RWO: Gangsters Holding Hands

Jess writes:

Speaking of gangsters… a young, gang-ish, boy here is called (as mentioned above) a ‘Tstotsi’. They are easily recognizable by their slightly too-nice and well-fitted clothing and the trademark, floppy, fisherman hat. Just like they see on TV and in movies, they walk with a swagger, head tilted to the side, shouting in low, abrupt bursts, their familiar slang – Eitha! [Hey there!], Howzit? [How are you?], and Sharp sharp! [All good!]. In general conversation, this slang would be used only between the younger, males of a group, but our lovely, little Tstotsis will use these greetings with anyone and everyone they pass (excluding, perhaps, some very discerning Gogos). But we haven’t yet reached the irony of this whole culture…

You see, as which many countries around the world, holding hands in South Africa is considered a very casual sign of friendship. This gesture does not even indicate a specified level of affection (as with the arm-in-arm gesture of girlfriends), but is merely a statement of, “I know you fairly well and am standing next to you.” Thus, even the Tsotsis will sometimes fall into this familiar habit and… every once in a while… if you’re lucky enough… you’ll get one of the greatest sights of all:

Two young kids, attire and styles urbanized and ghetto-fied, walking along with their own rythym and strut, eyeing and catcalling all the young ladies that pass, shouting their “Eitha’s” and “Howzits” across parking lots… with fingers interlocked in a most gentle of clasps. Ahhh… it kinda just changes the whole rough-and-tough-ness of it all, doesn’t it? I Love it!