New Zealand is often sold to prospective (mostly white) South African immigrants as “South Africa 30 years ago” (wink, wink). That version of an Edenic idyll is not entirely what a young South African found New Zealand to be recently in a local version of Occupy Wall Street in Dunedin. In a scene captured by amateur video (which made the rounds last week on the internets), an angry drunk protesting the protesters threatens to break down tents and generally makes a nuisance of himself. One of the vocal protesters–our equality-and-justice-minded South African immigrant–leads a chant against the intruder, and then decides to reason with the drunk. “You’re a South African … What’s your story?” asks the drunk. Perhaps he is appealing to some kind of shared kinship: privilege, siding with capital or power, or disdain for protesters. Saffers and Kiwis. Maybe, the drunk New Zealander is just confused about why a white South African would be protesting capitalism’s evils, when one of the finest versions of all that capitalism engineers was what the South African republic was founded upon. Or maybe he’s wondering why so many white South Africans seek refuge in what the man deems to be his country, and now, wants to protest …what?

Whatever.

See what happens next as the young South African gets to feel what it might be like to be a real squatter, living at the margin of the mercy of state, authority, wealthy people and the scorn of your fellows. For his courage, we hope our young protestor is fine.

Also here.