The rich sneeze, the poor catch a cold

The unequal nature of this country is clear. It keeps writing the script of the unusual times we find ourselves. Every day, we are forced to recognise the two separate economies that live side by side.

Let me give a recent example of this. An exotic wild cat escapes from its home, where it was kept as a pet. It had the south of Johannesburg on tenterhooks. And in all of this, there were two questions, from two different sides of the conversation.

The first was: who keeps a tiger as a pet? The second was: will the tiger be safe around human beings? Some even joked that pit bulls ought to be sent in to neutralise the tiger.

There is no denying that the tiger known as Sheba was flown into the country and someone decided – while others have dogs and cats – they will up the ante.

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Word is that the tiger escaped because a fence was cut, most likely by an intruder who, in his (soppy) defence, would plead that they commit crimes to fend off their looming hunger.

The poor cross the highway and bother the peace of the wealthy. The consequences being that the restrained luxuries of the wealthy spilled its consequences into the mundane life of the neighbouring poor.

The two worlds are intertwined, but in the unhealthiest way. This is not just about Sheba, this is everyday life in South Africa. The rich sneeze, the poor catch a cold. The poor sneeze, the rich get a cold.

When Marikana exploded, it is because the rich were seen to be gaining continuously at the expense of the poor. When service delivery protests happen in townships that neighbour affluent suburbs and roads are inaccessible for the work commute; the two worlds are colliding.

WATCH: Sheba the escaped tiger killed

When public servants demand higher wages and decide to keep the services they render from the public, both rich and poor; the worlds are colliding.

When it is said that South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, it is impossible to deny, because even if one tries to ignore the sentiment, it is almost impossible to pretend like the daily examples of inequality are not clear as daylight