You know the ads I’m talking about. The ones that slam people who moved to Montana decades ago and became wealthy building successful businesses here as “carpetbaggers” and “rich out-of-staters.” Or how about the ones that attack candidates for owning a nice home they rent out to tourists on vacation. Or the ones that sneer disapprovingly at people who *gasp* happen to have bought a nice ranch in central Montana.
Election Crabs-In-The-Bucket
/ Op-Eds
Election Crabs-In-The-Bucket
"We should want “Montanan” to mean anyone, longtime residents and newcomers alike, who embrace the frontier spirit. We should want “Montanan” to mean success and wealth and prosperity and vitality."
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for this election to be over already. It’s that point in the election cycle where the political ads have turned from simply annoying to downright disgraceful. Mudslinging and character assassination are the norm, but this year it seems like the national political powers that be have decided we Montanans are to get an extra helping of destructive class resentment in our ads.
I have some questions for the people who write these ads:
If becoming successful from building a business in Montana is not representative of “Montana values,” then what is? And what good is a value system that doesn’t celebrate the hard work, dedication, and smarts it takes to be a successful entrepreneur?
Should Montanans never aspire to own a mansion in Big Sky or a nice piece of ranch land? Why not?
Why should someone moving to Montana — bringing their families, jobs, businesses, talents, wealth etc. with them — be considered a bad thing? Genuinely, please explain that.
At what point exactly does someone who moves here become “Montanan”? I’m a fourth-generation Montanan, born and raised in the Bitterroot Valley. Do I count?
As I’ve watched and listened to the political ads this year, the term that sticks in my mind is “crab-in-the-bucket mentality.” Google defines crab-in-the-bucket mentality as “a metaphor that describes a toxic dynamic where people try to hold others back from improving themselves. The metaphor comes from the idea that if a crab tries to climb out of an open bucket, the other crabs will pull it back in, ensuring the group’s demise. In human behavior, this translates to people trying to reduce the confidence of others who achieve success, out of envy, jealousy, or other feelings.”
The class-based political attacks we are seeing this election imply that supposed “real” Montanans are not and could never be wealthy and successful. That moving here, building a business in Montana that employs hundreds of people, selling it for millions, and using your wealth to enjoy our beautiful state and give back to your community is somehow something we Montanans should despise. This is toxic crab-in-the-bucket mentality, and the powers that be seem to think that Montanans will fall for it. In many ways, we already have.
In our state’s early days, the predominant spirit of Montana was the exact opposite of “crab-in-the-bucket.” At the turn of the century, cities like Butte and Helena were melting pots full of different races, religions, classes, creeds. Our state used to have a great reputation of openness and friendliness. What drew many people to Montana was this idea that anyone could stake a claim, take risks, and become successful. We were the land of opportunity where immigrants and pioneers started a new life. This was a positive and ascending frontier spirit that made Montana great in the first place.
We should want “Montanan” to mean anyone, longtime residents and newcomers alike, who embrace the frontier spirit. We should want “Montanan” to mean success and wealth and prosperity and vitality. And we should reject the toxic crab-in-the-bucket mentality foisted on us this election season which claims being a Montanan is anything less.
This column originally appeared in Lee Newspapers.