To Florante Manuel: please read up on the actual Pharisees before applying terms like ‘Pharisaical’ to rightwing thugs and other similar groups that have made common cause with extremists in the evangelical movement. The Pharisees (who evolved into the Orthodox Jews of today) split with the then-prevailing religious establishment — the hereditary priesthood — by embracing the notion of olam haba, a world to come that would offer life after death, and by accepting the writings and the prophetic books as scripture. Their religion is best described as a system of divine jurisprudence and while they may have been meticulous in their observance of the law, that is in fact the very opposite of rightwing vigilante groups like the Proud Boys. These groups call for law and order (“back the blue!”) only when it serves their purpose and quickly spurn the law and attack the cops (“fuck the blue!”) when they themselves become the target of law enforcement.