by Travis Mateer
Ok, class, by a show of hands: how many of you can say you’ve spent a DECADE working on the niche issue of homeless encampments in Missoula, Montana? Anyone? No?
Since I don’t see any hands, let me take y’all on a quick trip down memory lane: it was a strange and distant time known as 2014; a time when I smiled like I meant it, and the town smiled back. Sure, there was that murder at Reserve Street I assisted the Sheriff’s Office with, but for the most part I was feeling pretty optimistic about the working relationships I had established with the Health Department, the Clark Fork Coalition, and other groups motivated to see change occur in THAT part of Missoula (Reserve Street area).
Here is an excerpt from the 2014 Missoulian article written by the “reporter” who spiked a story at his rag last spring about my meth shack clean-up, then pulled this shit on me. There are no boxes to check on the BUTTHURT REPORT for this kind of absurdity.
Yep, that’s me, doing my thing. And in different capacities I have KEPT ON doing my thing, even though it seems to bother more and more people.
Well, I’m human to, and it’s just a little bothersome–though, frankly, also kind of fascinating at this point–to listen to the Reserve Street Facebook Group suddenly champion Ryan Tollefson after he shared his harrowing story of moving trash from the river, up an embankment, and to the sidewalk for city staff to deal with.
Butthurt? After a year of begging for $5,000 and getting less than half that? Uh, yeah, and it’s ESPECIAL LY galling when I consider that national media might be coming to interview Ryan Tollefson.
Here’s a sneak preview of the kind of coverage someone who DOES NOT LIVE HERE might be extracting from Missoula:
What kind of caring do I have about this attention coming to Missoula? It’s conditional, and based on my declining bank account and steadily increasing levels of butthurtedness. Also, if Ginny Burton speaks to ANYONE in law enforcement, I’ll be watching closely to see if and how Ginny gets Connie Walker’d.
If Ryan Tollefson has, as one Facebook Zoom viewer put it, STARTED A MOVEMENT, my question, as a cynical journalist with more than a little experience, is this: are we talking about a BOWEL movement? Because, seriously, if THIS is what it takes to set people off, after everything I’ve been doing for YEARS to raise the alarm, well, I’m not sure why to say.
Maybe this?
Ok, is this tiring “report” done yet? Almost. Before I wrap up, I should say something a little more substantive about Tollefson’s interview on Friday, because what Ryan is stirring up is objectively fascinating. The detail I’ll be asking Ryan about, if I get the chance, will be whether or not the guy who hit him on the head with a chain/lock looks like this:
Ryan also gave more details about how unhelpful his conversations with city “compliance” officers have been, while describing his escalating interactions with law enforcement–or, I should say, SOME members of law enforcement. The description Ryan gave of the police officer threatening to take him to jail before ticketing him included the OTHER officer telling his colleague not to do it. Isn’t that interesting?
Have I finally gotten this out of my system? I think so, which is good, because it’s 7am and I haven’t gone to sleep yet. I had a late night hand-writing the plan to start fixing all this, so stay tuned, because in my own mind I’m kind of a big deal around here.
Thanks for reading!