I am a man of peace and I want to be at peace with all men if possible. That is how Baptists are (Romans 12:18). However, I am a libertarian, too, and as such I am in favor of self-defense against criminals and even criminal states (Luke 22:36-38; 1 Corinthians 7:20-26). I know that some people could care less about the biblical support for libertarianism and self-defense, since they arrive at those principles in other ways. Yet we all stand together united with the same conclusion: we have to defend ourselves and our property against predators, especially when government fails to do so.
Over the last few days I have been completely flabbergasted to watch the incredible, violent treatment that political figure José Antonio Kast received in Universidad Arturo Prat in Iquique, Chile on March 21, 2018 (the man in the blue dress shirt being assaulted above and with a leg cast below)—a bottom-of-the-barrel state university where the students with the worst entrance exams can become "university-educated professionals." And, apparently, criminals, too. A violent mob of them kicked and hit Kast, as well as pelted him with everything from water to stones and small flagpoles.
It is worth watching the whole account—captured on cell phone camera—to see how a man, with views equivalent to a member of the Constitution Party in the U.S.A., is treated by the organized, ignorant, vitriolic and I think even bloodthirsty Chilean hard Left. (The major aggression starts around minute 19:30 of the video.) For the first time in twenty-two years of being a resident of Chile do I now understand why the local libertarians and people on the Right say that President Pinochet had no choice but "to violate human rights" in order to hold these wild Chilean "animals" in check.
Indeed, it is truly astounding. It is a case worth considering. I know that this sort of incident is par for the course for most of the rest of the world, but what makes it so shocking is that it occurred in one of the word's freer countries. The difference in Chile, unlike America, is that while pistols are legal to own and even use at home, they may not be carried on the street. This policy blunder has consequences. The adage is correct, "An armed society is a polite society." Maybe that is the main reason that the United States is politer than Chile: up there the hard Left knows that a significant percentage of the opposition is carrying concealed weapons, and knows how to use them.
My views are more "radical" than Kast's, being a pro-life libertarian. I have a gun and know how to use it. But even in the U.S.A. I did not feel slightly frightened like I do now: I might have to use my gun should this country break into greater civil unrest. The streets of Las Condes and Viña del Mar may seem calm now, but there is a seething and venomous hatred boiling over in places, like Iquique, among the hard Left—ever since they lost the election to centrist Sebastián Piñera. It looks like they will be demonstrating and venting their frustrations with violence. For those readers unfamiliar with Chilean political figures, if I were to put them on a simple political spectrum, Piñera, Macron and Merkel would be to the left of Trump who is to the left of Kast, Ron Paul and people like me.
The young adults of the Chilean Right (age 25 up through age 45) are fed up with it and some are talking with fighting words. They are sick and tired of the idle and tacit comments, gestures and cowardly attacks on persons and property. They detest the fact that criminal and civil justice is a joke in Chile, with leftist judges leaving leftist criminals insufficiently punished and district attorneys (fiscales) refusing to prosecute—or even serve papers formally accusing—known felons. I worry, for good reason, that threatened rightists are not going to put up with it forever.
Indeed, the rhetoric on the Right is heating up, as evidenced, too, in the blog of famous Chilean editorialist Hermógenes Pérez de Arce. The cowardly leftists are now sending screenshots of WhatsApp chat groups run by the Right to the police (PDI) and claiming they are being threatened. They want to have their cake and eat it, too. Look at the anti-Kast image above: "Boycott Kast! We do not accept machistas, homophobes, or xenophobes." The intolerant, hateful miscreants commonly found among the Chilean Left are organized and following Kast around to his talks wherever he is invited.
Remember that Baptists were a large part of the defensive or revolutionary force that held off the British in the newly-founded United States. It was those same Baptists that were led by men like Pastor John Leland, who after the War for Independence (1780s) heavily influenced George Mason, James Madison and perhaps Thomas Jefferson to insist on a Bill of Rights to the Constitution, modelled on the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776). So where is Chile's Leland?
Remember that Baptists are natural libertarians. We make no state alliances and there has never been a Baptist state. We would (and did) go to jail prior to asking the state for a license to preach (as in the image below). Many Baptists (at least historically) see a strong link between the state and Satan himself. Consequently, we do not want to use the state to spread the kingdom of God or enforce biblical morality—unlike Protestants and Roman Catholics do, along with (shamefully) many modern American Baptists.
As such, it was primarily Baptists that favored the Second Amendment to the American Constitution. They wanted a final check against the state or any other predators that would hunt them down as their forefathers were in Europe. Chilean Baptists have a largely pacifist theology (which was also common among European General (or Arminian) Baptists, and their theological cousins like Mennonites and Amish people.
Not all European Baptists were that way, especially the Waldensians holed-up in the Alps for centuries. They fought back against Catholic inquisitors when they could. Moreover, I am fairly certain that the German and other European Baptists that fled to Chile from 1892 to 1910 and started churches in the Fifth Region (Valparaíso) and especially in the lower Eighth Region (south of Concepción) and western Ninth Region (capital being Temuco) had weapons and were willing to use them to defend themselves and their families against the Mapuche Indians. Yet some Chilean Baptists are simply shocked to hear me tell them so. They have strayed from their historical faith.
Many Chileans hate Kast for being "ultra-Right," a traditional Roman Catholic, son of a German immigrant (and now rich owner of the Bavaria restaurant chain), former Chilean Senator that garnered about 8% of the popular vote in November 2017 when running for President. However, the Chilean Left particularly hates Kast because he has been getting an incredible amount of face time with Chilean television lately and is likely to be the Right's frontrunner in the 2020 presidential election.
