In 2018, I wrote a piece here at Bearing Arms about the dangers of the mob going after ideological opponents. At the time, left-leaning mobs were hounding any Republican they could find out and about, even if they were just trying to eat a meal. I was actually looking for something else I was sure I wrote here and stumbled on it, but it sort of felt important to look at it a bit in light of what we're currently seeing all around us.

At the time, I feared escalation. Sooner or later, I worried the mob mentality would kick in and someone would go too far and then things would get really ugly.

I wrote:

However, mobs feed off of one another. Over time, what is considered acceptable starts to shift, and it’s only a matter of time before it gets ugly. However, as RedState‘s Brandon Morse notes, it could have happened this time just with what was taking place in the videos.

But then I wondered what would happen if it wasn’t just me or one of my colleagues. What if it were one of my family members who was accompanying me? What if it were my mother, girlfriend, or sister that was with me when this mob came after me. What would happen if one of those with me had a small child?

If the whistleblowing kid sidled up too close to my loved ones, what would my reaction be in the moment? If they put a bullhorn in their face and began screaming, would I be able to keep my cool? What if they threw liquids on them? Could I just raise my hands up? Would it even be responsible of me to not become physical in some way in order to make them aware that there is a line, and crossing it could result in physical harm, or should I just pull them closer to me and lead them away as best I can?

It’s easy to ponder these questions while I’m sitting in my office behind a keyboard watching it happen to somebody else. No adrenaline in my system, my heart isn’t pounding in my ears, and my fight or flight instincts aren’t trying to take over my reason. I could speculate as to my reaction all day, but until I’m put in that situation where my loved ones are in danger, I’ll never really know.

But rest assured, if the left continues to normalize this tactic of confronting right-wing people while they’re minding their own business in public, we will know.

He’s right.

Even if the left doesn’t start the violence, they’re responsible for it. They’re the guy bouncing around, yapping, talking smack and antagonizing until someone has no choice but to act.

Now, things didn't get to that point then. That's a very good thing. I'm glad my fears weren't realized.

A couple of years later, Biden took office, and while there was some ugliness just before then, then a different kind of ugliness that followed, the violence sort of chilled, in most ways.

Trump has returned to office, though, and so has the violence.

Time and time again, the news is filled with Tesla dealerships on fire. Others have been shot at--thankfully, while no one was there. People are coming out to their cars, only to find out that they've been vandalized to varying degrees, including one well-documented incident where a chunky boy reached into his butt crack to grab some of his own feces to smear on the door.

Yeah, gross. Who walks around with poo in their butt crack just in case they need to engage in some light vandalism?

But the problem is that things seem to be getting worse.

It started with protesting, which is fine, but then it got to arson and gunshots, and now? Now we get this:

Masked radicals are now pulling over random Tesla owners and accosting them for driving “Nazi cars.” pic.twitter.com/b1m03zxBPI

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 21, 2025

Now, this was harassment, which isn't quite enough to reach a threshold for using a firearm, but how long before someone decides to take it up a notch?

And is this going to stay "contained" to just vandalism and harassment or will it get uglier.

My fears last time were misplaced, thankfully. This time, I don't know that we'll be as fortunate. The thing is, we all tend to hope for the best, prepare for the worst, so I highly recommend that you get in a little extra range time, carry anywhere and everywhere you can, and be ready if the next target of this kind of stuff--or worse--is you and yours.

Let's hope it's nothing and this gets nipped in the bud quickly. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel aren't playing around, thankfully, but let's not take any chances.