Dueling Perspectives

[Jason Rees]

This man is a #$#%.
This man is also a #$#% , but I'd more readily share a table and drinks with him.

Senator Dianne Feinstein,

I will not register my weapons should this bill be passed, as I do not believe it is the government's right to know what I own. Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime. You ma'am have overstepped a line that is not your domain. I am a Marine Corps Veteran of 8 years, and I will not have some woman who proclaims the evil of an inanimate object, yet carries one, tell me I may not have one.

He lays out the hypocracy card right out there on the table in the first salvo. He should have saved the lighter for after the gasoline had soaked in.

I am not your subject. I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant. I am the flesh and blood of America.

I am the man who fought for my country. I am the man who learned. I am an American. You will not tell me that I must register my semi-automatic AR-15 because of the actions of some evil man.

I will not be disarmed to suit the fear that has been established by the media and your misinformation campaign against the American public.

Gods, the things I will write when I no longer where the uniform. You can feel the bitter anger in every word. Again, I think a little editing would have given it more punch. But then, nothing I've written has ever gone viral.

We, the people, deserve better than you.

Respectfully Submitted,

Joshua Boston

Cpl, United States Marine Corps

My hat is off to this man. The next one makes me want to feed him his hat.

When I read about the open letter that former Marine Joshua Boston sent to Sen. Dianne Feinstein regarding his gun rights, I couldn't help but feel temporarily ashamed of also sharing the title of former Marine. Boston defiantly refuses to register his guns even if laws are passed requiring him to do so. In this refusal, he comes off as tone-deaf and unsympathetic to the victims of mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora, and so many other places. His ranting letter is paranoid exhibition of one concerned not with preventing the deaths of more innocents, but of maintaining his rights to own devices of war. I want to set the record straight, not all Marines are so insensitive to the recent tragedies, or ignorant about the need for arms restrictions.

A few things strike me as I read this. One is a temporary shame at having served in the same military as this guy. Oh, the shame that Boston wouldn't register his weapons. Oh, imagine the horror if veterans across the country didn't surrender one of their Constitutional rights protected by the Bill of Rights... Oh, it was a rant, I'll grant him that. A paranoid exhibition? Rights to own devices of war? Oh, but this one is super-sensitive to recent tragedies, and super-salient of the need for 'sensible' restrictions of citizens' rights. Sorry. I'm done rolling my eyes. For now.

While I did not experience combat, I served in Afghanistan as a Marine, exiting the service as a Sergeant in 2008 to enter college. My experiences in the Marine Corps of course led me to train with semi and fully automatic weapons, and yet, I have no desire to own these weapons now that I am out of the service. I can't see why any civilian needs semi-automatic, high-capacity weapons designed to kill as many people as quickly as possible, and I support a ban of future sales in addition to a retroactive ban that would force Joshua Boston to relinquish his weapons.

Well, what did we learn, Bucky? Well, let's see... no combat experience... he's been out for over four years now. Oh, and this little tidbit provided by CNN:

...served as a combat correspondent

. In addition, he was trained in weapons in the Marines, but it's clear he had no use for them before he joined, had no need for them in the service, and wants nothing to do with them now. Of course he has no problem taking Boston's rights away; he has no interest in holding them for himself. He also very clearly hopes that Joshua Boston dies in a hail of gunfire, knowing exactly what would happen if someone came for that young man's firearms.

Boston's attitude towards authority is frankly disgusting and his open letter is wrong in both its assumptions about why the gun-control debate has become heated, and the reasons why we should care about his opinions at all. It implies that because he served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Marine, that he can choose which laws to obey while at home. This is of course, incorrect, and gives other veterans a bad name. Regardless of his personal beliefs about gun-control, Boston should obey the law, or stop using the title of Marine veteran so proudly.

I bet you this ireporter was really good at following orders. In fact, I'll bet that if he were given an unlawful order, he'd follow that too. It's also clear that he doesn't understand that as a citizen, a Senator doesn't give him orders. A citizen doesn't have to keep his mouth shut and follow orders. That's not how a representative republic works. Joshua Boston served with honor, and has every right to speak to his elected representatives in whatever manner he chooses.

