White Taxi
13.11.06
I was in town this weekend and when I say town I don't mean Sandton City. I was in Johannesburg central, Hillbrow area. Now there are certain people who claim that this areas is the deadliest of the dead, the roughest of the rough and the maddest of the mad. I disagree but before I start to wander off topic I shall end that discussion now. Town is OK. I like Town. I think that Town is the place to be, it's a hub, it's cool, it's kitch, it's got history, pizazz, spunk (a bit of gunk) and there are a lot of big business head offices based there so I think it gets the nod.
Anyways, I was driving home from Town when I looked out of my window to the right and saw the most unbelievable thing that I have ever seen as a white Sandton boy. I saw a white male taxi driver. Now all you foreigners to South Africa wont really grasp the significance of this. However, this was a significant moment for me, for you and for the greater South African cause. Black men drive Taxis, they don't drive the kind of taxi that you see in London or New York, they drive old VW minibuses and jam them with 5 to 10 more people than are legally allowed in a vehicle of that size, but they drive taxis, not skinny white, confused white males with fear and their eyes and oh, did I mention white? I think that the reason black men mostly drive these taxis is that mostly black people make use of the service, so it's a logical market to capture. (It's not a race thing so don't even think about throwing that crap my way).
I was simply astounded to witness a white person driving a black taxi and understanding all the hand signals that indicate which car is turning what direction heading for a specific area on a predestined route. It's incredible and something that I thought was simply out of reach for any white South African to ever understand and control was being mastered by a whitey and accepted by the black passengers. Simply amazing.
I wish that I had time to whip out my phone and snap a few photos but Town is a busy place with busy roads and angry people so I put my phone away and drove off marvelling in my luck.
*Aside: Is it not absolutely astounding to anyone who has ever witnessed interaction between taxi driver and potential passenger that either of them know which way they are going? At one point passenger 'A' is walking South while the taxi is driving North, the fingers go up, glances are exchanged, fingers are crossed, a deal is made and all of a sudden passenger 'A' is in the taxi driving North, which is the opposite direction to that which passenger 'A' was just walking initially. It amazes me and boggles my tiny brain.
Anyways, I was driving home from Town when I looked out of my window to the right and saw the most unbelievable thing that I have ever seen as a white Sandton boy. I saw a white male taxi driver. Now all you foreigners to South Africa wont really grasp the significance of this. However, this was a significant moment for me, for you and for the greater South African cause. Black men drive Taxis, they don't drive the kind of taxi that you see in London or New York, they drive old VW minibuses and jam them with 5 to 10 more people than are legally allowed in a vehicle of that size, but they drive taxis, not skinny white, confused white males with fear and their eyes and oh, did I mention white? I think that the reason black men mostly drive these taxis is that mostly black people make use of the service, so it's a logical market to capture. (It's not a race thing so don't even think about throwing that crap my way).
I was simply astounded to witness a white person driving a black taxi and understanding all the hand signals that indicate which car is turning what direction heading for a specific area on a predestined route. It's incredible and something that I thought was simply out of reach for any white South African to ever understand and control was being mastered by a whitey and accepted by the black passengers. Simply amazing.
I wish that I had time to whip out my phone and snap a few photos but Town is a busy place with busy roads and angry people so I put my phone away and drove off marvelling in my luck.
*Aside: Is it not absolutely astounding to anyone who has ever witnessed interaction between taxi driver and potential passenger that either of them know which way they are going? At one point passenger 'A' is walking South while the taxi is driving North, the fingers go up, glances are exchanged, fingers are crossed, a deal is made and all of a sudden passenger 'A' is in the taxi driving North, which is the opposite direction to that which passenger 'A' was just walking initially. It amazes me and boggles my tiny brain.
Labels: Black, driving, Johannesburg, Sandton, Taxi, Town, White
2
Interesting.. very interesting.
JEN, 6:01 PM
*is dissapointed that race card cant be used...senses loss of LONG argument in which nothing wouldve been achieved anyway* hehe yea well ...welcome to SA i guess. just goes to show that nothing is impossible ;)
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