Day: May 16, 2023

by Travis Mateer

Living life in Double-Standard Town, where hypocrite cowards call the shots, isn’t easy. You see promotional material, like Destination Missoula’s 2023 travel guide, and you see how they claim something true–that there’s a story around every bend–but which stories are the ones ACTUALLY TOLD? And even when those stories are told, what is left out?

Three years ago Gwen Florio and the Missoulian pretended to tell Sean Stevenson’s story after he was attacked inside the Poverello Center, then euthanized at St. Pats by the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office when they removed him from life support BEFORE notifying his family. Here is the disgusting self-congratulations Florio heaped upon herself and her employer for noticing Sean’s death:

It could have been “just” another police story. A fight at the Poverello Center, Missoula’s shelter for homeless people. One man dead. Another man arrested, briefly held, then released without charges after witnesses are questioned.

And that’s where a lot of stories, and especially stories involving violence among the less fortunate, end — with a short recitation of the facts, to the extent that they’re known, and then a collective shrug as the news cycle rolls on.

Last week, reporters Seaborn Larson and Paul Hamby hit the pause button. Law enforcement had released the victim’s name and age — Sean Stevenson, 45 — but that was it. But Larson and Hamby kept asking questions, not just about Stevenson, but about the other clients of the Pov, and also the people who work there.

Sunday’s paper carried two stories that stemmed from their reporting. Hamby found friends and family who helped put a face and a personality to Stevenson — and a “dazzling” personality at that, according to his friend, Janice Gordon.

Knowing what I know about this case, and considering what I’ve learned as I’ve investigated corruption within the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, it is VERY DIFFICULT for me to not despise this entire town and ALL the cowards, like Mayor Jordan Hess, who think they can shut me up and deny families, like Sean’s, the justice they deserve. In the quote above, for example, even the assumption that witnesses were questioned about what happened to Sean inside the men’s dorm should NOT be accepted as FACT.

Though it appears I’m in a media blackout regarding my meth shack removal project, the reality of what’s happening along bike paths, in parks, beside the river–and anywhere else a tent can be popped up on public property and drugs consumed–cannot be ignored, especially during this year’s unprecedented explosion of public camping and disturbing, drug-fueled behavior.

I get that acknowledging reality can be difficult. It can even be socially awkward, but if you’re an alleged REPORTER, like Martin “Gomer” Kidston, and you’re reporting on something I did with a live video feed to review, you should TRY to get it accurate. Because THIS is feeling VERY defamatory (emphasis mine):

With video evidence readily available, it should be pretty easy for Kidston to back up his claim, were it true. But it’s not, which you can see for yourself if you click the link and watch the video. Here’s my comment and exit from Council chambers:

https://vimeo.com/827355615?share=copy

There are some emails now going back and forth regarding what, if anything, those on Council who DO NOT AGREE with how points-of-order are being deployed against critics like myself. Here are a few, including my response BEFORE seeing Martin’s hit piece on me, which he may want to consider how to defend in court. Here are the emails:

To conclude this post I’ll feature my FIRST comment, but before I do I’d like to say how much I’ve appreciated the YEARS of being stymied by this local cabal, starting with a simple poem about sidewalks in 2018, followed by the Roxy suddenly cancelling my contract to show my documentary, Engen’s Missoula, and more that I have NOT written about yet.

I’ll forgo the ways to financially support me for this post, but stay tuned because there’s definitely more to come.

https://vimeo.com/827361667?share=copy

by Travis Mateer

I do my best to take criticism when it’s warranted, like when one of my street contacts pointed out the early morning interaction we had, and how the hour (8:30ish am) wasn’t appreciated. Ok, I thought, how about 10:30am–so that was the timeframe of my drop-in to the Russell Bridge encampment to see if I could speak with Eric THEODORE Tennant before my profile on him posted, and speak with him I did!

Was it a productive conversation? Nope, because THEODORE was asleep under a tarp and not very happy that my conversation with his peers roused him from his stupor, and ALSO not very happy that I mistakingly called him by the name Eric instead of the name he prefers, which is THEODORE, a detail the Missoulian reporter, David Erickson, definitely included in this article, among other stuff (emphasis mine):

Tennant is a 24-year-old homeless man living in a makeshift encampment of tents under the Russell Street Bridge in Missoula. He goes by “Theodore,” and he’s been homeless since the age of 18. He grew up in Superior, a small town an hour’s drive west of Missoula.

He can talk for a long time about why he’s living unhoused, but in the end, the simple answer is that he just hasn’t found or been provided with any option that works for him.

Tennant spent most of the winter in Missoula’s Emergency Winter Shelter on Johnson Street, which was set up during the pandemic after the city’s other homeless shelter, the Poverello Center, hit capacity.

