by Ken Toole | Jul 2, 2024 | E-City Beat Watch
E-City Beat✔ Whining Again
I don’t read E-City Beat✓ much. But it has come to my attention that Phil Faccenda, one of the writers for that blog, took offense to a recent post I wrote about some guy with a huge “Fuck Biden and Fuck you for voting for him” banner on the front of his pickup at a crowded public campground on the Missouri River. https://wtf406.com/2024/06/nice-afternoon-with-my-grandson/
At first I thought that Phil’s problem would be the fact that we had posted a photo of the offensive banner with the word “fuck” on it. A reasonable assumption given E-City Beat✓’s consistent support for censorship at the library. But it turned out that wasn’t the problem at all. Phil said he thought the posting was hypocritical, because our blog had used the word “fuck” in some of our postings.
So, apparently, in Phil’s mind, placing a large banner saying “Fuck Joe Biden and Fuck you for voting for him” in a public campground with lots of people around (including little kids) who have no choice but to look at it, is somehow the same as using the word “fuck” in an on-line blog which readers have to seek out and is privately owned. Seems like quite a stretch to me but, as I read the whole posting he wrote, it became apparent that his real problem is Jasmine Taylor and Helena Lovick. They are two young women who also write for our blog and have a long history of challenging Phil Facecnda and Rick Tryon, the editors of E-City Beat✓.
To bolster the circular logic of his argument, Phil provided a list of posts written by Jasmine and Helena. He obviously spent a lot of time going through our blog. Fine with us. It just gives us more exposure.
But the whole episode leaves me wondering. Does Phil have no objection at all to this kind of public display? What if a bunch of Trumpers decided to park their banners at Gibson Park or The City Water Park? How about in the 4th of July Parade? In his effort to take a shot at the WTF406 Blog, he left common sense and logic far behind.
by Ken Toole | Jun 28, 2024 | Uncategorized
This image depicts an African American man joining Confederate troops marching off to war.
Almost immediately after the Civil War, the losers began a propaganda campaign to reframe and rehabilitate white supremacy. This movement, which is now referred to as the “Lost Cause,” carries on today. They claim the Civil War was not about slavery. It was a matter of “States Rights” and industrialization in northern states versus a romanticized agrarian South. Understanding the power of symbols in the public square, advocates of the Lost Cause moved to place monuments to the Confederacy in cities and towns across the country and to name public facilities like schools, parks, streets and highways after leaders of the Confederacy. All of this to support and promote the institutional racism of Jim Crow and marginalization of African Americans in society.
Most people assume these monuments were placed shortly after the Civil War, but that is not the case. The monument pictured above was placed in The National Cemetery at Arlington in 1914, almost 50 years after the war ended. According to the American Historical Association, monuments put in place during this time “were intended, in part, to obscure the terrorism required to overthrow Reconstruction, and to intimidate African Americans politically and isolate them from the mainstream of public life.” The Confederate monument which was in Women’s Park in Helena was commissioned in 1914 by the Daughters of the Confederacy. It was replaced in 2017.
In the 1950s and 1960s, there was another surge in the placement of Confederate monuments across the country in response to the civil rights movement. For example, after passage of the Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act in the 1960s, 27 monuments dedicated to Confederate soldiers who had fought against “the federal enemy” were installed in Texas. Of course the Confederate battle flags we see all over Montana (most often next to Trump flags) are part and parcel of the same Lost Cause strategy to defend and protect white supremacy.
In recent years there has been a strong national movement to remove these commemorations to the Confederacy and white supremacy. The efforts to remove these symbols and change place names has become a flashpoint for controversy and, in some cases, violence, in many communities. Since 2017 and the murder of George Floyd, along with the Charleston church shooting and the Unite the Right Rally, 160 monuments across the country have been removed or torn down.
That brings us to Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale and their vote to reinstall this monument. The proposal failed in Congress, but the vote was a slap in the face to the African American community and advocates for equality as they were preparing to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday less than a week away. Unfortunately dog whistles and race baiting have become the order of the day among Republican politicians. And the rhetoric provided by advocates of Lost Cause propagandists that assume the mantle of historical accuracy and patriotic sentiment leaves people confused about the inherent bigotry of their phony facts and rewriting of American history. Zinke and Rosendale are finely tuned to the negative power of race baiting in the political process. Even though Rosendale is leaving public office, it should come as no surprise that he would join Ryan Zinke in jumping on this issue in an election year.
In Germany people don’t put up monuments to Adolph Hitler and the Nazi regime. Is it only in America that we celebrate white supremacist losers?
by Ken Toole | Jun 22, 2024 | City
The first law of holes is, “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” So it is with Great Falls Mayor Corey Reeves, and his refusal to issue a proclamation for Pride Month on behalf of the City of Great Falls.
First a quick recap. June is Pride Month. Across the country and the state of Montana, the LGBTQ+ community organizes events and celebrations to educate the public about the history of oppression they have faced and to bring people together around the progress that has been made and the work that is yet to do.
Here in Great Falls the LGBTQ+ community requested Mayor Reeves issue a city proclamation acknowledging Pride Month as has been done for numerous other groups in Great Falls. Reeves refused. Pretty bad.
But then he went one step further and issued a statement explaining why he refused to issue a proclamation which just dug the hole deeper. In the typical fashion for homophobia, he denied any form of bias against LGBTQ+ people while refusing them equal treatment. The statement he issued said, “My goal is to ensure that all citizens are treated with equal respect and dignity, without government interference in personal matters.” Bad enough but Reeves just kept on digging himself into a deeper hole.
