Hate has no place in Havre or Montana, alderman

On Jan. 17, 2017, the Havre City Council voted to pass the “Proclamation of Support for the City and Citizens of Whitefish, Montana.” The proclamation, “denouncing hate, bigotry, and intolerance,” served to show Havre’s solidarity with nearly identical proclamations unanimously passed by the Whitefish City Council, the Lewistown City Commission, and the Great Falls City Commission.

The proclamation was drafted as resistance against the Dec. 23, 2016, call by Andrew Anglin for an armed, anti-Semitic “March on Whitefish.” Anglin, publisher of “The Daily Stormer,” a white supremacist website, said the march would be a protest “against Jews, Jewish businesses and everyone who supports either.”

On Dec. 27, 2016, in reaction to Anglin’s comments, U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, Gov. Steve Bullock and Attorney General Tim Fox released a joint statement denouncing “ignorance, hatred and threats of violence” in Montana.

Jan. 7, 2017, to further denounce Anglin’s comments, the citizens of Whitefish gathered by the hundreds at a community event to declare ‘Love not Hate’ in a strong, unified voice.

The voice of support from Havre was strong, but regrettably not unified. Unfortunately, one member of the Havre City Council could not back the proclamation as written. The proclamation ultimately passed, 5-1.

The proclamation, as written, served to “remind us that the plagues of anti-Semitism, ethnic and racial hate, and the ideologies of fascism and Nazism remain as an ugly undercurrent in an otherwise decent society.”

The proclamation, as written, served to remind us to “speak out against such evils” and that “silence in the face of intolerance is often interpreted as acceptance.”

The proclamation, as written, served to honor “the memory of, and sacrifices made by, our World War II veterans, living and dead, who risked and gave their lives so that the twin evils of Nazism and fascism might never again hold a free reign in this world.”

Over 71 years ago our armed forces gave their lives in order to remove the stench of Nazism and fascism from the face of the earth. Those twin evils are precisely what this proclamation denounced. Yet, one councilman could not back it as written.

Councilman Caleb Hutchins showed great leadership by bringing this proclamation to our city and for that we thank him. We also thank councilmembers Ed Matter, Terry Lilletvedt, Andrew Brekke and Matt Boucher for representing Havre with courage and dignity.

We wish to remind the dissenting councilman that he was elected to his position by the citizens of Ward 2 to represent them and, by extension, the city of Havre. When he voted against this proclamation without offering to assist with revisions, without proposing an alternative, he greatly disappointed those of us who vigorously and publicly denounce hate in our communities. We hope his judgement on future issues will prove to be much clearer.

Hate has no place in our state. Hate has no place in Havre.

Ty Hedalen                                       

Rawnie Osgood                   

Jacob Bachmeier                               

Chris Peterson

Jim Bedwell                                      

Crysta Robinson

James Carden                                    

Jayme Seidel             

Merrill Gray                                      

Dr. John M. Snider   

Katlynn C. Holmes                          

Cassie Springer

Greg Jergeson                                   

Samantha Seidel Thompson

Mia LameBull                                   

Tyler Thompson

Will Lorett     

Janet Trethewey, former Ward 2 city councilwoman

Jim Lyons                                          

Dolan Tuss                                  

Patrick Ulano                                  

Gerry Veis, former city councilman        

Dave Martens                                   

Pam Veis

Donald Mayer                                  

Oriah Williams

Dr. Grant Olson                                

Theron Williams

Carol J. Ortman