What are you on,Toe Save? lol!
My avatar is one of my heroes… King Stitt a very early reggae DJ/performer known as “The Ugly One” for obvious reasons 
Anyway… concerning where I’m from… I’m actually from the UK. I just want to know where I’m going wrong, as I said here and elsewhere I look a bit moody but I am polite. So then, how do i get to know my audience?
I wonder if my sarcasm has always been compensation for my shyness. But I don’t recommend being a prick as a way to get to know people.
Although it seems to work for me at times.
johnny saffie…hmm, can be a prickly cove…just don’t mention the boer war…I mentioned it once but I got away with it…
The same could be said for my relationship(uneasy at best,with some at least) with the hordes of Brits that flocked to South African shores in the 70’s & 80’s.They had their own “Little Englands” in whichever community they deiced to settle (many around South Africa’s electrical powerplants) & their particular brand of wit often went down like a lead fart with us Saffie locals.
I have to confess that I was one of those who didn’t appreciate the irreverance & crassness often displayed by our less educated alien visitors.
I’m not at all suggesting that you are either irreverant or crass,but perhaps that is sometimes how Saffas are perceiving you.There must be SOMETHING that you’re doing to rattle cages.Oh,& one last thing.Those Saffas who still prefer to display the ORIGINAL South African flag (as I do)…as opposed to the “new” one it’d be advisable not to say anything negative (as this can really offend those who are still proud of their heritage) about it as some people,including some Saffas, have done.
Just a thought.(Trying to cover as many bases as possible). 
[quote=“Taiwanderer”]The same could be said for my relationship(uneasy at best,with some at least) with the hordes of Brits that flocked to South African shores in the 70’s & 80’s.They had their own “Little Englands” in whichever community they deiced to settle (many around South Africa’s electrical powerplants) & their particular brand of wit often went down like a lead fart with us Saffie locals.
I have to confess that I was one of those who didn’t appreciate the irreverance & crassness often displayed by our less educated alien visitors.
I’m not at all suggesting that you are either irreverant or crass,but perhaps that is sometimes how Saffas are perceiving you.There must be SOMETHING that you’re doing to rattle cages.Oh,& one last thing.Those Saffas who still prefer to display the ORIGINAL South African flag (as I do)…as opposed to the “new” one it’d be advisable not to say anything negative (as this can really offend those who are still proud of their heritage) about it as some people,including some Saffas, have done.
Just a thought.(Trying to cover as many bases as possible). [/quote]
proud of their heritage?
i’ll presume we are skirting the apartheid part of the south african heritage here…
still i guess there are parts of all of our heritages we are proud of and parts we are ashamed of…
Bear,let’s not get into apartheid here,it’s a can of worms that would best be avoided being opened here.There would be mass outrage,followed by the inevitable quavering of bottom lips of “I don’t want to talk about it anymore”,or something along those lines.
And indeed,as you have said,“there are parts of all of our heritages we are proud of and parts we are ashamed of…” I think it would be best to leave it at that. 
Just curious… why do you prefer to display the old flag?
Funk 500, why do you care?
Could the OP give us an example of one time when he rubbed a South African the wrong way? With details we could maybe understand the problem and offer solutions.
Funk,I suspect that Trapjaw is curious.
Anyway,the reason I display the ORIGINAL flag is because I have Dutch ancestry as well as British & Afrikaner,& all those are represented in the original flag.All of those flags that make it up symbolise my heritage.The “new” flag ,however,is a hodgepodge of colours;those of the ruling ANC regime being featured most heavily.The ANC flag(aka the “new” flag)says zilch about my heritage.
And since the ANC(which allied/allies itself with any number of despotic regimes)adopted terrorist tactics which murdered civilians,ie landmines,bombs at non-military intallations etc,I have a hard time having warm,fuzzy,patriotic feelings about its flag.
Answered?I hope so.
P.S. I’m FULLY aware that my beliefs in this regard run against the grain of popular opinion,but I will not insult myself,nor those who fought & died for the way of life we had &,in some cases,still have,in our beautiful South Africa.
One example that springs to mind. Job interview, I get there early before a SA gentleman who was scheduled to be before me. A very difficult place to find so the receptionist calls him to see where he is. 10 Minutes later he arrives. we are both waiting so I give a general chit chat
F500"How’s it going?"
SA " Not bad… you?"
F500"Yeah, I can’t complain"
Things are going very normally until I make the mistake of saying…
F500 “Yeah pretty difficult to find wasn’t it? Did you get lost?”
SA “WTF?? WHY DID YOU THINK I GOT LOST??? FUCK OFF AND STOP TALKING TO ME!”
Now tell me… how have I upset the guy here? No UK humour… nothing in bad taste just pure aggression on his part as far as I can tell.
Buttercup… I just want to know why it always seems to be SA’s that go postal on me. I have mates from all over the world and nobody gives me as much of a head-scratching time as the Saffies
Job interview jitters?
Crrrikey,Funk!From the example you just gave,that dude’s reaction was totally uncalled for.I apologise on his behalf!
We’re not ALL so touchy!! lol!!
I can empathize with you Funk500. I have worked with 2 SA and knew 5 others from around the scene, friends of friends sort of thing. Come to think of it, I had trouble getting along with any of them. They all seemed too big for their britches and were no fun interacting with any of them.
It could just be luck of the draw on my part. I just found it amusing to see this post because it relates to my experiences as well.
By the same token,this very same phenomenon could be applied to many Americans that I’ve met.SOME of them being breathtakingly ignorant,& arrogant to boot!
Met a handful of nice ones,though.Some of them being Forumosans(if you constitute interaction on the Web as having met someone).
Again,maybe it’s just down to bad luck. 
Funk500, WTF man?!
I would appreciate it if you NEVER, I mean NEVER, reply to any of my posts, or even read any of them again.
Bro … I’ve met you, I’m South African and I wasn’t offended, so no worries!
[quote=“twonavels”]Funk500, WTF man?!
I would appreciate it if you NEVER, I mean NEVER, reply to any of my posts, or even read any of them again.[/quote]
Yes ma’am 
Sorry ma’am
[quote=“worryman”]I can empathize with you Funk500. I have worked with 2 SA and knew 5 others from around the scene, friends of friends sort of thing. Come to think of it, I had trouble getting along with any of them. They all seemed too big for their britches and were no fun interacting with any of them.
It could just be luck of the draw on my part. I just found it amusing to see this post because it relates to my experiences as well.[/quote]
I’ve also had this experience, come to think of it.
When I worked at Kojen I met many teachers from South Africa. Not all of them were like this, but a fair number were: the older (over 30, at least) white ones seemed to have a big superiority complex and acted like they were better than everyone else. They were preemptory and seemed to expect the rest of us to be thrilled with whatever they decided. They were nice and friendly enough to talk to, but definitely did not seem to give a thought to what the rest of us wanted.
The older non-white South Africans seemed defensive and touchy.
I assumed at the time that this was related to apartheid.