HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-2-14 Fisher-Please send the BearCat backFrom:Douglas Fischer
To:Agenda
Subject:Please send the "BearCat" back
Date:Wednesday, October 01, 2014 8:16:32 PM
Friends,
The City of Bozeman does not need a military attack vehicle in its police arsenal.
As I type, I'm trying to make dinner for my two children. I want to be eloquent, tomake a grand case for why Bozeman doesn't need such an awful item. But I'd ratherfocus on my spaghetti sauce. And helping my daughter with math. And getting myson to practice his violin.
I don't want to take time to explain why I live here, why I fear that our country,primed for a seemingly endless war on terror, with an entrenched military industrialcomplex, is increasingly militarized, primed for conflict, inured to violence.
I would never compare Bozeman to Ferguson, but I fear the trend in Ferguson isslowly creeping across the country as more counties and city governments availthemselves of the bounties of war and excess Homeland Security contracts.
So please: Draw a line. Take a stand. Say no to our fine police officers and theirrequest. I fully support our officers. But I want them to be peace officers. I do notwant a military force in our town. I do not buy the "just in case" arguments. Sendback the armored weaponry. I do not want my kids growing up in a world wherethey think this is normal police work. I want to go back to my spaghetti sauce.
Thank you, as always, for your conscientious work on behalf of all of us.
Douglas Fischer1410 S. Montana Ave.Bozeman, 59715406-219-3113