by Shawn Wathen, Hamilton
I read with horror, but not surprise, in the Bitterroot Star, comments made by Ravalli County Commissioners Greg Chilcot and Jeff Burrows at a meeting about homelessness in the county with City Attorney Karen Mahar. In a futile effort to get the commissioners to treat the problem with the seriousness it deserves, she spoke of its economic costs. Being rather savvy, she probably knew that an empathetic argument was a lost cause.
It seems rather pointless to challenge the vacuousness of Messrs. Chilcott’s and Burrows’s statements. These were based on half truths, debunked theories, and an unsavory lack of compassion. I will, however, laud Mr. Burrows’s honesty in admitting “I guess that this is kind of my cold black soul just coming out.” Not often do you have politicians being quite so insightful and honest about themselves.
Commissioner Burrows went on to ask (rhetorically?) if it’s the government’s responsibility to solve this problem. I apparently had a different civics course at Hamilton High School in the 1970s: it is the very reason for government – to address the issues of society to enable people to live and function together. The commissioners are paid by us to do just that, and it is truly ironic that Mr. Burrows argues against using tax money to help those less privileged than he, while having no problem being paid to do nothing with those same tax dollars.
Trying to shirk responsibility for addressing the homelessness crisis, he offered to pay to move these people someplace “warmer.” That sounds like trafficking to me, but also cowardly – saddle another community with problems he is ill-equipped to handle. Perhaps Mr. Burrows would take his own suggestion and go to a warmer place. It’s well known, and caters to those with cold, black souls. Virgil guided Dante through its 9 circles centuries ago.