Letter to the Editor: From Jo Balcom

Editor's Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the MSU Exponent, its editorial staff, advisers, or Montana State University.

Author: Jo Balcom, Senior, English Writing, Belgrade

It was a foggy, chilly morning in Belgrade. I left my apartment, poorly dressed for the temperature, and with one mission in mind: to talk to protesters gathered in front of the Belgrade Public Library. I heard about it through Instagram, a public demonstration during the same time Vice President JD Vance was set to speak at the Yellowstone International Airport, just over a mile away as the crow flies. 

When I arrived a little after 10:40 AM, there were about ten people gathered on the sidewalk, facing main street, across from a huge billboard with Amy Eddy’s face plastered on it. The demonstrators held signs provided by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, who organized the protest. Commuters whizzed by, honking their horns in support, with the occasional dissenter sending the bird our way. As I introduced myself and began talking to demonstrators, I felt a rush of excitement at the idea of a meaningful leftist movement in my not so little town. Many of them expressed positive feelings that the midterm elections would bring much needed change to the legislature and judicial branches—and on the local level. They expressed frustrations with ICE, billionaires, and the Iran War. I spoke with people from SDS and FRSO. 

One member, who I will call J, said he skipped his classes at MSU to be in Belgrade. J told me about his views on ICE; he expressed anger with state sanctioned violence in communities across America. I shared with him my experience of ICE raiding a house in my own neighborhood in Belgrade. They came between 4 and 5 in the morning, and kidnapped five members of the immigrant community. These people worked in food service, construction and cleaning. J and I talked about the value of immigrants, legal or not. He told me he felt they are exploited for cheap labor and lured into work for black bag operations by ICE in collaboration with local police. I recounted that the kidnapping in my neighborhood could not have happened without police involvement. It is all part of dehumanizing immigrants, especially those coming to America fleeing violence in their own countries.

Try to imagine: you make the most difficult decision in the world to leave your home and most of your possessions behind. You decide to seek protection from violence, but are ultimately thrown into a new system of violence. You don’t speak the language, but you are trying. You want a future for your family and yourself, your other option is endless misery. You trade one misery for another. This is the reality for many immigrants in America. They participate in a humiliation ritual by the American government for a chance to live within our borders, to become an American citizen and gain those rights you hear so much about. Now, they live in fear of a regime that will kidnap them and separate them from their families, and hold them in harsh conditions. But in this little gathering, I saw resistance to this very violation of human rights operating right under our noses.

I spoke to some of the others, who have lived in the Bozeman area for over twenty-five years, and they shared with me stories of fascism in their hometowns—and how this administration was no different. They compared MAGA to the likes of the KKK and the Nazis, and that today’s Republican party was a far cry from what it was. 

At the same time, JD Vance was speaking. He was hitting all the usual talking points of unity and strength, and the fierce independent streak that runs through Montanans. He tried to relate to us, by speaking of the under privileged working class to an audience who could take the time off at 10 AM on a Monday morning. The irony is not lost on me, nor was it lost on my fellow demonstrators. He stood on that stage and lied, hammering on about race and the American dream. He deployed rhetoric that would have any red-blooded conservative nodding along, all while mispronouncing our state capital and glazing himself for being humble. 

As I left the protest, I felt hopeful and proud of my community. In a time where state violence

against our communities has become normalized, I feel we have a real chance at uniting and fighting back against fascism. It is not too late. It is important to look to our past, but it is just as important to live in the present and imagine a better future. Vote. Protest if you can. But never be silent.