Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

Before I begin, I want to point out that I am usually not the type that will advocate violence or anything that will get a person thrown in jail. This is because I don’t want to be responsible for somebody getting hurt or going to prison. It’s not to say that I don’t have a certain respect for those who practice civil disobedience, such as Adam Kokesh, who defied Washington DC’s unconstitutional gun laws by carrying a loaded shotgun in public. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr. “People have the moral responsibility to disobey laws that are unjust or downright evil.” Though I will advise that anyone considering this tactic to be prepared to face the consequences. Adam Kokesh, who later had his home attacked by a SWAT team as if he were a member of ISIS, will attest to this notion.

Now, as a libertarian I believe in practicing the Non-Aggression Principle, which we should all know by now forbids the initiation of force. That is until you have an opponent who doesn’t abide by this same principle. The first one who throws a punch is the one at fault. The reason why I bring this up is because the left is becoming increasingly violent.

Sadly, I am starting to miss the little Snowflakes that would either retreat to their Safe Spaces or shout down unpopular guest speakers. They are nothing compared to these wanabe Anarchists and paid agitators who have been wreaking havoc everywhere from Trump’s Inauguration to Berkley, which ironically was once the center of the Free Speech movement on college campuses. Recently, the protests against Milo Yiannopoulos’ visit in Berkley got so out of hand that the agitators broke out of their barricades, threw Molotov cocktails into the street and managed to destroy both public and private property in the process. This forced weak willed college administrators to cancel Milo’s visit. A few days later, libertarian leaning comedian/commentator, Gavin McInnis found himself pepper sprayed by protestors when he entered the building of NYU through the front entrance. His entourage who was left outside, was forced to fight the violent crowd, which unfairly led to them being arrested. On his segment on Rebel Media, McInnis encouraged others to fight back against the so-called anti-fascist mob.

Months ago, I remember listening to a podcast by Christopher Cantwell, where he said that the left was becoming so increasingly violent and oppressive that peaceful co-existence with them may be impossible. He also encouraged people to get in shape and learn how to fight back against leftist mobs. I know that there are many who probably disregarded Cantwell’s warnings, since this is the same man who likes to joke about tossing leftists out of helicopters. Though it appears that he may have been one of the few who saw the writing on the wall.

After I heard about Berkley, it became evident to me that now is the time to fight back. The time for diplomacy with the left is over. They don’t want to debate our ideas. They want to silence them for good. So, now we need to put the real fascists in their place and I do mean physically. I know that there are many conservatives and libertarians who are hesitant because you never know when a minor brawl can escalate into something even more ugly. Then of course there is the fear of being portrayed as the aggressor by a media that doesn’t pretend to be objective anymore. Then there is the possibility of being blamed by the authorities, which is why I was at first hesitant to advise anyone to fight.

This situation is nothing new, since the civil rights workers had to face the same dilemma half a century ago. Many people have this image of the Civil Rights activists being completely pacifistic when they were attacked because that is what we were taught in school. What our teachers didn’t tell us was that it was part of a strategy that Martin Luther King referred to as “Creative Tension” where he brought attention to the injustices of the day by allowing themselves to be beaten by their opponents without retaliating. The objective was to make their opponents look like the aggressors, so the civil rights workers would gain sympathy from the public. The downside was that it encouraged their aggressors to keep attacking them, since they knew that they could do so without any form of retribution. The civil rights workers would soon learn that if they wanted to survive, they were going to have to fight back.

This is the exact same situation that we are facing now. The time for Creative Tension is now over. If we want any of our ideas to survive, then we have to fight. Keep in in mind this is being written by somebody who has always hated fighting. Though I hate the prospect of having our ideas die out because a bunch of leftist bullies won’t allow them on college campuses, even worse.

For all the conservative and libertarian activists going out there on the front lines of the increasingly violent protests, I have a couple of suggestions.

Proceed with caution. Make sure that you know what the laws are in whatever state you may find yourself in with regards to Martial Arts and weapons of both a lethal and nonlethal nature.

Keep your Cool. Don’t throw any punches unless it is absolutely necessary. This goes double for those who ascribe to the Non-Aggression Principle. These agitators are going to do whatever they can to make you lose you temper and violate your own principles. Don’t let them get under your skin.

Record everything. Thanks to a wonderful invention called the camera phone, it is now easier to record everything that goes on at these protests. This makes it much harder for your opponents to get away with telling lies about you or your group. Yes, they will not hesitate for an instant to lie if it means achieving their goals. These are the same people who believe that the ends justify the means, even if the means requires violence.

Don’t worry about the media. There was a time when I actually gave a damn about what the media thought about us, but I have come to realize that they are going to rail against us, no matter what we do or say. I am not saying that we should do anything to make us look stupid because we still don’t want to give them the ammunition. I just want to point out that we can’t expect any fair or balanced reporting from the mainstream media. They have pretty much made it clear that they sold their journalistic souls a long time ago. This is another reason why recording everything is so crucial. Biased reporting is the best that we can expect from the media and downright lies at the worst. That is where social media sites on the internet are going to come in handy, so we can show the public what actually went on at the protests.

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I know that this expression is pretty clichéd, but it is true and relevant to this subject. You have to be prepared for the negative consequences that can and will occur if you choose to fight back. Yes, fights, especially those in large groups can turn ugly, real fast. You may have to sustain injuries. The local authorities may decide that you are the one at fault, despite the other side being the aggressors. This is yet another reason why you should document everything. Also, make sure that you have good attorney on hand.