courage

From average Joes like Dennis Manuge to celebs like Kate Winslet

Mexican toreador Christian Hernandez lost his nerve during a bullfight the other day and fled from the ring, too hoots of derision from the crowd and, inevitably, from the entire Twitterverse. While it shouldn’t need pointing out that Hernandez was badly gored in the leg two months ago, and that the vast majority of the people laughing at him will do nothing more dangerous this year than jaywalk, that’s not quite why I have a great deal of sympathy for him. The key point, I think, is this one that Hernandez himself makes:

In most popular uprisings against tyranny, there is a time when security forces are faced with a decision whether or not to open fire on their fellow citizens. So much hinges on this moment. In Serbia, for example, they didn’t, and Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown.