by Travis Mateer
This young asshole wanted some attention on the 4th of July, so to get it he threw his skateboard at me while I was talking on the phone. I quickly ended the conversation and used the camera function to document my lovely start to the explosive commemoration of revolutionaries ending one form of tyranny in order to begin a new form.
Before we get to the video clip of this apparently intoxicated Native who conveniently pulled out the HOMELESS card as I called him out on his anti-social behavior, here’s the link to my piece for Western Montana News, titled From Local Ordinance to Supreme Court: Unpacking Missoula’s Urban Camping Debate. Check it out!
Now, here’s the clip:
I needed a drunk Native to remind me of reality because, the previous evening, I started getting that TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE feeling after a gorgeous woman listened intently to my Lego street presentation and a $300 dollar donation came in. Now, on this 4th of July morning, I was pulled into a fight-or-flight response after realizing my $1,000 dollar REI Co-op bike was just stolen, lock be damned.
Happy birthday, America!
It’s cool, I had way too many wheels anyways, what with my rollerblades and TWO vehicles. Also, my latest challenge gave me some insight into where stolen bikes might end up when a street woman heard my lament and told me the camps across from Yoke’s are where some bike thieves reside. I this the same area where I found and removed the homeless sex swing? Yes. Yes it is.
Will the sex swing come up in my conversation with Monica Perez later this morning? It might, along with other homeless related insights I’ll be providing when the live stream starts in a few hours. If you’d like to hear other interviews I’ve done, this post about my “fame” has some links.
I started unpacking the national conversation about homelessness in yesterday’s post after two major publications used Missoula as an example. I will continue all that unpacking soon, so stay tuned!
If you’d like to assist my local efforts, you don’t need to drop $300 bucks like that recent anonymous donor to put a smile on my face. I’m happy to see ANY amount trickle in to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) because I know how financially squeezed most people are these days. Thank you to EVERYONE who has pitched in so far, it’s a tremendous boost to my bank account AND my butthurt-prone ego.
Next week I’ll be covering the most detailed piece of propaganda I have ever seen about Tax Increment Financing, which also has me smiling. Why? Because I know our local narrative controllers have to put lots of energy into controlling this particular narrative because that pesky documentary, ENGEN’S MISSOULA, hit their control valve and hit it HARD.
And that makes me happy.
Thanks for reading!
