Threatened

A couple of hours ago, Maribel and I were coming back from the university after dropping her boyfriend off who's taking some "summer" classes. All of the sudden the car stops and I look up and there is a fat 11/12 year old boy dressed in dirty clothes standing in front of the car. He was holding with his right hand a piece of concrete that broke off from the median, and he was making a movement as if he was about to throw the rock at our front windshield.

At this moment, I'm kind of freaked out. What should I do? Should I step out of the car and yell at him or kick his ass? But what if he throws the piece of concrete and breaks our windshield?

He screams, "Gimme your money!". Ah, so he wants some money. My sister doesn't have any change, but I do, so I pull out about a thousand Bolivares (roughly $0.40) and he walks towards my side. I lower the passenger window a bit and give him the bill.

He doesn't go away. He is still standing there making the same threatening I'm-going-to-throw-this-rock movement and he says "No, give me everything!". I freak out again. What do I do now? Push him by opening the door, get out and kick him? That's not going to solve the probem. Should I just push him and scream at him? What if he throws the rock first, and breaks the passenger window and pieces of glass fall on me? Is that worth what's in my pocket?

Then, the car moves. There was nobody in front of us, so my sister in distress stepped her foot on the gas and we went past the kid. I look behind me and the kid walking, trying to threaten other people.

A few minutes later, we ran into a couple of cops standing on the street, as they always do like human speedbumps, and we tell them what is going on nearby. They said "We'll check it out". I'm not sure if they ever did, or they told another unit to go check it.

I wonder where that kid learned how to do that. I wonder if they will get him. My mother said that these sort of things were rumored to be happening recently, since she works at the university.

That's one of the main problems with the Venezuelan culture. Everyone wants to make a quick buck, and depending on who you are and where you come from, you'll find a way, with the most extreme case being by threatening drivers in the middle of the street with a piece of concrete. And most people can get away with it.