They are unworthy to be “people” - not unworthy of tar-and-feathering.
A recent sequence of events:
Me: (reads thread)
(runs off to find Pudding and give her a hug)
Pudding: (meows piteously)
Me: (tries to look at her toes)
Pudding: (gets grumpy and tries to scratch me. walks away in a dignified manner)
Me: (wibbly smile at kitty-my-love’s posterior)
Ah. Understood.
Well done.