‘Marine’ Fights Only for Self-Promotion

Brigitte F. Christe of Woodland Hills writes:

What does it matter if Mr. Masters was a Marine or not. He did the right thing to defend himself. If more people would take action against these hoodlums, they soon would stop their destructive behavior . . . .

Few incidents of late have inspired as much reaction as the fatal post-midnight encounter between the two young Latinos who were armed with a screwdriver and a can of spray-paint and a self-styled “Marine” armed with a pistol. And, lest we forget, all three men were armed with attitudes.

The encounter left 18-year-old Cesar (Insta) Arce dead and his 20-year-old cohort, David Hillo, wounded, having been shot by a man who told authorities they were trying to rob him. Never mind, for a moment, that the bullets struck Arce in the back and Hillo in the rear end. Even with that, William Andrew Masters II was a prime candidate to be a poster boy for Second Amendment extremists everywhere.

Masters would have been, that is, if not for his dubious claims to being a Marine--the subject of my Thursday column--and his tendency to shoot his mouth off. Even some of his admirers must have cringed when he cruelly blamed Arce’s grieving mother for her son’s death. Steve, whom you’ll meet later, wasn’t among them.

Still, to paraphrase Brigitte Christe and some other readers, what does it matter whether Masters calls himself a Marine? What does it matter that Masters claims to be a Marine nine years after he was discharged after 41 days of boot camp because of a history of weapons violations? A Los Angeles police captain thinks it matters. He was among the many people who volunteered a favorable response to my column. Like my dad, he’s a Marine, so much so that he says he wants the Marine Corps motto semper fidelis-- Latin for “always faithful”--engraved on his tombstone.

We didn’t chat long but, because I grew up around Marines and their families, I think I knew where he was coming from. A Marine is expected to be a man or woman of honor. A Marine is expected to be an exemplary citizen--which means he should obey the laws and work within the system.

If Masters wants to claim to be a soldier of conscience for his extremist version of the Second Amendment, fine. Heck, some so-called taggers claim First Amendment protections. All that was settled was this: The handgun is mightier that both the screwdriver and spray-paint can combined.

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Teri Riddle of Sylmar writes:

Finally, someone is questioning the credibility of the “tagger vigilante.” If he can call himself a Marine, then I, a housewife and expectant mother, can call myself a biologist. I once took a course in biology . . . .

As a resident of Sylmar on the San Fernando border, I admit, I’ve had my fill of graffiti. I abhor the defacing of my neighborhood, park and even cars with names and comments of many local Hispanic gangs. However, murder is not the solution. . . . But what is?

This is, of course, the big question--the point that Brigitte Christe was getting to. The larger issue isn’t about Master’s character. It’s what to do about graffiti. How do you keep thousands of young people from vandalizing public and private property with scrawls that essentially declare: “I was here! Look at what I did! I made my mark!”

Readers have several ideas--some frightening, some less so. But I’m afraid we don’t have space today to keep the world from going to hell in a handbasket. We’ll seek the global solutions sometime in the near future.

First, there’s one more letter I’d like to share.

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Steve of Thousand Oaks writes:

Regarding your column about that poor little “tagger” shot by Mr. Masters in Sun Valley, you are full of (expletive deleted).

The only question in my mind is--”Where and when is the tickertape parade for Masters?” . . .

If you and your left-wing, (expletives deleted) newspaper don’t like it, shove it.

More of these little rotten (expletive deleted) need to be killed . . . . Who the hell needs them.

Re your “Marine” father called “Gunner” and his comments, (expletive deleted) him too. (Expletive deleted) you too. Thank God for people like Masters. Thank God we can still own & carry guns.

Thank you, Steve. I hope you’re feeling better. Still, I doubt that you helped your cause. Somehow I don’t think readers will be comforted knowing that persons of your temperament may be walking around with deadly weapons.

But Steve, I can’t let your remarks about my father just slide by. I still need to explain why Marine poseurs aren’t just pathetic. You see, not only do their macho poses smear a proud tradition, they also dishonor the sacrifices of the genuine article.

Ours was one of several Marine families in the neighborhood where I grew up, an affordable early ‘50s postwar tract about 15 minutes from El Toro. Bobby was my best pal. He had four sisters, two brothers and a heroic mom. Bobby’s dad, a Marine aviator, was killed in a mission thought to be routine. There were two other Marine widows in the neighborhood.

The point here isn’t to unduly glorify the Marines. There’s plenty to criticize. But give the Corps this: It’s no place for phonies or cowards.

By the way, Steve, why didn’t you sign your last name?

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

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