Perhaps my criticism of Boston seems harsh. This is as intended, for in speaking out as he did, Boston revealed a profound ignorance to the pain suffered in Newtown. The survivors lives will never be the same, and the reason for that is because a deranged individual had access to a weapon that shouldn't be accessible by the general populace. I speak out also because, as a former Marine Sergeant, I abhor any action that tarnishes the name of the Marine Corps. Boston has done that with his letter, and he should apologize to every veteran who obeys the law in good faith and intends to do so in the future.

What I'm about to say about this anonymous hack is going to be harsh. I hope that one day he finds a line he's not going to let someone cross. I hope when that day comes, this anonymous hack discovers the raw truth of government: ultimately, the government rules by the gun. You can put lots of flowery language on a piece of paper, but it won't be worth a damn when enough people decide to ignore it. When they come for that anonymous hack's right to free speech, I hope he takes a stand. I hope he looks down the barrel of the gun that puts him down, and I hope he has a moment to think back to how ready he was to throw away his second amendment right to defend himself.

I've read too much of history to believe for a second that if we give up our right to arms, we'll somehow get to keep all the others. A disarmed people is a people consisting of subjects and those who watch and rule over them, however benevolently. This story is as old as recorded history.

Joshua Boston has drawn a line in the sand that he says he will not let anyone cross. Is any man really any different? Should they be? Is a man really a man, if he doesn't stand for anything?

[Van Canna]

Thanks for this thread Jason...feel free my friend.

When I was soldiering in advanced Infantry training...we would be told over and over to 'take a good look at ourselves' because when the 'hour of the gun' came...some of us would be remembered as a 'disgrace' to the service.

[Jason Rees]

Thanks for giving me room to vent, Van.

I am dismayed to read such harsh opines targeting Corporal Joshua Boston over his letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein. Some have even called for his ‘death’ because the belief and exercise of his 2nd amendment rights. Joshua Boston is an excellent example of what our service members have given and they strive to protect, our freedoms; Free speech, protection from government overreach, and freedom to bear arms just to name a few. Before I digress, I would like to focus on usmcdiorio’s post on how Mr. Boston is somehow “a disgrace” to us who served.
First, the Marine Corps is a gun worshipping organization. We pride ourselves as experts in the application of violence. As an infantry squad leader with two combat tours to Iraq, I can attest that guns are a way of life in the Marines. Even after service, many Marines own and maintain weapons similar to service weapons. There is absolutely no disgrace in the fact that a veteran wants to protect what he and countless others have fought for since the American Revolution. Weapons in the civilian population form protection against two things: criminals and government. If it weren’t so, the founding fathers would not have placed it in the bill of rights. This is no different for veterans and non-veterans.
Second, usmcdiorio criticizes Mr. Boston’s challenge of authority….What authority? Senator Feinstein is a public servant. She has absolutely no authority over any one individual in this country. The United States is founded on laws. Laws are the only authority in this country that one is bound by. Diorio’s misguided pretensions ignore the fact that a veteran has no duty to the government or individuals that form it.
Further, usmcdiorio does not see why civilians NEED “semi-automatic, high-capacity weapons”. I don’t see the need for a car with over 100 horsepower. I don’t see the need for 60-inch televisions. I don’t see the need for a 10-bedroom mansion. As you can see, this kind of logic is quite illogical. Even more so when you consider that less that 500 people per year are killed by semi-automatic, high-capacity weapons. Banning these will not remove the millions that are already in civilian hands. Further, banning these will not prevent the next mentally disturbed mass murderer from committing his crime. Why? Because the focus is not on the sick people who commit such murders, but on the tools they use. If we followed this logic, we would restrict engine sizes in response to drunk driving.
As a Marine Corps Sergeant, I DO NOT apologize for the actions of Joshua Boston. I applaud him for standing up for his rights. Any suggestion that he showed ‘ignorance for the pain of Newton” is absurd. He, like myself, would give anything to prevent such tragedies. Veterans like him are already standing guard at many schools across the country, placing their bodies between any threat and innocent children. Joshua Boston is a United States Marine. A man of action, not words. -SgtS

[Van Canna]

Thanks for giving me room to vent, Van

Feel free, my friend...think of this as your forum.