What the Kast case in Chile shows is yet another case of failed government policy to ensure rights to free speech, along with the rights to life and property themselves. There is simply nothing on earth more intolerant than a leftist, especially a communist. How can we begin to change this short of lodging bullets in the heads of a few thousand of them?
One intermediate policy that I now favor for Chile (more than ever before) is a concealed carry rule. As soon as all people are allowed to go through a process that permits them to carry concealed pistols, Chile will start to be a more civilized and polite place. The hard-core leftists will think twice before openly assaulting people that do not think the way they do. And establishing such a policy might be the best means—at least in the short term—of averting a civil war in the country.
John Cobin, Ph.D.
Escape America Now
A tremendously important article for those interested in Chile. Serious times.
I am a Baptist in Alabama and I'm a member of the Constitution Party here. I am Libertarian on most things but I respectfully part with pure Libertarians on some moral issues. This is a great news story and one that I would be unlikely to hear from any traditional news outlet. Thank's for posting it and for having the courtesy to let us know the perspective that you are viewing the issue from. Most of the time in this world of ultra bias it is almost impossible to discern the viewpoint of the speaker, thus you have no way of knowing what kind of slant may be applied to the story. Great job informing us of the situation down there also, if WW III is near, I would not be surprised at all if it started in Central or South America rather then where people are expecting in the Middle East or Korea.
Thank you for your kind remarks. Actually, I would not be surprised to see such a calamity start in the United States. But you are right to point out that traditional news sources in English are loathe to point out the evils of leftism in Chile or almost anywhere in Latin America. Chile is a great country, but it is embattled by these nasty leftists. At least we can see our enemy clearly. I am not sure that you can in the U.S.A. I only wish we had R.E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson in Chile, along with some true historical Baptist leadership to better counter the essence of vitriol and evil.
It looks like the wheel is about to come off the wagon here, I think we can expect major breaking news about corruption that will open up what is already a complete split in the Government as well as the population at large. So you may in fact be correct to say it could start right here in the USA, at least in the form of violent protests in the streets and fights between factions.
The trade war with China officially started yesterday and today, and China's new oil exchange with deliveries is supposed to open on 3-26. We are also getting ready to start major war games with Japan and South Korea in the next few days, everything is in place. Is it all a bluff and will one side back down? I'm very doubtful.
It does not seem like Trump is the sort to back down and that is likely why he has Bolton on board now to help navigate the next war. Trade wars will make you even poorer than you are already compared to prior years. Maybe invest in military stocks now so you can get some capital gains, as butter production shifts to guns.
I agree, when I heard that Bolton was in I knew we were one step closer to war. If the reports from Alt News sources are true then there are some serious chess moves taking place at the moment, I've lost count of the all the different "Lines in the sand" that have been drawn over the last few months. Chances are that eventually, somebody will call someone's bluff, then we'll find out whats what. So far we have not allowed anyone to trade oil in anything buy USD, at least not in large amounts. So we wait and see what happens.
deacon. You said: I am Libertarian on most things but I respectfully part with pure Libertarians on some moral issues.
Could you identify your discrepencies in the areas of:
Prohibitions
Taxation (theft)
Adjudication
Detention
Administration
This article highlights a few basic disagreements between libertarians and C.P. folk. https://steemit.com/escapeamericanow/@escapeamericanow/chilean-immigration-debate-on-the-right. We believe as libertarians that they are inconsistent in several points of political philosophy and when they favor protectionism and state regulation they are ignorant of economics principles. Nevertheless, in something like 80% (?) of their positions we agree with them. They are far better than either Democrats or Republicans on that score.
I don't think I'm willing to give a reply to these broad categories, there are too many details and too much explanation would be required. Also, there are some things that are better left off of a public forum because they can be taken out of context or misrepresented and used against you. I have friends and family that would not understand my position on some issues without an in detail explanation that I just can't supply here. People who watch the mainstream news have a skewed perception about a lot of issues, and they tend to jump to conclusions before they have their facts straight. If you want to ask about a specific issue I will try to answer if I can.
When the war will stop.
When Christ returns and all those who are aligned with the forces of evil, including communists and hard-core leftists, are vanquished forever in the lake of fire. Until then, we fight on.
This post is resteemed and upvoted by @bestboom
Keep doing it...
really well done man! I very much agree with you on the "do no harm, but do know harm" sort of idea. A world where everyone is able to defend themselves is a world where all liberties are upheld and I would say that a very little amount of violence would occur. Criminals prey on the weak. If there are no weak, the criminals either die trying or give it up.
Followed btw
I only wish your logic were embraced by all, especially here in Chile.
College kid, huh? Where do you attend school? What is your take on Adam Kokesh and his effort?
yep. Central east coast in a trash state. I don't know too much of him, but I very much appreciate what I have heard from him. The anti-president idea is interesting, but I think that counter-economics is a more viable longterm plan.
young jedi... "counter economics" without the means to defend ones property... especially the food sources is USELESS. All you will be doing is feeding your "massahs" or be droned into oblivion. ...or D.E.W'd, or "GeoEngineered".
So I gather you read (or listened to) "Freedom!" ???
and for the record: which one ISN'T a "trash state"?
following and resteemed.
Thank you and keep doing so!
seems like anywhere you go these days leftists are trying to use violence to silence those who disagree with them.
It's their nature! Evil to the core.
It's what happens when they are wrong and they can't defend their position, they must shut down those using facts.
Communism is an intolerant religion just as much as Islam is. George Orwell made that clear to us in Animal Farm in 1946. It's dogma will not change and when they come to "negotiate" terms, you better make sure that you are packing.
Exactly, there are those who will seek compromise and appeasement but you cannot compromise at all with them.