Monday, July 17, 2006
Let's share the planet, eh?
Yesterday I was taking a walk in the park. As I came around the bend in the path, I spotted three unpleasant-looking dudes in my back yard. Two of them appeared to be in their teens, one in his early twenties. They were dressed like some sort of motorcycle gang gone to hell, and the oldest of them was clearly the leader of the group in a disturbing way. I thought I had seem them in the park once before, but couldn't be sure it was the same group -- I was similarly struck by one of them clearly being the leader, and by the fact that it looked like he had picked up one of those little chameleon-like lizards we have all over the beaches area and slammed it full-force into the sidewalk. I was never sure that was what was going on, because soon they commenced hurling balls of dirt across the canal evidently with the aim of getting them into the pond on the other side.
Anyway, on this occasion -- if indeed it's the same group of idiots -- I have no doubt what they were doing. They were down in the canal where the ducks were swimming, and the oldest one swiped one of the ducklings up and ran off with it. The three of them, heedless of who was watching, then disappeared between my apartment building and the one next to me. By the time I got there, I looked between the buildings and they were gone.
These guys are clearly the scum of the earth and should be surgically removed from the gene pool as soon as possible, but they don't appear to actually be dangerous, at least not yet. Even the oldest of them is about my height and build, so I guess I could take him if I needed to, but since there were three of them I didn't dare challenge them. But man, does it infuriate me the way some people think living things are toys. It was clear that the ducks were upset about the experience, and I can only imagine what horrible death that duckling was in for. At times like this I wish I was Superman or something, that I had the power to inflict upon such people the cruelty they inflict upon those smaller than them. It's the old adage, why don't you pick on someone your own size? I only wish I'd had the guts to at least shout at them, what the hell do you think you're doing? After all, if they wanted to pick a fight, I guess the law would be on my side. Maybe. Or not. Well, what's one duck more or less? But it still boils my blood.
Anyway, on this occasion -- if indeed it's the same group of idiots -- I have no doubt what they were doing. They were down in the canal where the ducks were swimming, and the oldest one swiped one of the ducklings up and ran off with it. The three of them, heedless of who was watching, then disappeared between my apartment building and the one next to me. By the time I got there, I looked between the buildings and they were gone.
These guys are clearly the scum of the earth and should be surgically removed from the gene pool as soon as possible, but they don't appear to actually be dangerous, at least not yet. Even the oldest of them is about my height and build, so I guess I could take him if I needed to, but since there were three of them I didn't dare challenge them. But man, does it infuriate me the way some people think living things are toys. It was clear that the ducks were upset about the experience, and I can only imagine what horrible death that duckling was in for. At times like this I wish I was Superman or something, that I had the power to inflict upon such people the cruelty they inflict upon those smaller than them. It's the old adage, why don't you pick on someone your own size? I only wish I'd had the guts to at least shout at them, what the hell do you think you're doing? After all, if they wanted to pick a fight, I guess the law would be on my side. Maybe. Or not. Well, what's one duck more or less? But it still boils my blood.
# posted by Collin R. Skocik @ 11:53 AM 
