Great Falls Is Not Filled With Bigots
In light of some of the recent chatter around town I thought this would be a good time to offer my own opinion on the character of my hometown.
I grew up in Great Falls in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I raised my own two daughters here and helped to get a couple of my grandkids started right here in the Electric City, so I take strong exception to some of the disparaging, insulting, and divisive comments which have made it into the local news recently about the kind of community this is and people who live here.
Despite what some of the loudest most obnoxious local voices would have you believe, the overwhelming majority of folks in this community are not bigots, homophobes, racists or haters.
I’ve always known the people of Great Falls to be good, kindhearted, give-you-the-shirt-off-their-back kind of folks who couldn’t care less about who you love or the color of your skin.
In Great Falls you will always get a fair shake as long as you’re not a jerk and are willing to work hard and reciprocate that fair treatment with respect and honesty.
Are there jackasses in this town? Sure, just like in any other town. But when someone magnifies the exception and dishonestly and tries to convince others that it’s the rule for their own selfish reasons, we should call it what it is – horse excrement.
So don’t believe the lies, Great Falls. This is a good community filled with good people who believe in the principle of ‘live and let live’, but who also understand that ‘live and let live’ is a two-way street.
WELL SAID
I so agree you well never find a town anywhere as honest or welcoming as Great Falls!
Well your defense of the guy that got fired from his job for his hateful actions at the pride parade last year and your absolute silence about the white nationalist propaganda all over the city says otherwise.
My opinion is that most of us white citizens in Great Falls have not much of an idea of what kind and how much bigotry there is in our city. Maybe better than just opinions we could ask our Great Falls citizens of color to let us know what their experiences are here. Take surveys and give them a platform to let us
know what they maybe going through on a daily basis. Maybe our city government could help us with this survey. If there are significant issues, how can we be a better city as a whole and how to contend with any issues that come up. It could be a real learning experience for us all. It’s worth a shot in my opinion.
I love this little big city! Do we have our share of problems? Of course! Would I like to have more restaurants here, of course! But all in all, when push comes to shove, our neighbors, our community, our little big city would come together to help each other out.