I don't think this reaction was unpredictable. If Top Gear thinks they didn't do anything wrong then why not have their next special in Detroit and use license plates with KKK on them? Maybe they could go to New York with bumper stickers saying "The holocaust never happened". Who are these people that think they can go anywhere in the world, offend the locals and then get indignant when the locals react? If you go to another country and go out of your way to offend them, well then there might be some consequences. If you don't believe me, just go for a drive in Karachi with the name of their prophet on your license plates. They're just license plates, right? What could possibly go wrong?
Sorry but anyone who organizes a stone throwing mob to chase someone who has a license plate that could potentially be seen as offensive if you try hard enough needs to be locked up in a mental institution in the interest of public safety.
Exactly right. I more suspect that thugs got wind Top Gear were coming and went there looking for a reason to go ape, confident that the team would do something offensive during their visit. A reasonable assumption, for sure, but you'd have to be insane to propose that being offended by foreigners makes it okay to throw rocks at them. In a way, it's quite condescending and insulting that the spin on this was so tolerant and respectful of the attack: the implied assumption is that the Argentinians must be expected to throw rocks at visiting celebrities, because they're only savages, after all.
