Introducing: The Good Neighbor Project
A navy blue outline of Montana that reads: The Good Neighbor Project.
Montanans are good neighbors.
On snowy mornings, Montanans shovel each other’s walks. Bumper crops means shared produce and canned goods. We respect fences as much as we revere open spaces. We spare our time on moving days and we cheer on each other’s kids on Friday nights. It’s not about who you love or where you’ve been, but if you’re coming to dinner.
Yet, every election year, politicians use cheap tactics and lies to pit us against each other. Instead of good faith attempts to earn our votes, they exploit our fears about making ends meet with xenophobic, antisemitic, Islamophobic, and anti-Indigenous stereotypes.
This cheapens our democracy and distracts from conversations about tangible solutions to address the issues affecting our families every day like quality healthcare access, affordable housing, and equitable tax policies. Politicians will try to make the measure of a Montanan about how tall your fence is, but we know it’s about how long your table is.
As Montanans, it’s our responsibility to call these tactics for what they are - fear mongering and bullying. They gamble on our safety, our relationships, and our way of life for a check mark on a Tuesday in November. But, it’s us who have to live with the consequences on Wednesday morning.
When our politicians don’t show up for our neighbors and our families, we show up for each other.
Take Action:
Place a Good Neighbor Project sign in your window to demonstrate that you’re ready to show up for your neighbors.
Contact campaigns directly when political candidates rely on stereotypes and tropes.
Report bias, discrimination, and harassment to us at this link.
Reflect on the ways you can challenge your own internal biases and change behaviors that perpetuate stereotypes.
Learn More:
Review this resource from Western States Center on challenging dehumanizing rhetoric
Learn these important definitions:
Xenophobia, also known as anti-immigrant racism, is the irrational fear or hatred of strangers; often applied to people with an ethnicity or nationality that differs from one’s own.
Antisemitism is a false perception of Jewish people that is manifested as prejudice, hatred, and violence toward Jewish people.
Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslim people.
Anti-Indigenous racism is the ongoing race-based discrimination, negative stereotyping, & injustice experienced by Indigenous people.
