Anti-government, anti-public school event in Kalispell this week

There’s a reason that Love Lives Here pushes back against extremism. If we don’t speak up, people try to divide our community with misinformation and destructive talking points.

Last week, we learned that Alex Newman, one of the speakers at the “New“ Code of the West conference in October 2018, is going to be back in town.

During his last visit, this representative of the John Birch Society pushed conspiracy theories about the Deep State and a one-world government agenda. His main purpose for this visit seems to be promoting the idea that public schools are evil and damaging to “faith, family, and freedom.” It appears that the local chapter of the John Birch Society invited him to Kalispell.

We know that our entire community suffers when we allow outside actors like this to portray public schools and teachers as harmful, when we know that they are important anchors of our community. This kind of attempt to manufacture controversies will only waste time and create unnecessary animosity among local people. That doesn’t benefit anyone.

There’s no need to give this event attention, so we will not be planning a counter event of any kind. We will be watching this situation closely so we know if and when we need to respond.

If you’re interested in more information, you can click here to read about Alex Newman in the Montana Human Rights Network’s report on the “New” Code of the West conference.