Solidarity
• ‘For justice, freedom, love’
I write in response to news about Whitefish resident Richard Spencer.
I am a native of Butte and I am extremely proud of my Montana roots. Today I live in Seattle, a city where we cherish our commitment to creating and maintaining a just society.
I have always felt that my interest in supporting policies that favor ALL Americans and their peace and security was born on the streets of my hometown. Growing up in a mining town, observing daily the grace and tenacity and humor of the working class citizens of Butte, inspired me and filled me with a desire to live in a world where all citizens truly live with equal protection under our laws.
My extended family is spread across Montana, in the small towns and cities, including Libby. Any visit home has always been comforting and reassuring as I experience the friendliness and good neighbor practices that are sometimes missing in the big cities where I have lived. Even after many years away I still smile and greet every person on the sidewalks where I live. I can’t help it. It’s the Montana in me.
Reading about the hate that is spewed by Richard Spencer and his ilk I am filled with horror, as his type has no place in my beautiful Montana. The collective voice of good people everywhere must drown out the hatred that is spewed by neo-Nazis. I and my Seattle friends support your efforts on this issue even as we combat insidious negative trends in our own backyard. Let’s join together in this struggle to keep the United States of America on the right footing.
God bless my Jewish friends and any beleaguered minorities in these times. I stand up with you for justice, freedom and love. —Rebecca Sullivan, Seattle
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•‘Counter hate’
Dear Kalispell friends, I write to state my opposition to the rise of hate groups in the area.
As early homesteaders, my family has been part of the Flathead since 1910. My stepfather, Floyd Larson, was on the Inter Lake staff years ago. He was active in Republican politics. My mom Barbara Kidder Larson was a teacher in Ronan and a Democrat Committee Woman in Lake County. We had some interesting, but respectful controversies from time to time. We were well aware of racism toward native people in the valley and did what we could to counter it. It’s terribly distressing to see outsiders come in who think because we are a rural area they can be big fish in a small pond and build their own version of Amerika.
As a pastor, I have seen people come together successfully to counter hate groups attempting to establish themselves in local communities. I am praying that you will do the same. —Rev. Su DeBree, Livingston
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•‘Our town is a family’
I am forever grateful to have moved to Whitefish 25 years ago. Back then we were “Pothole City, USA,” there was one good restaurant in town and the skiing was just as awesome as it is today.
Whitefish is now a thriving, year-round resort community with many young families and successful, innovative local businesses. Our roads are paved with resort-tax funds, which give tax breaks to city residents. We have the best sushi in the Northwest at Wasabi, and Tupelo never disappoints. The arts community is alive with Alpine Theatre Project and Whitefish Theatre Company productions and complemented by the grace of Glacier Symphony and Chorale.
We couldn’t have such depth in the arts if our community didn’t come out to support them with their labor, their dollars and their love.
Whitefish just built a new high school and protected our watershed and drinking water supply in Haskill Basin. Recently, Councilor Frank Sweeney initiated a proclamation that repudiates racism which was signed by Mayor Muhlfeld and the Whitefish City Council and was witnessed by an overflowing council chambers.
The reason that Whitefish is thriving is because time and time again, our community is one that readily pitches in and rolls up its sleeves.
We don’t say we love our schools, we build them. We don’t talk about clean water, we preserve its source. We don’t complain about government, we get involved and participate in the process.
Is this why I live here? You betcha!
I did not move to Whitefish because of the color of anyone’s skin or their religious beliefs. I moved here for family and found that we now have anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 aunts, uncles and cousins depending on the time of year. Our town is a family, a community family and we care for each other like nowhere else.
I love Whitefish and thankfully, we all know that in Whitefish, Love does Live Here. —Joan Vetter Ehrenberg, Whitefish
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•‘... where hate leads’
In 1969 while serving with the U.S. Army in Germany I visited Dachau, the Nazi death camp near Munich. I stood in the crematorium and stared into the open ovens. On the walls around me were life-sized photos of that same room when it was filled to a depth of 10 feet with naked corpses. I believe that anyone who expresses the slightest degree of sympathy with Nazi values of white superiority and anti-Semitism is a collaborator in those murders.
The human rights group Love Lives Here was formed in 2014 after speeches and films were presented in our local libraries claiming those murders never occurred. Recently the people who gave those presentations have claimed they are not hateful and intend to harm no one. To me this is as ridiculous as a spoon saying it just stirs the pot with no knowledge of what is in it. The intention of fomenting hate seems clear to me, and I support the efforts of Love Lives Here to keep a spotlight on such activities.
I love the Flathead Valley. That is why I live here, and why I will never agree to “live and let live” regarding doctrines and acts of hate in my community. I’ve been to Dachau. I’ve stood in the room where hate leads. —Michael Merchant, Kalispell
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•‘One big town’
It’s just over 209 miles from Helena to Whitefish. While it may seem far away to outsiders, Montanans know that we are all neighbors and just “one big town.” To that point, I want to let the Glacier Jewish Community know that I stand with them against the malicious targeting of their members and allies. In these times, we must actively resist the terrible trajectory our country seems to be following. Hatred, violence, and discrimination will not be tolerated in Montana, in any of its towns, or by most of our state’s fair-minded citizens. I promise to pay attention and be there for you if necessary. I’m just down the road after all. —Stacey Anderson, Helena
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•‘Speak out’
I hope the people of Whitefish band together and speak out loudly against the blatant anti-Semitism in your community. The actions of Andrew Anglin and the Daily Stormer amount to pure hate. There is no place for this in our society, and I believe we need to collectively stand up and say “enough.” These racist neo-Nazis will only succeed if we are complicit. —Mindy Schlossberg, Eugene, Oregon