get them killed there today) was trying to drive his BMW out of the lot but was blocked by the crowd. When his blaring horn finally got the crowd exited enough, they surrounded and started shaking his car in their usual good natured fun. The guy in the BMW, not in the mood for such revelry, opened his door, got out, pulled out his gun and fired some shots into the air.

This of course only served to make the crowd howl with laughter, which drove the BMW man off his rocker. He then started shooting randomly into the crowd, and by some pulp fiction miracle didn't actually hit anybody. The crowd did however disperse somewhat, whereupon our brave BMW man got back in his car and drove off. End of story.

If that happened today, (disco burnt down years ago) there would be any number of people who would whip out their own guns and engage in a round of parking lot combat sport.

voyageur · Dec 31, 2003, 12:28 PM

Hmm...I have an old fridge to get rid of...

lil'babykitten · Dec 31, 2003, 12:34 PM

Originally posted by voyageur:
Hmm...I have an old fridge to get rid of...

Well, this thread might give you some ideas...

theolein · Dec 31, 2003, 12:44 PM

Originally posted by voyageur:
Hmm...I have an old fridge to get rid of...

South African Airlines has a New Year's special on where you can take your fridge with you on the plane for free.

scaught · Dec 31, 2003, 12:58 PM

We have given out thousands of pamphlets pleading with people not to throw objects, including things like refrigerators, from their balconies, as well as asking people not to fire celebratory shots in the air," said Inspector Naidoo.

wdlove · Dec 31, 2003, 01:04 PM

That is certainly a new one for the book of crazy things not to be done.

andi*pandi · Dec 31, 2003, 02:12 PM

I thought only the boys at MIT dropped fridges off buildings.

or, in MIT's case, built catapults specially designed for dorm mini-fridges and had contests for distance.

Regardless, seems best this New Years, whereever you may be, to carry steel plated umbrella, a la Wile E. Coyote.

voyageur · Dec 31, 2003, 02:56 PM

I think the frat boys at Dartmouth drop burning couches out of windows. Or at least used to.

SeSawaya · Dec 31, 2003, 03:24 PM

this made me laugh my arse off!

great pics too guys!

lil'babykitten · Dec 31, 2003, 04:25 PM

Originally posted by theolein:
I don't think that the fireworks or the fridges are the real problem. There are so many people with guns in that area, that New Year inevitably ends with numerous people getting hit by bullets suffering the effects of gravity after many hundreds of people fire their weapons into the sky.

That's not counting those who fire their weapons horizontally with wild abandon.

Let me tell a little story of my student days:

One building further back (low roofed place) used to be an disco called "San Lorenzo". It was a place that truly reflected the contradictions of South African life back then. You couldn't get in wearing sneakers, T-shirts or jeans, but once you were in almost anything was allowed. It was a place of cheap booze, bad music, cheap women and far too many totally drunken men often fighting over the women who were outnumbered by about 10 to one. Even looking at someone else's girlfriend was often an invitation for a round of massive fighting, and the police, who in those days were more like Nazi SS Stormtroopers in their regard for human life and health, were no stranger to the place.

Whenever a fight got too bad, the cops would simply through in about 10 tear gas grenades and then club everyone running out blinded by tears and coughing or vomiting their lungs out (Booze and tear gas don't mix well).

One night, me and my friend and his wife were on the balcony and as the disco was closing the usual drunken crowd of ruffians were gathering in the parking lot behind the disco. Some rich bugger (In those days people used to flaunt their BMW's and gold chains and stuff, which would almost certainly get them killed there today) was trying to drive his BMW out of the lot but was blocked by the crowd. When his blaring horn finally got the crowd exited enough, they surrounded and started shaking his car in their usual good natured fun. The guy in the BMW, not in the mood for such revelry, opened his door, got out, pulled out his gun and fired some shots into the air.

This of course only served to make the crowd howl with laughter, which drove the BMW man off his rocker. He then started shooting randomly into the crowd, and by some pulp fiction miracle didn't actually hit anybody. The crowd did however disperse somewhat, whereupon our brave BMW man got back in his car and drove off. End of story.

If that happened today, (disco burnt down years ago) there would be any number of people who would whip out their own guns and engage in a round of parking lot combat sport.

I'm outta words!

Any signs of change/reforms, clampdown on how freely guns would appear to be available? That's some scary sh1t!
Were you ever in a situation like that?

theolein · Jan 2, 2004, 10:19 AM

Originally posted by lil'babykitten:
I'm outta words!

Any signs of change/reforms, clampdown on how freely guns would appear to be available? That's some scary sh1t!
Were you ever in a situation like that?

The only time I've ever been shot at was at a demo at university, and I'm not sure that they were aiming directly at me but rather more generally into the crowd that was running around blindly in the tear gas.

I had quite a lot of tear gassing in Johannesburg, as it was the cops' favourite method of breaking up fights. Very effective too: Hitting someone is difficult when you're blinded and coughing like crazy. It was so normal in fact that one would be out on a saturday evening going for a burger or something and as you rounded a corner, you'd smell the gas, and someone would say, "There's been a fight. Let's go have a beer and come back later".

The only time I had a gun stuck in my face was when I was selling dinner services door to door, and I had the bad luck to be at a house where the owner had already been foolish enough to buy one of the sets only to discover that they were nowhere as nice as the ones in the demo set. I rang the bell and the door opened and there was this quite drunk Afrikaner pointing a really big revolver in my face. He made me come in and drink with him as he told me his story of dinner set woe. Eventually I managed to flee when the guy was too drunk to move.

Moral 1 of the story: Don't sell crap to customers who are liable to turn violent.

Moral 2 of the story: If you're going to sell crap to customers who may turn violent, at least remember where those customers live.