Letters to the editor July 2

Take care of each other

Scott Bryan was beaten to death. At the time of his alleged murder, Mr. Bryan was homeless. The question many of us are left asking ourselves is whether he was reportedly beaten to death because he was homeless. I don’t know the answer to that question, but I do know the fact that the question needs to be asked speaks volumes about the climate surrounding homelessness in our community.

Every person who lives in the Flathead sets a standard for how we treat one another. Your words and actions matter. Your charity, your scorn. The look you give, the look you don’t give. How you talk to your family, your friends, your neighbors, your constituents. Are you contributing to a culture of compassion? Or are you contributing to a culture of cruelty?

Mr. Bryan’s death is a painful reminder that homeless people are far more likely to be the victim of a violent crime than the perpetrator.

At the Flathead Warming Center, where I volunteer and we work to help the homeless, our motto is “we take care of each other in the Flathead.” I hope our community’s reaction to Mr. Bryan’s tragic death proves that motto true.

— Sonny Mazzullo, Kalispell

Library policy

Here we go again.

For a few months, it seemed that the ImagineIF Libraries’ trustees were finally on the right track. Instead of meddling with our First Amendment rights, they were focusing their attention on finding the best location for a new Kalispell branch.

That changed last month. Recent meeting documents revealed that pro-censorship trustees David Ingram and Carmen Cuthbertson recommended removing a library policy that affirms the library’s missions to treat people equally and protect their constitutional right to access information. Removal of this policy, which is the foundation of library practices, shows that these trustees do not understand the function of policies in general and the importance of this policy to their work.

In the past few years, the trustees’ irresponsible decisions have destroyed the public’s trust in them. This latest revelation adds to the perception that they are trying to find a means to justify book censorship, weaken patrons’ First Amendment rights, or erase the importance of equality.

The fair treatment policy and documents from the June 22 meeting are available online. Please send the trustees a message in support of the fair treatment policy and how it guides library staff’s daily actions as they serve all patrons in the Flathead Valley.

— Cherilyn DeVries, Kalispell