Around 10 years ago, I spent some time in the J-Burg area doing mission trips with a church group. We had taken a band and in addition to renting out one of the soccer stadiums for the large tent event, we also played smaller tents all over the area. We were there a couple weeks and usually did two services a day. I really have no idea where all we went because we got on the bus, the driver usually got lost, and then we got off the bus. The sound system company many times got lost as well. Sometimes they were setup when we got there and sometimes not. I was the "sound guy".
Many of the places were at or near churches that served shanty towns.
One particular place had our sound crew scared. They were just plain scared for their safety after the event was over. They would of course have to stay to strike the sound & stage gear and it would be late. Since we were rocking pretty hard, it was obvious to everyone miles around that there would be a whole bunch of expensive equipment with just a couple young guys loading it up with no one else around.
By this time I knew the crew pretty well. They were your average stage hand/sound guys which due to the nature of that business mean that they are a pretty tough breed of cat. Totin around 150lb subwoofers & 200lb cable racks will either kill or cure. They didn’t do drugs, and were very hard working. I asked them that since J-Burg was so dangerous, why they never carried weapons for protection and the answer I received was nothing short of bewilderment. They couldn’t understand why anyone would want to carry a pistol or rifle for protection. I kept talking about the logic of the situation but they never budged.
I didn’t get it then and I don’t get it now.
We arranged for the local church men to stay with them and then to escort them to the highway after the concert so all was well. We also arranged for the same thing at all future events.
I’m firmly convinced that a society is what it allows itself to become.