Some of the emphasis in the quote are things I find noteworthy, but that last point of emphasis is because NO, the Johnson Street Shelter was NOT set up because of the pandemic. How do I know this? Well, because I wrote about the loss of the Salvation Army as the winter overflow location, which necessitated the opening of the Johnson Street location. Please note the date of this article is 2019!

Is anyone suing the reporter, David Erickson, for providing misinformation to the public, like Matt Sullivan is doing to City Councilman, Daniel Carlino? Or how about Ellen Buchanan? Is anyone suing her and the Missoula Redevelopment Agency for referring to supporters of SB 523 as criminals for the alleged crime of spreading misinformation about Tax Increment Financing? No, instead we’re making impassioned comments at City Council, but that didn’t go so well last night. More on that at the end of the post.

While I easily eviscerated the agenda-driven coverage of the recent Missoulian article (linked above), it does get a little frustrating to have so much reality so effectively ignored by local media. I’m doing my best to fill the void, but so far my “model” of content creation is not viable, long term. That said, it’s still nice to go on-site to record short clips like this one:

https://vimeo.com/826952184?share=copy

After this recording–where I explain that it took THREE WHOLE DOLLARS to purchase my copy of the Missoulian (which I used as a visual aid for the rest of the day)–I biked along the river trail and had ANOTHER conversation with a tent-dweller in the park. This guy was already drunk at 10:30 in the morning and he defended his life choice by telling me he’s 34 years old. Also, a few months ago, he was in Spokane. I suggested he avoid having a fire in his barbecue grill, and to pick up the trash around his tent.

When I finally got to City Club, it took ALL my energy to keep my mouth shut during the Q&A. The panel, moderated by Lee Banville, featured Jim Strauss, John Adams, and Maritsa Georgiou. One of the quotes I wrote down didn’t come from any of the panelists, but from Banville, who I thought did a pretty good job engaging the audience. Here’s the quote: “Less local news means more polarization”. Yes, I think that’s true.

After the official City Club presentation, and the Q&A, I chatted briefly with John Adams about my old blogging days at 4&20 Blackbirds and my newish attempt to break the narrative control on some local stories, like the one that earned me a SECOND point-of-order last evening at Council. I guess describing the intangible benefits of directing the Poverello Center while keeping your mouth shut about about certain things wasn’t appreciated by our placeholder Mayor who just so happens to be have been a very recent board member of the Poverello Center.

The comment that got me shutdown was actually my second of the evening. My first comment went just fine. Should I have kept my mouth shut? We’ll explore that question in a subsequent post, which will feature my comments, along with some others that probably have some on Council questioning their love of DEMOCRACY!

I’m also considering publishing an image in that subsequent post regarding what happened to Sean Stevenson inside the Poverello Center on January 3rd, 2020, because it might shed more light on the seemingly inflammatory things I’m saying.

The Missoulian is certainly not at risk of shedding light on anything important, but I consult their coverage anyways. Here’s how this dying medium reported on the moderated conversation about its conspicuous death rattles:

There are lots of people ready to donate to news organizations and journalism nonprofits, according to Lee Banville, the director of the University of Montana’s School of Journalism.

But there’s an insidious catch, one that has ramifications for the future of democracy that depends on an informed citizenry.

“The thing is, people are very quick to give money to things that agree with what they say,” Banville told a crowd at a City Club Missoula forum on Monday. “They’re very slow to give it to things that don’t. And I will just say, just chew that over.”

That assessment is troubling for news organizations that try to publish objective stories and depend on readers paying for news that often doesn’t align with their preconceived opinions or interests. It makes sense, in that context, why certain news sites would be incentivized to publish content that gives consumers what they want to hear, even if it is untethered from the facts.

The link provided by the Missoulian goes to its coverage of the Fox/Dominion lawsuit settlement, which is funny, considering the Missoulian’s own reporter didn’t report on the provenance of the Johnson Street Shelter accurately.

One final point before I wrap this post up. I doubt the point-of-order would have been so disruptive–with a fellow critic of Tax Increment Financing quickly adding to the inability of Mayor Hess to maintain control by shouting in support of my ability to comment–if the director of MRA hadn’t recently engaged in such unproductive (and potentially slanderous) fear-mongering when she declared that local citizens like me are engaging in CRIMINAL levels of misinformation.

If Mayor Hess and the rest of the ZOOEY ZEPHYR PRO-DEMOCRACY BRIGADE want to make City Council chambers a safe space free from impassioned criticism that doesn’t align with their agendas, that’s fine with me. I can adapt. And YOU can help by supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or making a donation at my about page.

There is so much more to come, so stay tuned and thanks for reading!