Mercy And Evil

In reading about the tragedy in New Orleans, what has upset me even more than the scale of the natural disaster, is the man-made element; the looting and, even worse, those that are actually shooting at rescue workers. What it brought to mind was this story about a Palestinian woman who attempted a suicide bombing in an Israeli hospital. She was able to enter Israel due to a special ID card she was issued while obtaining burn victim treatment at that same hospital some months earlier.

What would cause people to be so twisted, that they make cynical use of kind treatment in order to try to hurt and kill their very helpers? And what role is played by those attempting to show mercy? To what extent can they be seen as co-dependents?

The Talmud notes that one who is kind to the cruel, will eventually come to be cruel to the kind. This is a profound sociological observation that is, unfortunately, being proven every day.