Will out-of-state people ever be welcomed as "Real Montanans? (Missoula: 2014, house)

[Redraven]

Apparently not, if our democrat candidate for the U.S. House and his cronies are to be believed.
The republican candidate has lived in Bozeman since 1994, but is still referred to as "That New Jersey millionaire", even though he grew up in Philadelphia, PA, not New Jersey.
I was brought to Montana by my mother in 1948. I don't know if that is enough time to become a "real Montanan" or not. Based on what I see in political ads these days, I'm guessing NOT!
It is a shame, really, that us out-of-state migrants can't truly be accepted.
Oh, yes, the "Old Guard" (those who are 3rd, 4th, 5th etc generation native born Montanans) will put up with us, and they are glad to have our work and our money, but apparently we can never be "REAL Montanans", no matter how firmly we embrace the Montana lifestyle.
Something to think about for those who want to move to this state.
It doesn't really bother me, because long ago I embraced the philosophy of "Illegitimati non carborundum". Loosely translated, that means "Do not let the Bas***ds grind you down!"
It worked for me. It even saved my sanity in the face of the school yard bullies.
then again, perhaps it didn't. perhaps I am insane, but don't realize it...
Whatever.

[USMC1967]

3rd, 4th, 5th, etc., generation Montanans who refer to themselves as "real Montanans" while deriding so-called "newcomers" are contemptuous morons in desperate need of a history lesson.

If anyone deserves to call themselves "real Montanans" I believe that right belongs solely to the indigenous peoples who have called this area home for well over 12,000 years.

[brb going fishing]

Dems pulled the same stunt against Gianforte last year and Daines in 2014. The old guard Montanans tend to be surprisingly left wing or at least centrist, but good conservatives from places like Orange County and San Diego in California are pouring into places like the Flathead and Bitterroot Valleys in record numbers. Dems have been fairing worse and worse here and pretty soon we'll be able to flush them out of state government completely.

[Dangerous Dave]

I saw this a lot in Oregon. Funny thing is, if you're from another state, they hate you. If you're from Mexico and here illegally, they love you and will volunteer to translate for you to go sign up for food stamps, drivers license, etc.


Oregonians even hate it when people from Washington commute in to work every day in Portland. "Them Washington people are taking out jobs!" I told one "well, they're just doing the jobs that Oregonians won't do". I got an earful on that one, but then I mentioned to her that she's perfectly fine with illegals coming to Oregon and she got quiet and said "well that's different". Yeah, the people from Washington aren't breaking any laws! That's the difference!


Anyhow, in the larger towns like Missoula, Bozeman, Flathead area, etc. I think they're used to outsiders and don't really care. I'm second generation military so I've lived all over the place. When people pull the "oh, you're a foreigner" crud I tell them that it's hard to settle anywhere when Uncle Sam has made your decisions for the last 40 years. They usually pipe down then.


However, I'm sure the incident in Three Forks is going to get some of the natives riled up against Californians, and I can't really blame them. It's too bad we can't build a wall around that state.

[MTSilvertip]

The OP has a point, but the fact is, it doesn't matter where Gianforte is from, it's the fact he's a Republican and the dems will do or say anything to try and pull votes and support from him, and create controversy to pull attention from their deeply flawed candidate.

I am 5th generation Montanan, and I don't care where you're from if you come to contribute to our way of life by becoming part of the state community.
Telling us how backward we are, how unsophisticated, that we are too dumb to realize that the pursuit of riches is so much better than our deep love of the land, that mindset I do not accept.

I don't appreciate out of staters locking down roads and shutting off access to our hunting and fishing, I don't like subdivisions taking good land out of production, or all the libs that want to destroy the culture and values, but I can't stop it, and I don't blame the folks moving here to escape toxic liberalization of where they're from.

Montanans by and large are libertarian by nature, just leave me alone kind of thing. I'll admit, I have no love for Californians in general, but individually, some are OK, you just take them one at a time.
Being a true Montanan has nothing to do with how long you've lived here, it's more who you are and what you do to help your neighbors, how you live, and the kind of person you are.

Hell, even the Indians came from somewhere else too.

[historyfan]

Ignore the BS. If you live here, you're a Montanan. Period.

[mrwumpus]

I moved to NW MT from CA two years ago and was shocked they elected somebody in Missoula who restricted gun rights, then I realized he was from California where guns are basically considered evil weapons of gang bangers and you have to get a background check just for ammo. Hello? What did you expect?

People ultimately choose their fate. While I sympathize with natives (I was a CA native who watched his county overrun by outsiders who more or less ruined it), ultimately it falls on your shoulders to organize opposition and resist change you don't like. If you don't take the trouble then you're just bitching.

The "keep to yourself" attitude in MT works great when you don't have a big influx of people, but if you keep it up, it alienates them and they stop trying to get to know you or understand your culture. And you gradually become more bitter and isolated when you could be out teaching them how to hunt and fish.

[Vegabern]

Here's an idea, stop getting your opinions from political ads.

[Dangerous Dave]

Originally Posted by brb going fishing

Dems pulled the same stunt against Gianforte last year and Daines in 2014

The party will do anything for a little victory. They're running a guy in Georgia that doesn't even live in the district. To listen to the adds for their guy in Montana, you'd think Gianforte was planning on selling every square inch of Montana to the Russian oligarchs. Here's a little tid-bit: Much of the public land in Montana is federal. It's not going away. There isn't a boogie-man hiding under your bed.

[historyfan]

This type of "us & them" and "who got here first" started in about 1884 when the Montana Society of Pioneers set their membership cut-off date to arrival before 1864. So if you hadn't been in the territory by 1864, you were just a newcomer.

On the eastern side of state they get nostalgic about 1889, if your ancestors weren't here by statehood, then... ditto.