The Return of the Cat Killer

I have not tossed up whether to write this little piece. However, I must qualify that the story is based on hearsay.

Just down the street from my place and in front of the cat killer's house is a small park with a swing and a few other pieces of parky like furniture. There is also a 'pangkalan ojek' (motor cycle taxi stand). The missus and I have only been in the new place for just over a week and I have developed a pretty good rapport with the local ojek riders. I am a pretty personable fella really and nice to everyone.

It turns out that my psycho cat killing neighbour decided in his infinite wisdom that he would shoot some more cats this morning. I heard the shots but did not see the events first hand. However, the ojek riders were quick to report to me the events as they unfolded. The victims were two kittens and their mother. According to the ojek riders all three were hit but all managed to get away. The preferred method it seems is to shoot the cats in their rear hind legs or back.

These cats were not my cats and I do not know if they are pets. They had taken to playing in our yard over the last couple of days. But, as I have said previously it is cowardly to shoot defenseless animals just for the fun of it. What's more is these three cats were shot through the fence while they were playing on the other side of the street. I would suggest that even though this is a street in a private housing complex, the street by definition is a public thoroughfare as far as residents are concerned. Shooting into the street is not only dangerous it is stupid.

I have made my report to the coordinator of security and to the RT (Local Community Chief). Both have said that the owning of a gun, even an air rifle, is dangerous and not in the spirit of a residential complex like this one. I was promised that they would talk to the man (I hesitate to call him a man), one Pak Joy, but this seems to have been nothing more than lip service. Pak Joy, somewhat ironic as the fella certainly does not bring a whole lot of Joy, goes on his merry way killing cats. At least now I know why there are not that many cats in the vicinity.

I should add that the RT instructed me that it would not be worth my while to escalate this and make an issue of it. It would especially not be worth my while to refer or report the matter to the police. I must resolve this in a neighbourly way as all good neighbours in the complex where I live apparently do.

It was then suggested that I moved prematurely to the new house because my immigration paperwork was not complete in terms of recognizing my changed location of residence. I might add it is in process, but that was like, well you must have it done before you move, so you are not really a legal resident of the complex until the paperwork is complete. In my ever-increasing cynicism, I might interpret this to mean it is time to pull your head in and get with the program. In this case the program being that the cat killer can do whatever he wants. Any suggestions on how to proceed from here would be appreciated.

It is too bad that I am not on an expat package where I could have more options as to where I live. I work and live like a local on a local salary and under local conditions, but I am always treated with suspicion no matter how long I live in one place. It is frustrating at times and this is one of those times.

Twisted & Bitter

I am an unhappy trooper today! I am pretty busy but felt like I should write this particular post as an animal lover and a pet owner!

This follows on from the moving house piece. After my two dogs were poisoned the better half and I seemed to be adopted by a cat. It kept coming around and we kept feeding it and as cats are prone to do it kept coming back. So, we named it and thought the right thing to do would be to bring it with us to our new place.

The cat (aka Smudges) was a little bit confused in his new surroundings and meowed a lot at the top of his little lungs. The little fella is as gentle as can be and wouldn't harm a fly. It is not interested in anything remotely violent. He is but a kitten and spends his time amusing himself playing with string and other little trinkety, shiny objects.

As I was leaving this morning for work Smudges was sitting on the fence having a little bit of a wail to himself when my new next door neighbour brought out his air rifle and shot poor little Smudges off the fence. I was heading over to the fence to lift the little fella down so I am not too happy that my cat was shot and I am not happy that if I had been a little quicker I might have copped a little pellet as well. The puss scampered off, I could tell that it was hit but I do not know how bad as I have not been able to locate him.

I am going to photograph my next door neighbours house and my neighbour and then post his picture and address. The neighbour is an Indonesian of Chinese ancestry, I am not sure that this makes any difference to what transpired but he did suggest that he was operating under a different set of rules. I am sure this is a breach of Internet etiquette and myriad of other etiquettes, but whatever, an abuser of animals is an abuser of animals and deserves to be outed!

This bloke has a really big house and is obviously loaded. He has no birds or anything else that apparently need protecting from a little cat. His reason when I confronted him was that he hates cats and he has permission from some bloke to shoot and kill cats. A little bit of research uncovered that the name he gave for the permission giver is a resident, but one who is neither the RT, RW, or the coordinator for security. I am not sure whether it is worth following up and lodging an official complaint, but I did nearly jump the fence and tear the bastard a new arsehole.

I have absolutely no respect for wankers who kill family pets for fun. Smudges is but a poor defenseless little cat up against a grown man with a rifle. The outcome should probably never have been in doubt.

Redneck Hillbilly and Smart Arse White Imperialist

It seems that my comments on another site, IndonesiaMatters, have generated a couple of new claims to fame. I am now a redneck hillbilly and a smart arse white imperialist. Those of you who know me personally might be grinning right about now, those of you that are frequent readers of my ramblings and personal musing here might be thinking WTF! Some people like IndonesiaMatters and others do not. My good friend Tree is one who is not a big fan!

For me it is always a good read because it highlights the best and worst of our human existence, it is controversial, it is confrontational, and as a result never really dull. It is also probably the only place I can go on the Internet and be called a redneck or an imperialist.

I guess my passive resistance philosophy doesn't cut the mustard with everyone.

Just in case you are wondering I am not offended at being a redneck or an imperialist. It is kind of amusing in that perversely funny sad kind of a way. I have been labeled this way because I commented on another commentator's assertion that Chinese Indonesians have superior DNA to their Javanese counterparts and made a comment that Hitler also though his DNA and that of the Aryan Nation was far superior to that of the Jews. This was then interpreted to mean that I had labeled all Chinese Indonesians as little Hitlers in waiting, just not true!

However, it is what it is! The idea of superior DNA in one race is indicative of racism and degenerates into racial hatred, the idea was wrong then and the idea is wrong now! My whole life has been fighting for the underdog, fighting against injustice, and fighting for what I believe to be right. So, to stand accused of being a redneck and a white imperialist strangely enough put a smile on this man's dial!

What is even more interesting is that having an opinion and commenting on the May 1998 riots in Indonesia made me into a smart arse white imperialist! Bizarre...

As Uncle Ned always used to say (and until his dying breath)...Such is Life!

Now it is time to get on with life now that I have enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame as a redneck hillbilly and smart arse white imperialist.