Wow, I never thought this incident would promote so much debate. Thank you also to the people who have emailed or PMed me with their kind messages :)
A few points I would like to make:
* Some of you have said I should pursue this case. Quite simply, I won't. I realise that under Qatari law I will be perceived as the one who committed the worse crime. Many of you have outlined that, and it's something I have to accept.
* I still think that u-turning from the right hand lane is dangerous (someone said they weren't sure if it was ACTUALLY illegal, and I've not been able to verify either) but it is certainly a dangerous manoeuvre. I don't think that because someone is in the left-hand turning lane that you can EXPECT they'll be doing a u-turn - if anything, we should expect the UNexpected on Doha's roads!! Anyway I'll be sure to stay out of the left-hand lane in future unless I'M doing the u-turn!
* Some have pointed out that the gesture I made is very offensive. I understand that, and I understand that what I did was wrong. However the point I have been making all along is that what HE did was not a warranted response. He was violent, frightening, and completely over the top. A bit of shouting and yelling, I could understand... but not a physical assault.
To the person who said this...
"Shaking you while telling you you can't do the finger gesture is a very compassionate response"
... well, what an extraordinary comment. A man attempts a punch, physically shakes me about with great force, rips my shirt, and swears over and over at me - and that's 'compassion'?
If that is how you define compassion, then society here is in a lot of trouble.
Wow, I never thought this incident would promote so much debate. Thank you also to the people who have emailed or PMed me with their kind messages :)
A few points I would like to make:
* Some of you have said I should pursue this case. Quite simply, I won't. I realise that under Qatari law I will be perceived as the one who committed the worse crime. Many of you have outlined that, and it's something I have to accept.
* I still think that u-turning from the right hand lane is dangerous (someone said they weren't sure if it was ACTUALLY illegal, and I've not been able to verify either) but it is certainly a dangerous manoeuvre. I don't think that because someone is in the left-hand turning lane that you can EXPECT they'll be doing a u-turn - if anything, we should expect the UNexpected on Doha's roads!! Anyway I'll be sure to stay out of the left-hand lane in future unless I'M doing the u-turn!
* Some have pointed out that the gesture I made is very offensive. I understand that, and I understand that what I did was wrong. However the point I have been making all along is that what HE did was not a warranted response. He was violent, frightening, and completely over the top. A bit of shouting and yelling, I could understand... but not a physical assault.
To the person who said this...
"Shaking you while telling you you can't do the finger gesture is a very compassionate response"
... well, what an extraordinary comment. A man attempts a punch, physically shakes me about with great force, rips my shirt, and swears over and over at me - and that's 'compassion'?
If that is how you define compassion, then society here is in a lot of trouble.