I don't know what you'd call the Afghanistani/Pakistani lawless border areas, but 'society' doesn't quite fit.
You've been there? It's been more than a decade since I was around the enviorns of the Pathan area of Darra, Pakistan, but though those there have very little use for the laws of government, they're quite serious about those of God and of the family heirarchy. Though I was an infidel outsider, I was treated with courtesy and respect, and felt much safer than I've been in Chicago after dark, or often, many corners of my present hometown of Memphis in the daytime.
Granted, gunfire rattled off the walls throughout the day, mostly testfiring demonstrations aimed skyward while checking functional reliability or into target backstops; not much worse than being around seriously armed military personnel with an excess of ammo to burn off and a high boredom quotient.
My only gripe about the place was that they like their tea and coffee a LOT stronger than I care for either. Still, I'm happy to have an excuse to visit those fierce but usually well-behaved society anytime, and R.A.H. was correct: their society is indeed both weell armed AND polite...by it's own standards.
-archy-/-
