Cartel Cats: Know Your Rights
Chapter Sixteen: Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board
Some days, no matter how loud you shout, nobody hears you. Some days, no matter how hard you wave, nobody sees you. In Pawloma, Barbara Sanders and her crew knew that feeling all too well.
One afternoon, after the city council ignored yet another petition, the crew gathered in the alley, frustration simmering.
Sneezy Lila:
"How are we supposed to be heard when they won't even look at us? When every word we say gets twisted or erased?"
Barbara looked around at her crew—cats from every block, every background, some who'd never stood together before.
Barbara:
"If they won't hear us, and they won't see us, then we stand together. All of us. Even the ones they'd never expect to see side by side. That's how they know something's wrong—when the crowd makes silence louder than any scream."
Scene 1: The Power of Unity
Rico, usually the lone wolf, stepped forward.
Rico:
"What if we just… do nothing? Not a protest, not a shout. Just show up, stand together, and refuse to move."
Mama Patch nodded, catching on.
Mama Patch:
"Light as a feather, stiff as a board. If we're all still, all silent, all unmovable—they can't change what they see, or ignore what's not being done. We become something they can't erase or twist."
Scene 2: The Silent Stand
The next day, the crew spread the word. Cats from every corner of Pawloma showed up and lined the main street—silent, still, side by side. No signs, no chants, just presence.
People passing by stopped and stared. City officials peeked out windows, confused and uneasy.
Barbara (softly, to her crew):
"They can't change what they see if we don't move. They can't twist what they hear if we say nothing. If we do nothing—together—they have to face what's missing, what's wrong, and what needs to change."
Scene 3: The Unignorable Message
By sunset, the silence had made more noise than a hundred protests. News crews arrived. Questions buzzed. "Why are they here? Why are they silent? Why are they together?"
Barbara smiled.
Barbara:
"Because sometimes, the loudest message is the one you send by refusing to play along. When you can't be heard or seen for who you are, make your unity the message. Stand with those they'd never expect. Be light as a feather, stiff as a board—unbreakable, unchangeable, undeniable."
Rights Recap Song
🎶
Light as a feather, stiff as a board,
Silent together, we can't be ignored.
If you can't hear our voices,
If you won't see our face,
We'll stand side by side
And take up our space.
No lies to twist, no words to spin,
When we do nothing, that's how we win.
Unity's power, silent and strong—
You'll notice us missing, you'll know something's wrong.
🎶
Spoken Outro (Barbara)
If your voice is silenced and your presence erased,
stand together with those you never thought you'd stand beside.
Let your unity be the message.
Because when you do nothing—together—
you become something they can't ignore,
can't twist, and can't change.
Are we clear?
Light as a feather, stiff as a board.
Unbreakable. Shhh win kravesuns! Wes t