Last Saturday, a violent brawl broke out in Berkeley, California for the third time this year.  The "antifa" attempted to break up a pro-free speech rally organized by Bay Area activist Rich Black.  Previously, antifa succeeded in shutting down a scheduled speech by Milo Yiannopoulos, and in disrupting a free speech rally held to support Milo's right to free speech.

This time, things didn't work out so well for the antifa.  The antifa were outnumbered and outmuscled by a motley collection of pro-free speech liberals, mainstream conservatives, "Oath Keepers," bikers, alt-lite conspiracy theorists, and hardcore alt-right white nationalists.

Things went especially bad for one particular Anti-Fa.  Standing 5'1" and weighing 98 pounds, Louise Rosealma decided to join her fellow Anti-Fa on the front lines of the mêlée.  Things went about as well as you would expect.  She received a concussion after being punched in the face by Nathan Damigo, an ex-con and prominent white nationalist.

You can call me old-fashioned, or you can call me a mangina, but I don't relish watching 98-lb. girls getting slugged in the face.  Still, the Anti-Fa showed up looking for a fight; they had every intent to use violence to disrupt the march.  Louise Rosealma chose to follow the men into a street brawl; turns out that was a dumb choice.

To understand what drew this diverse group together, you need to understand the political climate in Northern California.  Jonah Goldberg compared being a conservative in Manhattan to being a Christian in pagan Rome; northern California isn't very different from Manhattan.  While we haven't reached the point where conservatives are being mauled by wild beasts in front of cheering crowds at Giants Stadium, Northern California is not a hospitable place for conservatives.

Brendan Eich was fired for holding the same opinion on gay marriage as President Obama and a majority of California voters.  In order to comply with California's ever expanding "assault weapons" ban, gun makers created such bizarre devices as featureless rifles and bullet buttons.  California gun owners must now undergo a background check every time they want to purchase ammunition.

When my uncle attended a pro-life rally in the Sacramento area, passing motorists rolled down their windows to hurl insults and occasionally blunt objects.  Following the passage of Proposition Eight, supporters of gay marriage attacked Mormon churches to punish them for supporting the proposition.

It should also be pointed out that the hyper-progressive municipalities Oakland and Berkeley have a history of tolerating and condoning violent and lawless behavior by left-wing thugs.  After Johanese Meserle was convicted of manslaughter for shooting Oscar Grant, rioters trashed downtown Oakland.  Of the one hundred and twenty people arrested, prosecutors charged two.

Conservatives in California, particularly in places like Berkeley, feel as though they are under siege.  They face ostracism and even physical violence for their beliefs.  Worse, conservatives face elected officials who are openly hostile to conservativism, and indulgent of far-left political violence.  Given this situation, when fringe extremists offer to defend conservatives from violent left-wing thugs, conservatives reluctant to turn down the help.

For both moral and political reasons, mainstream conservatives should oppose the infiltration of conservatism by extremist groups; frankly, some people both deserve and demand a moral quarantine.  Unfortunately, that case gets harder and harder to make, when the left refuse to control their side's nuts.