My unusual libertarian journey: How a former outlaw broke the political mold

Editor's note: Salon has posted numerous critiques of libertarianism. This response was one of several we received offering a different view. (For more of our coverage on the topic, please see here.)

The Koch brothers have marvelous taste in art. That was the first thought that raced across my mind as I strode down the bustling hallway of one of the most secretive and influential buildings in American politics. Slipped against a wall of churning rural winds and rolling wheat fields, Koch Industries the media-christened Death Star of contemporary libertarian insurrection was the last place I ever intended to visit. Six years earlier I was serving time in a West Coast county jail, not defending public choice theory. But trial and error will do strange things to a politically inclined and introspective desperado.

I dont just break the libertarian mold, I napalm it. Im Hispanic. I live below the poverty line. I joined a gang by 15, dropped out of high school by 17, and spent the first half of my 20s playing guitar in a raucous punk band. Yet despite how unconventional my background might seem, it unmistakably epitomizes just how diverse the broader libertarian movement has become over a relatively short burst of time, even as archaic perceptions in the media and public continue to stubbornly linger.

Following my release from jail I enrolled in community college and worked hard to account for misplaced time. Eventually I earned a speech communication scholarship and admittance into a number of highly regarded universities, including my dream school the University of California-Berkeley. It was the moment I had been waiting for. But by the time I procured housing in Oakland, old inclinations began to take hold. I knew that if I remained in California I would either gravitate back toward the violent gang world, or the drug-laden music world, I knew so well.

So I made a drastic decision. At the last minute I instead took up an offer from the most conservative school in the most conservative state in the country Brigham Young University in Utah. The education was superb, but the social setting was difficult. I stood out on campus with all my tattoos. I was irritable because I had agreed to abstain from alcohol and sex. And though students and faculty always treated me with dignity and respect, I sometimes had trouble relating to people.

Eventually I stumbled across a libertarian student group at a separate university across town. From there I attended a number of events, made a few new friends and began perusing literature from prominent free-market philosophers such as Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman and Ludwig von Mises all of whom contested everything I thought I knew about Republicans, Democrats and government.

The limited government message appealed to me. I recalled playing in a band and struggling to comply with overbearing tax laws. I remembered serving time with low-level drug offenders convicted under mandatory minimum sentencing laws. I thought back to the Mexican communities I had grown up in and the undocumented immigrants I knew who had been forced into a life of obscurity because of convoluted immigration policies. The assortment of unique experiences I had taken in over time suddenly swiveled full circle.

Within a year I was organizing full time and attending dinners with governors, prominent activists and presidential candidates such as Ron Paul. Eventually I returned to the West Coast to finish school. From there I was introduced to a number of Koch-funded organizations. The opportunities these organizations presented would prove invaluable. As a student, I interned through various summer programs. As a writer, I wrote for various websites and journals. And as a speaker, I spoke to various groups.

The libertarian movement never judged me because of my background. Though I was still rough around the edges, I was embraced and provided with more tools and opportunities to improve myself than I knew what to do with. These organizations not only helped hone my innate abilities, but taught me the value of tolerance and restraint (Im still working on the latter).

Ultimately, libertarianism didnt radicalize me, it moderated me. As a wayward teen I once adored revolutionaries like Che Guevara and took part in violent and destructive protests. I smashed windows of private businesses and helped overturn police cars in my misplaced animosity toward legal constructs and trade. Later I abandoned my progressive leanings and explored conservatism. I supported the war in Iraq and brandished an American flag in a clich spectacle of nationalism and machismo. Like most libertarians, I paddled both ends of the whirling political waters in search of something, anything, that put the puzzle pieces together.

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My unusual libertarian journey: How a former outlaw broke the political mold