I gave a finger today!
Friday, December 12, 2008 0:16It was gray, cold and raining a bit when I decide to bike to the grocery to buy the day’s supply. I usually take the shortest route, meaning I have to bike along a dike with few houses, lots of green but pretty safe because it’s not really hidden. But I can’t exactly say that biking along that dike was 100% safe because there I saw a black man who exposed himself to me once. I was glad he did not try to block my bike, or maybe I just pedaled so fast like my life depended on it. You might say that I was scared.
Also what scary are the punks that litter this dike – teenage students from nearby schools. These students aren’t your everyday students who carry books and pens to school. They carry attitudes, big loud mouths and their specialty is to scare people. Either throw profanities at them (old or young people) while they pass, threaten to attack them by giving sudden moves…basically to scare people off. These punks usually move in groups. Of course, alone they’re nothing right?
Anyway on my way back I took the dike route again. From a distance I saw two girls, probably 14-15 years old, and they looked like they’re twins. Not blond nor dark but Moroccan or Turkish descend. I am NOT generalizing but I usually witness people being terrorized by the two groups. The girls were irritated by a dog barking nearby that they were mimicking and shouting at the dog. Before I pass their bikes, one of them shouted something at me but due to heavy accent i was not able to understand a word she said so i just continued biking.
“BITCH!” and continuous shouting behind me. Heckling. Baddd.
Like my arm had a mind of its own, I simply raised a hand and stick my middle finger in the air. I’ve never done that (to a stranger) before. I was wearing my leather black gloves and it was daytime, so you’d see the middle one clearly. More angry words behind me. I just continued biking, I’m ashamed to think about it, but there was a wide grin on my face then.
I didn’t mind those empty words. But I am done being afraid of these people. I am done being treated with no respect. I will not let them shove me to a side when I patiently stand in line for the bus, not anymore. I will not let them cut the line in front of me at the post office, market, or anywhere else, not anymore. I FOLLOW RULES. I RESPECT PEOPLE.
If these people want respect from me, they need to show me first that they deserve it.
Ah, the future of Holland. Sad sad sad.
Willa says:
December 12th, 2008 at 4:48 am
good for you! you go girl!! :happy: una-unahan lang yan eh1 I mean sindakan lang ang labanan, I know we shouldn’t stoop down to their level, but sometimes it feels good di bah? :peace:
thess says:
December 12th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Willa, pasama kasi ng pasama ang nangyayari dito. Malaki ang takot ng mga tunay na Dutch sa mga immigrants na Muslim. Kayang kaya sila sindakin! Kaya ang mga yun naman, umaabuso kasi alam nilang hindi sila kakantiin ng mga police kapag may ginawa sila.
yeah it felt good i must admit.
gmirage says:
December 13th, 2008 at 12:40 am
palaban nga mga yan, mrami d2 sa building namin kung umasta akala mo sila ang locals
isipin mo ang bata pa bitchy na di ba, ano kaya tinuturo ng magulang? Sabi yan sakin ng mga kapitbahay kong puti kasi compare ako sa katapat namin 3 din anak, iba daw pagpapalaki (flattered naman ako lol). Friendly kasi tayo kaya minsan take advantage nila…kaya di dapat makaapsok sa EU yan naku!
madalas pa nga yan mga naguusap ng lenggwahe nila nakatingin sayo ng diretso bigla tatawa…naku kainis, kaya isip ko pag-aralan language nila kahit na magtunog pabo ako! (pabo,kapangalan ng bansa nila, bagay sa kanila ingay e) hehe. naku titaT, ingat ingat na lang…
gmirage says:
December 13th, 2008 at 12:44 am
nakalimutan ko dagdag, mga babae nila di marunong mag-aleman, kaya nung eleksyon madami kampanya kung di daw alam salita wag na dito tumira…kasi mga babae d work, kasi dto pag 4 pataas ang anak wala na tax to pay, dami pang subsidy hehe. alhough ako 3, di naman aasa lang sa gobs….sad talaga…at nakakatakot din.
thess says:
December 13th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Tita G, kahit pala dyan sa Austria ganyan ugali ng mga yan! Tama naman sinabi mo, they refuse to study the language, ang dami dito na halos 3-4 decades na dito naninirahan ay hindi makapagsalita ng Dutch! Tapos kapag immigrants from Asia pinapahirapan pumasok ng Dutch govn’t kahit mabilis ang transition to Dutch ways with matching Dutch language pa ha.
Ewan ko ba bakit kinatatakutan mga buset na yan eh!
Leap of Faith! says:
December 14th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Thess, I am shocked not at how you reacted (they deserve it) but at how teenagers there act. I had the impression na mas decent ang mga kabataan diyan but, based on your story, mukhang hindi.
Mag-ingat ka sa iyong pagbi-bike. Don’t take that route anymore… kung hindi flasher eh may mga batang nangugulo.
bw says:
December 16th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
ingat pa rin sis coz sometimes you won’t know what these crazy teens will do. :darn: I follow the policy of ignoring such people as much as I can, as long as they don’t touch me, I could bear with the aggravation. :huh:
Sofie says:
December 17th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Hello Thess,
Yes, be very careful. I watched the movie Eden Lake, and gosh, it was really crazy. You’ll never know what the juveniles can do now a days. Regarding movies, blockbuster or not, there’s still something to learn from it.
Have a nice week!
Girlie says:
December 17th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
oh no! ganun ka lala ang mga tao dyan?
the finger serves them right…mabuhay ka Miga!