by Travis Mateer

Artist can be very dangerous for those who seek to direct and control human behavior, so it’s of vital importance for control-Nazis to manage the creative impulses of artistically-inclined individuals in order to properly channel the artistic output toward non-threatening behavior, like entertainment and chasing the almighty dollar.

One of the problems that exists for any artist who wants to expose this dynamic is that narrative control is the LAST thing most artists benefitting from the new paradigm of WOKE think they’re contributing to. I experienced this first-hand when I triggered Joseph Grady last August at an Arts Missoula event held at my former studio location, the Zootown Arts Community Center. I guess when BIPOCS are being displayed like butterflies pinned to a cork-board, a white dude like myself should just SHUT THE FUCK UP. That is essentially what I was told by Grady when I kept pushing about narrative control and dead black men in Missoula.

Speaking of dead people, our former Mayor, John Engen, was recently honored by Arts Missoula with a permanent money-spigot. Isn’t that nice? And appropriate?

Do these people love THE ARTS? Yes, of course they do, but only the RIGHT KIND of art. The documentary I personally financed, for example, was NOT the right kind of art, so Missoula’s little art-minions, like The Roxy, did their job and cancelled me every chance they got. And now there’s a PERMANENT fund to honor the alcoholic jokester who snaked his way into being the longest-standing Mayor in Missoula’s history.

Here’s more from the Missoulian article (emphasis mine):

“(Engen) used to say when I’d meet with him, ‘Tom, it’s very simple, we need to make sure the arts stay relevant,’ Bensen said. “And that’s pretty obvious to all of us in this room, but it’s not necessarily relevant to those outside of the room.”

Suppressing inconvenient narratives because it might undermine your political agenda is NOT any way to ensure the arts stay relevant, but that is what Engen and Company have done over the years. If this comes as news to you that’s because they have CONTROLLED NARRATIVES for a very long time.

In my information war-room where I compose these posts, the walls are covered with newspapers, old photographs, and other interesting bits of ephemera. This picture shows how the last Missoula Independent is next to an old issue of Rolling Stone. I’ll explain the relevance on after the image.

This issue of the Rolling Stone on my wall features an article describing the work, at the time, of Dr. Kenneth Stevenson. Here are some books Dr. Stevenson has written:

Those who have followed my work at this blog over the last few years probably know that Dr. Kenneth Stevenson’s son was assaulted inside the Poverello Center on January 3rd, 2020, revived by first responders, then removed from life support less than 3 days later by the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office acting as the coroner BEFORE his family was notified.

What you DON’T know is how the synchronicities continue signaling to me (and others) that forces beyond my understanding are at work, in both good and NOT very good ways. On the Christ-consciousness level, I texted the following image to Sean Stevenson’s sister last Wednesday:

It’s not just what this image shows that’s significant, it’s also the timing, since the day I sent it, Sean’s mother had felt her son was trying to communicate with her. Maybe you think that’s not possible, and that’s fine. For me and Sean’s family, it reinforces a connection I can’t fully explain.

One of the weird connections I have with this family is a geographic location, and that geographic location is Colorado Springs. The picture of me above, and the picture of my friend getting ready to light up a joint, is from a trip I took as a teenager to Colorado Springs. I would later live in this Military/Christian-Conservative town, briefly, with the woman I later married.

Dr. Kenneth Stevenson went to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. If that’s ringing a bell, perhaps it’s because our joke of a president recently took a spill on the stage of the Academy’s graduation ceremony:

It’s a rather sick joke to think this administration is going to be referenced by our own elected leaders as a possible funding-savior for the drug crisis pretending to be a homeless crisis, especially when this LIBERAL town doesn’t even understand the death experiences of black men in their own fucking backyard.

Dr. Kenneth Stevenson understands that kinetic wars are manifestations of a spiritual war, and to give you a sense of Dr. Stevenson’s lived experience as a Veteran and man of God, here’s the very brief bio he sent me:

Dr. Kenneth Stevenson grew up in an inner-city Pittsburgh neighborhood. Stevenson won a Congressional appointment to the Air Force Academy, beginning a fourteen-year Air Force career which saw Stevenson graduate as one of only six blacks in his class.   Stevenson was assigned to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) as a B-52 co-pilot and later as an instructor-copilot. In Southeast Asia, he amassed almost 1200 combat flying hours and 210 combat missions. He received ten Air Medals and three Distinguished Flying Crosses for his service. He commanded his own B-52 crew at the age of 25, and was one of the youngest commanders in SAC.  

Stevenson achieved a Master’s degree Cum Laude in only nine months, from the University of Pittsburgh. Thereafter, he was assigned to the faculty of the Air Force Academy where he taught English. In 1992, he obtained his first doctoral degree, and in 1994, obtained a second doctoral degree.   The U.S. Jaycees selected Stevenson as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of America. Congressman Moorehead of Pittsburgh also recognized him in the Congressional Record for his outstanding achievements. 

Dr. Stevenson later worked as a marketing representative and a corporate pilot for IBM, where he received the IBM 100% Club award for two consecutive years.   In 1985, Stevenson and his wife Mary Ann founded Everlasting Covenant Christian Ekklesia in New York, a culturally diverse church of over 700. They also established and served as principals of Everlasting Covenant Christian Academy, a private Christian school for the pursuit of excellence in all life disciplines. 

Stevenson founded a second congregation in the city of Pittsburgh, and later a school there that would serve its underprivileged youth. Renaissance Academy of Pittsburgh Alternative of Hope (RAPAH) Charter School opened in 2003, achieving Four Star academic excellence.  Dr. Stevenson has also published numerous works and has appeared on many television and radio programs. He was the Recording Secretary for the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), having accompanied the American scientific team to Turin in October 1978 to study the Shroud. Stevenson edited The Proceedings of the 1977 United States Conference of Research on the Shroud of Turin. and was the author and co-author of internationally known best sellers in the United States on the subject: Verdict on the Shroud, The Shroud and the Controversy,  Image of the Risen Christ, and his latest book, NAZAH: White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling.

Dr. Stevenson has also authored other notable publications.  In addition, he produced the documentary “Behold the Man” which airs annually on Christian television. Dr. Stevenson and his wife, Mary, currently continue as co-pastors to the New York Congregation, and a growing internet audience.

A few weeks ago I was talking to police detective (not the one I called about Joey Thompson) because I wanted to let someone know about specific graffiti concerns, and in that conversation I was asked what made me become so outspoken. The question seemed to come from a place of genuine appreciation, so I referenced what happened to Sean Stevenson, and then referenced my own kids. If one of my kids died homeless in a town far away from home under very troubling circumstances, I would want someone like me advocating for a REAL account of what happened. Wouldn’t you?

So I’ve become a perpetual thorn-in-the-side of local power dedicated to popping every bullshit balloon I see floating around Double-Standard Town, but I’m ALSO still a poet writing songs and poems, like this one. I hope you enjoy it on a Monday that will undoubtedly include more than a few expressions of frustration from the public:

If you appreciate my dedication to breaking narrative control wherever it threatens truth and transparency in Zoom Town, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is one way to support me, or you can make a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for a breakdown of whatever happens later this evening at City Council!