HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-26-17 Public Comment - B. Maxwell - Black OliveDear Mr. Mayor and Bozeman City Commissioners,
Did you read David Brooks' column in The New York Times this week decrying the alluring but
flimsy position of "identity politics?" His is a vital perspective in these volatile times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/opinion/after-the-womens-march.html
I partook in the Women's March in Helena, and I did feel empowered among that diverse
group. But I wondered at the time, and more later, about pitting issues like transgender
bathrooms against the strain of globalization and its impacts on the working class, who are losing
jobs, losing their standing, losing hope. The sideshow debates in which the Left is embroiled
have moved little, but they've spent precious political capital and lost much in the meantime.
Before anyone says, "Ha!," the Right has its own burden of identity politics. Holding up their
unread bibles, bowing to a gun industry run amok, pushing back the expanding role of women in
society, the recent swell of nationalism (and that's a generous term for it), are all proof that
identity politics plague the other major house in American politics, too.
Why am I bugging you with this? Because the anti-Black Olive group with their "Save
Bozeman" mantra is a textbook example of identity politics. No group has done more damage to
the fabric of our community this year. They've harped on and on about community values, but if
anything is putting at risk that neighborhood, it's them. Consider that some neighbor-against-
neighbor relations have sunk to toxic levels, as just one example, if you doubt my statement.
Please don't bestow any undue power in our town to those who will so vehemently put identity
politics before the higher priorities of a healthy economy, expanding commercial opportunities,
new entry-level housing opportunities, vertical development, and the vibrancy of our
downtown.
Thank you for your service.
Best,
Blake Maxwell
516 W Lamme Street
Bozeman, MT