by Travis Mateer

As I prepare my final report for the Shanty-Shack/Meth-Den clean-up effort–which I started planning on Thursday, April 20th, and concluded on Tuesday, April 25th–I want to highlight some recent examples of shelter-resistant individuals exhibiting ZERO FUCKS about the laws that still have teeth for most citizens when WE violate them.

Let’s take stealing from a grocery store. Normally, once caught, there are consequences intended to curb the thieving behavior of the offender, but what happens when the consequences don’t have any discernible impact?

From the link (emphasis mine):

The officer noted that he has investigated Seminole previously and Seminole is well aware of his trespass order from the store, but continues to return and steal merchandise. According to court documents, another officer has also investigated Seminole and found that he has 14 current cases involving Seminole stealing from Albertsons, including 12 that meet the elements of burglary and one that could be considered a robbery. 

Another recent article from the local media source that consistently publishes information on higher level offenses in Missoula (KGVO) highlights this nice fella, Elwood Hall, and his little problem of being a non-compliant offender. I’m sure the “3 hots and a cot” he’ll get in jail will deter him from being non-compliant in the future.

From the link (emphasis mine):

Elwood told the officer that he has been staying outside the Poverello Center for approximately a month and a half. He also said that he was in Kalispell prior to that. He stated he doesn’t receive mail anywhere because he hasn’t opened a box yet.

Another officer asked Elwood what his duty to register was and Elwood advised it was every month, which is a mandate for transient offenders. Elwood advised that the last time he registered was 3 or 4 months ago in Great Falls. 

When asked what prevented him from registering in Missoula, he suggested it was because he was still traveling around town and finding out where he would be staying. According to court documents, he confirmed that he knew he needed to register every 30 days.

How long did this offender stay in jail? A day. Let me repeat that. On a FELONY failure to register charge, this man stayed in jail for JUST ONE DAY. Why?

My favorite example of giving ZERO FUCKS is from last month, and features the classic maneuver of squatting. I can’t think of a better way to express how little fucks one has to give than to enter an empty residential space and claim it for your own.

From the link (emphasis mine):

An officer asked Deutsch what he was doing in that apartment and Deutsch said that he had been staying at the Emergency Winter Shelter, but for the last week or so, he was placed on an “out,” which the officer knew generally meant that he is not allowed on the property and is refused services in the shelter. 

According to court documents, Deutsch said that he saw this apartment was up for rent on the Internet and he knew that nobody was currently living in it. He said he came to the apartment and saw that it appeared to be empty. He stated that the door was unlocked so he walked in and brought all of his belongings inside. 

Deutsch had quite a bit of personal belongings in the apartment including a flatscreen TV and surround sound speakers. He also taped blankets up to the windows. An officer noted that there was a dirty pan on the stove that Deutsch said he used to cook bacon. 

Is it the position of our County Attorney, our Police Chief, our Sheriff, and our judges that we, as squeezed citizens with a finite amount of patience, are supposed to accept the lawlessness many of these “shelter-resistant” individuals have internalized?

One way to handle difficult topics, like the drug epidemic and corresponding spike in crime, is to AVOID DISCUSSING IT. At a national level, that’s what the Democratic Party is apparently trying to do with primary debates. From the link (emphasis mine):

A Democratic National Committee (DNC) decision to forgo primary debates would serve as confirmation to American voters that the nation’s elections are “rigged,” according to Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

“Debates and town halls are part of the democratic process,” Kennedy told The Epoch Times’ Jan Jekielek on April 24. “We’re living in a time when there’s a lot of Americans who believe our democracy is broken. And I think both political parties have to bend over backwards to start restoring faith in democracy and electional integrity.

“Americans think the entire system is rigged against them,” he added. “And if the DNC goes through with this—its plan to not have debate—I think that will serve as … an unfortunate confirmation to a lot of Americans that the system is indeed rigged.”

The title of the post is not just an equation that produces ZERO FUCKS, it’s an equation that will produce vigilante responses if our elected leaders want to keep playing games and fighting culture wars most of us don’t want to enlist in. I don’t just see this formulating in others, I’m feeling it brewing in my own responses to this bullshit.

While some of you might have been enjoying the sunset last evening, I took a little walk to the Russel bridge and a tent dweller by the name of Clayton made the mistake of asking me how my day was going. I told Clayton that it was pretty frustrating, since I spent most of it cleaning up Todd Spence’s trash from his little meth production shack on the river.

I had a nice little chat with Clayton, the fucked up Native girl sitting on a chair, and the tall creepy looking dude who I swear used to front the band Midnight Oil.

I told them about Todd, about his meth shack, about his history, then I showed them a picture to drive home the point I’m not fucking around. I think they got the point.

Tomorrow I hope to have the report, including a video, of the five day odyssey it took to obliterate Todd’s presence from the poor tree that gave him the framework to dig-in to the riverbank.

In the meantime, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) could use some monetary love, or you can use the donation button at my about page.

Thanks for reading!