The price of tolerance

[Mosby]

“He kicked me in the head,” cried the boy, while two police officers kept him down on the floor. Only a few minutes earlier, the boy and his friends arrogantly spoke about “fighting to the end” against anyone who would dare to evacuate them. Yet here they were now, after the State used a tiny portion of its power, sobbing like children spanked by their father.

The humiliation of the hooligans in Hebron satisfied law enforcement officials, yet the need to deal with this matter for long weeks shows us that the State has yet to internalize an essential lesson: One should not be negotiating with rebels or debating with Messianic zealots. In such cases, patience is not a virtue.

After all, the practice of political Messianism is premised on the patience of authorities: The zealots threaten bloodshed and shift the burden of responsibility to the government. Such maneuvers start with an illegal act, which many citizens see as reasonable utilization of the freedoms reserved for minorities in democratic regimes. When the zealots’ demands are not met, they declare that they shall be fighting to the last drop of blood.

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