It is no accident that more than 75 homophobic (and racist) stickers were put up around town following Reeves statements and the resulting controversy. Hardcore bigots hide under their rocks waiting for this kind of opportunity to spread their poison. Thankfully community volunteers are busily finding these stickers and removing them.
Next the Mayor formally issued his new process for proclamations. The whole thing is poorly worded, contains grammatical errors and is generally confusing and unclear. But what is clear is that the process is illegal. He clearly states that he will deny applications for a Mayor’s proclamation which contain things in the list below.
Proclamations will not be issued for:
- Matters of political or religious nature or individual conviction
- Matters with potential political controversy or which may suggest an official City position on a matter whether or not under consideration or to be voted upon by the City Commission
- Events or organizations with no direct relationship to the city of Great Falls
- Matters concerning personal life choices that government should not interfere with
https://greatfallsmt.net/cityclerk/proclamation-request-form
Aside from being virtually unintelligible, the process says he will consider things like “matters of political, or religious or individual conviction.” Decisions based on these factors by government entities is prohibited in state and federal civil rights law. The Mayor’s thoughtlessness and attempts to justify his actions have exposed the City of Great Falls to litigation. He just keeps on digging.
by Ken Toole | Jun 22, 2024 | Uncategorized
Beautiful summer day. My 11-year-old grandson, Rhys, has been visiting for the last week. We decided to load up the kayaks and head to the pond at the Pelican Point boat launch on the Missouri. After a couple of paddles around the pond with Gramma and the dogs, we decided to head out. The place was getting crowded.
While I was loading the pickup, Gramma and Rhys decided to walk down to the launch site on the river to use the latrine before the drive home. On a sunny Friday afternoon in June, the boat launch was packed with people coming and going. Families, people fishing, folks dropping boat trailers to pick up their rafts at the end of the float. Others are putting in rafts and other watercraft to head down river. There are only three or four campsites here, and this guy was hunkered down in one of them. Rhys pointed to this truck and said, “Look at that Gramma…and look at what it says on the bottom.” Guess he wanted to make sure Gramma got the full impact of this jerk’s political message.
So, my questions are, what is this guy trying to do? Is he hoping to persuade people? Is he looking for fellow cult members? Is he hoping to start an argument with some passers by so he can exercise his Second Amendment rights? Does the Castle Doctrine apply to RVs in public campgrounds? Actually, I don’t care much. I just hope these people crawl back under the rocks they came from soon.
by Ken Toole | Jun 6, 2024 | LGBTQ+ Issues
“As mayor, I have decided not to issue a proclamation for LGBTQ+ Month. While I firmly believe in equality for all individuals, I also believe that the government should not be involved in matters concerning personal and private relationships, whether they involve straight individuals or members of the LGBTQ+ community. My goal is to ensure that all citizens are treated with equal respect and dignity, without government interference in personal matters. The government should never condemn nor celebrate who should love who; those are personal life choices that the government should not interfere with.”
There’s a lot to unpack in Reeves’ refusal to issue a proclamation acknowledging Pride Month. Though he couched his statement in the language of equality, his statement reveals a deep prejudice against LGBTQ+ people and a denial of reality and history.
Let’s begin with the reason cities issue “proclamations” in the first place. Generally the goal of a proclamation is to honor, celebrate or create awareness of an event, special occasion, cause or significant issues. They do not require funding, and they do not have “force of law.” They are a feel-good thing which brings people together around something they care about. Reeves’ action does just the opposite. His action has set off controversy while marginalizing a significant segment of the community. And his covering up by saying, “It’s none of our business” is simply lame. The same thing could be said of most proclamations cities make.
Discrimination and violence have been directed at the LGBTQ+ community for decades as part of an effort to keep this group out of the mainstream of society. Unfortunately, this is a tradition with lots of precedent in American society. Many groups which have been pushed out have organized to push back. One tool for doing that is celebrating their existence and refusing to remain silent in the margins. Another is forming civic groups and “fraternal” organizations.
As a result we have St. Patrick’s Day (Irish), Martin Luther King Day (African Americans), and so on. Civic and fraternal organizations were formed to organize and promote communities which have faced bigotry, rejection and discrimination in society. The Sons of Norway, The Hibernians, and Knights of Columbus are just a few of the better known of these organizations.
The LGBTQ+ community organizing Pride Parades and Pride Month and asking local governments to issue proclamations of support and celebration is a time honored tradition in America. Unfortunately, Cory Reeves’ refusal to issue a proclamation also finds its roots in tradition as well. The efforts of all of “out” groups to confront discriminatory treatment has always been resisted by those in power. And just like Cory Reeves, those who seek to keep others “in their place” cloak themselves with phony excuses which deny the fundamental bigotry of their actions.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time the City of Great Falls has flubbed this issue. In the summer of 2020, the LGBTQ+ community asked the city to adopt an ordinance which prohibited discrimination against them as has been done in other major cities in Montana (Missoula, Helena, Butte, Bozeman). After taking public comment, the commission decided not to adopt an ordinance which specifically condemned discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals.
The LGBTQ+ community has come a long way in the last 50 years. But, as Reeves’ action demonstrates, there is still a long way to go. Change in issues like this is a long slow struggle which requires commitment and tenacity. The LGBTQ+ community understands that and will continue to press for equal treatment. This motto says it all: “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!”
