This is one of the Kashmiri protesters who, at risk to their own safety & lives, rushed to the scene of the Chadoora encounter early today to interrupt the occupying army from its shootout against a lone rebel & to rescue him from being harmed.

We should take a moment to pay tribute to them. They are made of the same steely courage as the White Helmets in Syria, as Palestinians terrorized by Israeli troops & violent settlers, as the protesters who showed such remarkable courage against superior military might in the Arab uprisings.

So many look at the overwhelming suffering in the world & draw misanthropic conclusions that humanity isn’t worth a damn. These are the fighters who still believe justice & freedom stand a chance & put their lives on the line to be part of achieving that.

Indian nationalist media called them trouble-makers & spoke of their “criminal impudence” & “thuggery.” Would that the human race had more such impudent & fearless trouble-makers. These are the teachers of revolution against tyranny, the leaders of social transformation.

(Photo by Dar Yasin/AP)