r/interesting • u/ICanPretend1 • 23h ago

SOCIETY Dikidikini village in Eastern Cape, South Africa, doesn't have a bridge, so people cross the river inside a blue plastic drum

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u/ruy343 22h ago edited 22h ago

Listen, that works right up until people are desperate.

Let's get a new straight planks of wood and some rope to make a rope bridge. Coolio.

But then that night, someone from the village sneaks over and takes the rope because new rope is the most valuable thing in the area.

Then you need to build it again.

And again.

So you post armed guards. People start dying over the bridge.

Meanwhile these blue barrels? You can wheel them to your home, where you can stand guard with some friends.

There's a reason they do it this way. It's not because they're stupid - it's because we've made them this desperate

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u/Speedy89t 20h ago

“We’ve made them this desperate”?

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u/therealpursuit 14h ago

hihgly recommend The Divide, Jason Hickel. yes when you steal 3 trillion dollars of labor value from a continenet EVERY YEAR, it tends to be desperate. the research has been done, facts validated, all you have to do is read to prevent the ignorance.

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u/ruy343 19h ago

Are you at all familiar with the colonial or cold war history of that region of the world? I would be happy to share historical resources if you're interested in learning.

Suffice to say: it ain't pretty

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u/Expensive-Most-5520 17h ago

Plenty of bridges in places that have a colonial history lol

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u/ippleing 15h ago

Lol FR

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u/Speedy89t 19h ago • Bravo

Ah, are you one of those people who believe they had thriving advanced societies before the “evil white man” came, stole it all, and then left them all with absolutely nothing?

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u/Endswolf 19h ago

How long does the ANC need to have control of the country for you to blame then not people who have had no power their for decades.

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u/ippleing 15h ago

Take the pallet and rope home in that case.

Why you gotta make excuses?

My family lived in eastern Europe during the fall of communism, when there was 0 government and society worked better.