While visiting Finland for a program organised by the country's ministry of foreign affairs, Business Day journalist, Alistair Anderson, scared many Finnish people. Not because he was badly behaved but rather because South Africans are "dangerous".
In a supermarket in Helsinki on Saturday night, Mr Anderson was accosted by someone he assumed to be a Finn with an agenda. The Finn made jokes about how people could not buy pies in Finland among other unusual characteristics of the country (such as how they drink milk all day). Mr Anderson was not sure why these idiosyncrasies were funny but Finns have a strange sense of humour.
After Mr Anderson did not laugh, the comedian asked him where he was from.
"I'm from the other side of the world," he said.
"From where?"
"South Africa," Mr Anderson said which prompted the unusually talkative Finn to say: "I'm not messing with you," and to run off.
The Insider doubts New Zealanders will show similar fear when they meet South African rugby fans this month.
(A version of this was published in Business Day on Tuesday September 6 2011).
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