Big Chicken..

Before I head out the door everyday I have to mentally prepare myself for the risk I’m about to take and eventually come to terms with the fact that I actually might die today. Ok maybe I’m being a little melodramatic but after several times of almost getting hit by a car I feel I reserve the right to sensationalize my everyday walk to AND from campus (I typically make 2-3 trips a day).

Let me explain. The game of chicken isn’t limited to motor vehicles vs. pedestrians. It’s more a game of any mode of transportation vs. the other all holds barred. Now I am confident that there are some historical root causes as to why the Stellenbosch culture has adopted such a lifestyle of everyday reckless endangerment and I am determined to identify them. Here are some factors I am currently investigating. Is it because the sidewalks are too small? If I wasn’t clear before, the game is also played human vs. human. The sidewalks are actually pretty small (by American standards) with space enough for about two people side-by-side. Also, there is no directional system of right or left side of the walk going in opposite directions as there is in the states. For example, you may be walking on the right side of the walk and someone else walking in the opposite direction also on the right side. Now what?! Who is obligated to move? There is no one else on the sidewalk so there is room for only one of you to move. Well, typically the other person is oblivious to the fact there is exists such a concept as shared sidewalks and by this point you are so annoyed by people just shoving you out of the way that you are determined to not move. You hold your position but the other person is getting closer and closer. Now you both feel the tension caused by the awkwardness as the gap between you is quickly closing. Who is going to bail first? Me. I ALWAYS bail first. Yes, I am aware that my cowardice only perpetuates this terrible sidewalk system.

Cars are a completely different story. Playing chicken with humans doesn’t typically end in injury or death but playing with cars can lead to such consequences. There is a four-way stop on the way to campus (the one where my longboard got ran over) and it is the most treacherous obstacle to pass. First of all, no one and I mean NO ONE stops. As a side note, their actions appear to be symptomatic of a disease called “human blindness.” This is a very serious disease in which a person cannot distinguish between humans and air immediately upon entering his/her car. When you get to the point of the four-way stop in your journey to campus it’s suddenly “every man for himself” to get across. A few of my friends have become so frustrated that they have taken to playing the game of chicken by daring the cars to run over them by refusing to stop or hesitate before crossing the road. It’s a very dangerous game because the cars WILL run you over. Fortunately, I have not lost any friends in this battle and I hope it stays that way. The other day I attempted to play this game and was nearly run over by a blonde in a BMW. She was clearly in such a hurry that justified her risking a human life to get to her destination that much faster by not stopping for half a second.

So clearly I am a little frustrated and I will stop ranting for those of you who have made it this far into the post. I realize now that I abandoned my ideas of root causes of how this phenomenon came to be in the first place. Well, other factors other than small sidewalks include: lack of full-stop enforcement at stop signs, lack of respect for personal space, a new breed of brazen selfishness, a mental state of UNawareness shared by all, no sense of responsibility, etc… Those are just some of the many that I am considering as possible factors. The one thing I know for sure is that there has to be another solution to this problem other than the everyday game of chicken.

That’s all.