Street Club

In a city where the red, yellow, and green traffic lights are usually perceived equally as a "GO!" signal, there are many odd acceptable social standards that one can't just give implausible excuses to. Like, "Oh, maybe they're just colorblind!" We've been living a mediocre life for too long, and no one managed to even halt the deterioration of our adversities; never mind mending and ameliorating the quality of our lives. Hence, they're obviously not supermen in a hurry to save us. 

Which leaves me wondering: why are they in a hurry in the first place? What is this thing that they're planning on doing that can't even wait for- literally- seconds? 

So lets layout some truths that many Libyans have just accustomed to sugar-coating so they can go on with their mediocrities and not have something else to huff and puff at. Most of these impatient drivers are actually showing up at faculties of universities to jam-pack their parking lots. Others park in front of high schools. Long story short, they're just showing up at a place where there happens to be girls walking by so they can treat themselves with hours of eye-candy (which are prettily wrapped if you ask me!).

Now, if you're a non-Libyan or a descendant of this cursed desert, but hasn't lived here for long enough, you will probably find what I'm pointing out and claiming is a social hazard is nothing but gibberish, incomprehensible talk, but you're not the one to be blamed! -Nevertheless, just continue reading. 

Yes, there are Libyan "men" of various ages, social 

and educational standards, and castes who spend their afternoons  going out just so they can stand in their favorite spot for catcalling and harassing their fellow Libyan ladies as they walk home after a long day at school or as they inevitably stroll and rush down the hallways of whatever faculty they chose to struggle at. ( Regardless of the weather. Whether it's cold and the roads are transformed into dirty puddles or during the summer when there's overwhelming, blistering humidity.) 

They stare and stare. They never get enough of it, although I'm not sure what it is that they get! Some have those perverted  stares that would leave you with disgust. Others blurt out words which indicate the lowness of their IQ! The beginners at this low-life lifestyle are always the most pathetic. They would shout things at you until you disappear into the distance, without ever giving up hope that you'll helplessly fall in love with them right there and then and give up everything that you can to be with them from that moment of them making a complete fool of themselves in the public eye and not giving a damn to forever. Maybe, they're not really hoping for anything at all. I mean, they're probably the most hopeless creatures of this land. Moreover, their actions are nothing but a function of their most impulsive instincts. 

However, what makes an adult human beg for the attention of a complete stranger and just completely shrug it off seconds later after that stranger rolls their eyes as they hasten their pace, if not cuss out of utter frustration? It's so disturbing to see a man being disrespectful and ignorant on such an unprecedented level to me. Not only are they being an annoyance to all the women they harass, but it makes them look almost non-human. There's a saying in my country that has a literal translation of: so and so fell from my eyes. And thanks to those many men standing in rows and groups smirking at girls and tilting their heads so much just to get a glimpse made realize where that saying came from. 

You'd think that these men are nobodies, but they're not. That's the problem. These are educated people. Scientifically educated, I should clarify. On more than one instance, I'd see a post about a guy on a Facebook page that people share so many times in celebration of his graduation, or I'd witness "his" graduation party firsthand. Then, just a few days later find myself observing that same guy in the hallways staring and participating in a loathsome manner that somehow became normal. "He's looking for a bride!" Is the most mind-boggling excuse I've seen girls spread around! And there's many similar excuses they can give themselves like, " Oh it's just an hour or two of getting our mind off things." But it's not like that. Not at all.  

 

Besides, this mindless, reckless act of getting up, dressing up and trying too hard, and driving to just stand there is more harmful to those men than it is beneficial in many aspects. 

Religiously speaking, it's sinful from many perspectives. For starters, there's a verse of the holy Quran in Surat A-Noor that states :"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do." Lowering your gaze is a challenge, and you might be forgiven for not doing it enough and properly. However, having it as your priority for those hours, and smirking and laughing with friends as you point out each girl that flattered your eyesight indicates the magnitude of your apathy towards the command of your lord, which is just plain wrong. In addition, I hear the call to prayer (Athaan) sometimes, and I don't see any of them going to any nearby mosques to be a part of their obligatory congressional prayers. Literally ignoring prayers for the sake of staring. But, then again, it's those same boys who go online on groups and pages preaching about religion and about how girls should and shouldn't dress. Furthermore, wasting time is also sinful in Islam, and they're doing just that. From a worldly point of view, they are unequivocally privileged folks who don't have to work the entire day to make ends meet, so shouldn't they invest their extra money and time in improving a country that is desperate for improvement; any kind of it? Here's the thing: standing there like weirdos while doing nothing useful when you could use it anyhow in developing the education, healthcare, and/or economics of Libya shouldn't just be rebuked, but in my country's case should be considered as an act of treason!

I stopped giving people excuses that I would never give myself under any circumstances. 

Personally, I believe it's an epidemic! I would love to sit here and type all the excuses I could think of that would justify their horrendous acts, but I'm not going to do that. 

They can go and spend that afternoon at a mosque praying for our country's revival, and memorizing and looking into the meaning of our Holy book. There are volunteer clubs that could be initiated. There are books to be written about our life. And a gargantuan amount of projects to get done. 

All in all, our Libyan society is palpably more pitiful toward the male population in many aspects. This one fact is the reason behind all those standing there wasting their time with the excuse that their country isn't providing enough "get-aways" for them as it supposedly should. But I will end my ranting with a quote that stuck around with me from the moment I heard it, " Ask not what your country can do for you! Ask what you can do for your country!" - President Kennedy.