An obscene gesture can get a person in trouble in most places. I’m fairly confident that more than a few murders in the U.S. hinged on that moment.

I think many of us tend to think obscene gestures don’t necessarily travel. Across borders. Around the world. That what is an obscene gesture in, say, Italy, may not even register on someone from somewhere else.

The citizens of the UAE, however, either had the middle-finger gesture all along, or have come up to speed on it, because someone flipping off someone else in this country can get the flipper in a lot of trouble.

An Egyptian man could tell you about it. If he were still in the country, that is.

Road rage is a “thing” here. Of course it is. Everyone is in a hurry, lots of people have big and powerful vehicles and believe that the whole of the road belongs to them. Tailgating is a national pastime. A driver whose progress is momentarily checked, in the fast lane, is very likely to flash his bright lights at you — even if you, too, are tailgating the person ahead of you.

So, in Dubai, On Sheikh Zayed Road, the main freeway of the city, where driving is particularly dangerous and stressful, and often difficult because of volume … a couple of guys are driving, and a 31-year-old Egyptian guy gets into it with an Emirati. Who also happens to be an officer in the armed forces.

As the story in The National tells it, the guys are side by side on the road. (Maybe at a dead stop, given Dubai’s traffic.) Egyptian guy is trying to change lanes, putting him ahead of the Emirati guy.

The Emirati told the court the Egyptian was making a dangerous lane change. The Egyptian said the Emirati threatened him.

The Egyptian changed lanes, anyway, a collision ensued … and the Emirati said the Egyptian made an obscene gesture while the latter was on the side of the road. The Egyptian also was found to have used bad language.

The court found the Egyptian guilty on two counts, and they are listed in this order, in the story: 1) guilty of an indecent act in public and 2) guilty of endangering the life of the Emirati.

At least in our story, the middle finger is a bigger issue than the threat to someone’s life.

The punishment: A fine of 5,000 dirhams (about $1,360) and, this is the bigger matter: deportation from the country.

Foreigners do not get visas here unless they hold a job, which means the Egyptian is now out of work. And presumably back in Egypt, where the economy is flat-lining.

Anyway, yes, some obscenties do travel over borders — and gestures, in particular, do.