Thugs in Thobes

Tits!*

Yesterday, going off-camp, we were at a stoplight and I saw a cat - large, dirty white, mangy looking cat - sitting in the middle of the road divider - a huge culvert [?]. The cat blended in well with the tan, beige dirt and cement landscape. I pointed it out to the other women in the car with me, "Ohhh. Look at the poor cat." [Usually I have cat food with me for just these occasions, but yesterday I didn't. Unfortunately, for the poor cat.] It was skinny. I felt bad for the poor cat. There are a gazillion of them around because no one has ever given taking care of the situation of stray and feral cats any consideration whatsoever, here.

Anyway - I'm in the middle of the back seat and seat-belted in and do not have my black bag on - just a nice brown sundress and sandals - going to a little get together at a private home - didn't even think to grab the black bag. I see three teenagers getting ready to cross the street to my left. They are dressed in their native attire - long white dress - a thobe. Two of the three of them had ghutras on, as well. The one without had long - incredibly greasy looking - black hair. The tall skinny one - who had his ghutra tied in a knot [kewl, dude!] pointed to the cat and the greasy-haired thug picked up a rock - a fist size rock - and threw it at the cat! OH NO YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT! I watched the whole thing. [Thankfully, the cats here know - oh, they know - that people are NOT your friends and the cat ran off as the rock was hurled right at him - and thankfully, greasy-haired thug's aim just wasn't that good. He missed the cat. Still. That is NOT the point.]

I was trying to get the window down [why, Mr. Driver do you have the child-safety lock on!] and couldn't - and yes, I would have screamed and yelled at him. At the same time I was taking my seatbelt off and was about to crawl over the woman sitting next to me to jump out of the car - to do what? I don't know. Throw a rock at the greasy-haired thug? One of the women in the car with me was yelling at me, "No. You can't do anything about it. Just leave it alone. You're going to get us arrested." It happened that the light turned green and we pulled away, but I so wanted to do something about it. And would have - if I could only have gotten the window down or gotten out of the vehicle quickly enough.

Respect for animals and other living things? So many of the boys and young men, here, have none of that. Yes. I know that that is true for boys and young men in all countries. In any other country though, I would have been driving my own vehicle and would have been dialing 911 on my cell phone calling the police to have the twerp arrested for cruelty to animals. I would have followed him and waited for the police to make sure he got in trouble. Here? If I would have called the police I would just get laughed at. And, as I wasn't properly attired to be out and about, I probably would have ended up in trouble. Still. Pissed me off. What I wouldn't give to be able to slap the greasy-haired thobed thug upside the head with a brick...

*tits: terr0r!sts-in-training