Eironea
I was talking to an English guy the other day. He was new in Rwanda and was trying to set up a Company. As we chatted, he discussed a phenomenon I'd heard about before. I call it 'number-snobbery' but I can think of several stronger terms I could put in its place.
"So I came to Rwanda and everyone was telling me I needed a local sim card" He told me "So I bought one and tried to use it and then a funny thing happened. Nobody was picking up my calls. When I put in my England number and called the same people. they picked up the phone instantly."
You see MTN run out of the '08' series of numbers so there is a new '03' series. Unfortunately if you've got this kind, you might as well have leprosy to everybody else because of the stigma attached. Infact you will probably have a more socially fulfilling life with leprosy. Many people just ignore calls from '03' numbers. Turn that over in your mind for a moment- imagine someone sitting there with their phone ringing and then making a conscious effort not to pick it up even though he doesn't know who is calling.Truly bizzare.
I mean It's just a number! A frickin number! To actively ignore someone because they are calling from that number...words fail me. The number means nothing. You are therefore being spectacularily irrational. What does having that number mean? For that matter, what does having a '08' number mean? Implicit in this is a judgement on a person's character because of a number they are calling from. Someone is basically saying the caller is not worth their because they dont have those oh-so-wonderful '08' numbers. Again, highly irrational. People usually have to sell millions of records or win Oscar Awards before they develop that kind of ego.
It's fascinating to realize how widespread this kind of snobbery is. A brave new world in which MTN running out of '08' numbers has inadvertently created a raft of second-class citizens. Fascinating because it makes you realize quite how adaptable snobbery is- how easily it fits into changing social conditions.
"So I came to Rwanda and everyone was telling me I needed a local sim card" He told me "So I bought one and tried to use it and then a funny thing happened. Nobody was picking up my calls. When I put in my England number and called the same people. they picked up the phone instantly."
You see MTN run out of the '08' series of numbers so there is a new '03' series. Unfortunately if you've got this kind, you might as well have leprosy to everybody else because of the stigma attached. Infact you will probably have a more socially fulfilling life with leprosy. Many people just ignore calls from '03' numbers. Turn that over in your mind for a moment- imagine someone sitting there with their phone ringing and then making a conscious effort not to pick it up even though he doesn't know who is calling.Truly bizzare.
I mean It's just a number! A frickin number! To actively ignore someone because they are calling from that number...words fail me. The number means nothing. You are therefore being spectacularily irrational. What does having that number mean? For that matter, what does having a '08' number mean? Implicit in this is a judgement on a person's character because of a number they are calling from. Someone is basically saying the caller is not worth their because they dont have those oh-so-wonderful '08' numbers. Again, highly irrational. People usually have to sell millions of records or win Oscar Awards before they develop that kind of ego.
It's fascinating to realize how widespread this kind of snobbery is. A brave new world in which MTN running out of '08' numbers has inadvertently created a raft of second-class citizens. Fascinating because it makes you realize quite how adaptable snobbery is- how easily it fits into changing social conditions.
posted by Minzo at 2:56 AM
1 Comments:
DoNOT get me started on 03 numbers!!The devil probably has an 03 number...if Hitler was alive..he'd have one too!! 03 numbers used to beep me every day n when i called back, it was ppl i didnt know askin for other ppl i didnt know or jst wasting my precious 08 units with bullshit...yes i have number snobbery, i will say it loud n proud! 03's suck!!!!Uta do???lollll...Your sis...i won't put my name incase there's any 03 loonies up in here...
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