by Travis Mateer

Things might be getting confusing for those following along, so let me explain myself. I now totally support the Poverello Center, it’s city contract, and the safe space that contract allows for the difficult work of taking care of uppity blacks when they appear, which, let’s be honest, is rare in Montana.

The poors of all colors usually get it. They know their subsidized place in our pantheon of care, so usually navigate the open-air drug-markets with appropriately furtive glances.

Whole social orders might be up-ended if someone like Sean Stevenson hadn’t been dealt with the way he was dealt with in Missoula, Montana.

And the Pov’s role? Read the contract. The BIG letters are my emphasis:

Independent Contractor Status: The parties agree that Consultant, is an independent contractor for purposes of this agreement and the parties agree that Consultant is and shall be an independent contractor when performing services pursuant to this agreement. Consultant is not subject to the terms and provisions of the City’s personnel policies handbook and may not be considered a City employee for workers’ compensation or ANY OTHER PURPOSE. Consultant is not authorized to represent the City or otherwise bind the City in any dealings between Consultant and any third parties.

Yes, this language seems to ensure that any would-be litigation against the Pov for being a safe space to remove uppity blacks will keep the city protected. And who is REALLY going to litigate against a homeless shelter anyway?

Really I think the problem goes back to letting blacks own churches and baseball teams in places like Pittsburgh, where Sean Stevenson was born. Growing up in that kind of environment could certainly lead to a FATAL kind of uppityness that no one really wants to deal with unless they have to.

Here I am, standing before our cringing City Council members, trying to adapt to the important work of sending the right messages to ensure our social order can be maintained. How’d I do?

I’m not sure if everyone understands how helpful I’m trying to be, so to show everyone how helpful I’m trying to be, I’ve written up an imagined greeting to imagined new comers coming to a not-so-distant future Zoom Town. Here it is:

THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING YOUR PLACE

Hello, and welcome to your new home. It’s important, when finding a new home, to become aware of habits and customs that may differ from the place you once knew as home, so please allow this brief introduction to Zoom Town to assist you in identifying what values and priorities your new home considers when delivering community responses to your individual needs and concerns.

Like a spider that uses bright colors to attract a mate it will eventually kill, Zoom Town features amenities and lures that might seem, on the surface, to be attainable, but so do many a mirage to those dying of thirst in a desert of need. Are you in need? We will do our best to pretend to help you. But here’s a more important question: are you UPPITY? And by uppity, we mean exhibiting an inherent sense of worth that exceeds your socio-economic status.

There is so much less pretending we must do here because there is not that much knowing, and even if there were, there would have to be some degree of caring after the knowing started happening for something terrible like ACTION to happen. Thankfully, we keep all that nonsense from getting out of control by nipping uppity in the bud anywhere we find it.

Is there a way to know if you’re being uppity that could stop you from violating an unspoken custom in your new home before the action even occurs?

Yes, examples of what can happen to uppity people are plentiful, so provide a question to any DESTINATION ZOOM TOWN kiosk, and a real-life scenario that matches your inquiry will be located in our database and uploaded to your home-device immediately, along with a complimentary cookie for showing the distinctly NON-uppity intent to learn our customs, for yourself, therefore reducing the chance that one of our Correction Oversight Programs (COPs) must be utilized.

Thank you, and please review the terms of this introduction before signing and activating your ZOOM TOWN tokens for use in any one of our First Needs retail outlets.

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Is that helpful? I’m REALLY trying to be helpful, like, on an even BIGGER scale than my current efforts, which now includes finishing a heck of a story on a deadline I set for myself and achieved.

And that makes me happy.

To help in the next phase of my information sharing and education efforts, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is still a good place to direct funds to, or you can make a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!