A contract is sustained by habit as much as by ink, and the habit here is that doctors turn up even when the system is unfair. Breaking that habit through a five-day strike may be justified by those who feel cornered, yet it also trains the public to see the profession as just another interest group. The vote against the offer was overwhelming, 83%, and that signals deep frustration. Still, the patient waiting for a scan is not the author of the policy, and it is difficult to defend harming the innocent to punish the guilty. If ministers offered training places without pay, that is a weak bargain, but weakness should be met with sharper argument, not sharper absence. A society that wants trust in its institutions should push both sides toward settlement before resentment becomes permanent.