Lileks on Quakers and Pacifists

From today's Bleat:

Not that I don’t respect the Quakers; I do, but I have problems with their philosophy. Non-violence is a wonderful ideal if the other side plays along – and yes, I know, you bring them around with your example, and eventually everyone is non-violent. Fine. But if there’s a school shooting, no one wants the authorities to send in the Quakers to set a good example.

That's it exactly. When you send in the SWAT team to deal with the situation, very few people are going to argue... Those that get where this is going won't need the speech; those that don't wouldn't get it anyway... But here it is in a nutsehll anyway: Peace through strength.