OPINION by Roger Koopman of Bozeman, MT
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I used to think that I lived in a socially and intellectually open community, where the only prevailing intolerance was a general intolerance of intolerance itself. Bozeman, I would say, was a town of free-thinking individualists, who celebrated the right of every individual to think, speak and live exactly as they chose – while honoring the rights of all others to do the same. Bigotry -- which by definition is a rejection of individualism, and the judging of people on the basis of the “group” to which they belong -- was a mindset that would find no home in Bozeman, I asserted.
I was wrong. Bigotry, hatred and group demonization are alive and well among the members of our Bozeman City Commission, and they happily use our tax dollars to spread their social and political poison and their toxic ideology.
On December 19, 2023, the specter of that hatred put a chill up my spine. Bozeman is not the “welcoming” community it claims to be, precisely because its own government targets and demeans a large segment of its own citizenry. I invite you to view that evening’s commission meeting video from the city website, and draw your own conclusions about the bigotry on display.
On that night, about 30 local citizens showed up at a commission session to express their concerns about the “Belonging in Bozeman” Diversity and Inclusion Plan the city had been working on – and investing some $400,000 of our taxes in – for the past two years. The document the commission crafted was gargantuan – 98 separate proposals for city intervention into our lives, at costs no one was prepared discuss. Fourteen citizens – many coming straight from work – expressed respectful, intelligent reasons for commissioners to defeat – or at least postpone -- the resolution, allowing time for local citizens to become informed and weigh in. Democracy at work? Read on.
If you’ve been wondering what your city commissioners have been up to, you’ve gotta read this thing. It amounts to a massive, cynical indictment of Bozeman and its bigoted racial majority, by so-called “public servants” who view themselves as our moral overlords. Apparently by some Divine calling, they have been put on this earth to mold and re-shape our wretched consciences and outdated values. Thus, they saw no reason to listen to what this group of average citizens had to say. The “Plan” is filled with all the usual DEI trigger words and judgmental jargon, condemning America, our white ancestors and the “culture erasing” colonists who built our country around such archaic, inherently racist notions as merit, virtue, hard work, capitalism and freedom. Commissioners insisted the plan did not diminish or discriminate against anybody, but in fact, its central assumption is that straight whites are the only segment of society capable of racism and bigotry, and all other human categories are, by definition, victims.
In good faith, these citizens came before their elected officials assuming they would at least give their views respectful consideration before voting. Instead, they were browbeaten by five arrogant, agenda-driven politicians who were utterly dismissive of everything they had to say. Clearly, they considered these people to be the epitome of the very “problem” they were trying to eradicate. The icy stare-down and ear-splitting gavel slamming by chairman Andrus was a particularly chilling experience that perfectly represented their collective animus.
Bias? Bigotry? Intolerance? Well, how would you feel if after overcoming your fears and speaking from your heart to these commissioners, you then witnessed them delivering insulting, sanctimonious speeches that were obviously written well in advance of the meeting? Is this how government is supposed to work? Does getting elected give you a mandate to run roughshod over the rights and feelings of anyone with whom you disagree? To “out” any group you don’t like?
And so, these citizens were treated to Commissioner Madgic blasting them for “intimidating” the other side into silence by their mild clapping, complaining that she was “hurt” that her community “behaved that way…” A second commissioner used his prepared notes to apologize to the various self-identified minorities in the room for the “painful” and “racist” things they heard from opponents, claiming that “they went on to recite racist, sexist and homophobic talking points that do nothing but hurt people…” Would you mind removing your profoundly insulting broad brush long enough, Commissioner Coburn, to tell us specifically what the racist remarks were, and who said them? This is classic, group-focused hatred and demonization, that refuses to acknowledge individual conscience and individual freedom. We are “guilty” simply because we are who we are.
The best performance of the night was reserved for the end, when gavel-wielding Mayor Andrus, who again stared down the wrong-thinking locals, and then instructed them to “consider the following.” She then read lengthy passages from the Bible, admonishing them to “…judge not, that you be not judged” and asking “…why do you judge your brother or sister, and why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.”
What in the world did those verses have to do with those good people? Obviously, nothing. But imagine what the reaction would have been if they had read those same verses to the commissioners. Howls of outrage! Yet these same commissioners obviously approved of Andrus’s Scriptural attacks on the “judgmentalism” of local people who were simply speaking their minds, under the false assumption that their participation was actually welcomed. It was hated. Are you beginning to figure out the kind of authoritarian, agenda-obsessed blind guides we’ve been electing to our city commission? Arrogance and bigotry on steroids, utterly incapable of self-examination while judging the rest of us. Utterly incapable of seeing people as individuals – only as social categories requiring the government’s special notice and special treatment, depending on whether you are the “oppressor” or the “oppressed.” If you are driving past the city offices late some night, you might see an amber glow piercing the darkness. No, it is not the Spirit if God, reaching down to bestow all moral authority under Heaven to five commissioners, that they may judge the thoughts and actions of all humanity. Rather, it is the burning of your tax dollars on moralistic left-wing agendas of limitless cost, meant to save you from yourself. And the incinerating of your liberty. This same radical left-wing takeover is happening in communities all across Montana. The question is, do we care enough to fight back?
Roger Koopman served two terms in the Montana State House from Bozeman, and two terms on the Montana Public Service Commission, term-limiting in 2021. He also owned and operated a small business in Bozeman for 37 years, and was press secretary to US Congressmen Steve Symms (R-ID) and Ron Paul (R-TX.)
Bozeman City Manager Ridicules the City of Bozeman and Mayor.
So the marxists got the zombie liberal votes, or was there vote fraud? How else do marxists take power in America?