Hello, my name is Travis Mateer, a writer and tax-activist from Missoula, Montana, who in past incarnations online has written under the pseudonyms William Skink and lizard.  

What am I doing here?  

That’s a good question, and the answer is even better.  I’m here to do a weekly report UNIQUE to the audience reading Western Montana News, an audience I’d like to see GROW as people realize local news has never been more terrible while, at the same time, has never been more sorely needed—a real conundrum!

Conundrums are NOT dealt with rationally here in Missoula, and there are long and complicated reasons why, which for YOU means fertile ground for a writer like myself to dig around in and describe, something I’ve been doing quite regularly since leaving the non-profit sector in January of 2020.

What kind of political leanings do I have?  

That’s not easy to define anymore, though for many years I was a predictable progressive.  Now I call myself a “hyper-localist” because it allows me to wiggle between two very disaffected political bases that only seem to find cohesion through viewing political opponents as such visceral threats that the “lesser-evil” argument becomes viable, which I see as a neutering of the political imagination.

To counter this, I’m emerging from a sort of pupal state to spread some politically imaginative and borderline absurdist wings in order to keep alive the FREEDOM of expression so many of my fellow liberal-leaning artists have perversely tried to destroy.  

Instead of lamenting the destructive tendencies of formerly open-minded individuals, I’m going to EMBRACE their approach in order to redirect it at the mechanisms of narrative control that perpetuate social divisions in order maintain power.  If you have a sacred cow, well, be prepared for me to figuratively kill it, toss it on the grill, and cook it up for dinner!

For example, one of my own sacred cows is the topic of Tax Increment Financing, a topic I felt strongly enough about that I bankrolled and produced a documentary exposing its corrupting influence, titled Engen’s Missoula.  

One compelling feature of that documentary is the interview with Jesse Ramos, a former City Councilman in Missoula and over-all good guy who now uses his infectious energy for a paycheck from Americans For Prosperity.  If I’m serious about exposing the dynamics of narrative control, and I am, then I won’t pull punches, even when it comes to a fellow tax-activist making a living within the two party political system.

As a hyper-localist unimpressed by Hollywood’s presence on the streets of Missoula to shoot scenes for Yellowstone, I consider it my job to show readers of my blog, Zoom Chron, where and how the influence is happening, like that fellow tax-activist I mentioned getting a non-speaking part for some screen time next to Kevin Costner, or a local businessman who once stood up for medical freedom and unnecessary government intrusion, but now is busy rolling out the red carpet for the Yellowstone production crew as they temporarily reduce available parking downtown.

Another area I won’t shy away from is my own lack of objectivity, something all writers have to deal with, but not all writers actively talk about.  I don’t make claims of being objective in the first place, choosing instead to adopt the Gonzo-style of placing myself inside the story, along with the other characters I’m covering.  This requires doing my best to identify the hard-to-track appetite of my own ego, which can be so insistent for recognition that I’ve decided to file “Butthurt Reports” on myself when the need arises.

When does the need arise?  That’s easy, and a good place to wrap up this introductory post.  The need to file Butthurt Reports arises when topics I’m knowledgeable and passionate about get promoted on platforms by people who, for whatever reason, choose to ignore my once valued perspective.  

Will the inclusion of my voice at Western Montana News mitigate my need to take such drastic measures so that I can read about a big “homeless summit” that took place in Missoula and NOT feel the counterproductive urge to grab my megaphone?  The only way to find out is to do it, so tune in here every Thursday for your weekly dispatch from Zoom Town.  

Thanks for reading!