Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP

It’s probably not fair to pretend the idea of violence in politics is new. It’s been around for a long time, after all. The idea of “tar and feathering” people dates back to pre-Revolution times. While many don’t think of it as violence, it truly was as people tended to prefer not to be covered in hot tar.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s right.

Over the weekend, right-leaning journalist Andy Ngo was attacked in Portland by members of Antifa. He was beaten, and his camera equipment was stolen. It was an ugly attack that should shame every single person who has ever offered any support to Antifa.

More importantly, the attack represents a dangerous escalation and provides a prime reason why we need the Second Amendment.

Ngo was hit not just by fists, but also with “milkshakes,” some of which may have contained cement.

Police have received information that some of the milkshakes thrown today during the demonstration contained quick-drying cement. We are encouraging anyone hit with a substance today to report it to police.

— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) June 29, 2019

In the ER. pic.twitter.com/spe5N4nzVl

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 29, 2019

Warning Graphic Content

First skirmish I’ve seen. Didn’t see how this started, but @MrAndyNgo got roughed up. pic.twitter.com/hDkfQchRhG

— Jim Ryan (@Jimryan015) June 29, 2019

What happened to Ngo is horrible. More importantly, there are far too many people ready to excuse it. For example, we have a number of liberal journalists who blame Ngo for the attack. Not all, thankfully, but the fact that any can respond in any way other than with complete condemnation should outrage all of us.

As I mentioned earlier, this is an escalation. This is an attempt to attack a particular journalist for his work covering a group like Antifa. The problem, however, is that Ngo works for Quillette, which is viewed as a right-wing publication–this despite including all sides of the discussion…or maybe because it does. The violent extremist group figured that Ngo is fair game and should be shut down.

As if that wasn’t enough, we have award-winning authors suggesting that perhaps the Left should “upgrade” to bricks instead.

Whether one uses a cement milkshake or a brick is irrelevant. Both of those are capable of hurting or killing someone, and they’re being used to hurt or kill someone because they hold a different opinion.

Folks, this is why we need firearms. These people are more than willing to kill you for disagreeing with them. They would rather see you dead than debate you on the merits. When someone is willing to do that, you don’t have much of a choice. You need to protect yourself.

Don’t get me wrong. Protecting yourself won’t play well with the media. That’s especially true if the milkshake someone is threatened with turns out to be a real milkshake rather than a cement one. However, one doesn’t exactly have time to examine the contents of a cup before it’s hurled at us.

The question is, how long until the next escalation? How long will it be before Antifa decides that cement milkshakes or even bricks aren’t enough?

Are you willing to trust your life to them not escalating any further? I sure wouldn’t.

For better or worse, this is the world we live in. The typical Bearing Arms reader is going to have a political identity that angers the typical Antifa supporter. We’re all potential targets unless we hide our politics, which is precisely what they want us to do. They want us to hide out of fear so they can pretend their ideas are the only ideas. They want us to feel marginalized because marginalized people are easier to sway politically.

Perhaps more importantly, we know that they want us dead.

Thanks to the Second Amendment, should they act on that desire, we have the means to protect ourselves. Antifa is going to tangle with the wrong person someday, and what will happen afterward will be very interesting.

What won’t happen is me shedding any tears over a dead thug.