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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Eco-warriors now throwing rocks

Posted 9/25/14

After reading last week’s letters to the editor, I started to wonder if maybe I’d taken a switch to Adrian Peterson’s son.

I learned some interesting things from those letters. For instance, …

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Eco-warriors now throwing rocks

Posted

After reading last week’s letters to the editor, I started to wonder if maybe I’d taken a switch to Adrian Peterson’s son.

I learned some interesting things from those letters. For instance, I didn’t know that I was responsible for Antofagasta pulling out of Ely. I only met Andres Morales, Antofagasta’s person at Twin Metals, once, but I’m pretty sure he thought I was welcoming and open-minded (compared to, say, Bob Tammen).

A couple of months ago I was the guy willing to welcome a horde of Chilean, robber barons and hard rock miners to steal our minerals and desecrate the BWCA. Now my xenophobic racism is chasing them away. If you dare challenge them, the eco-warriors throw rocks at you from all directions.

Also, I didn’t know that Ely had a power structure, let alone that I was the head of it. In fact, I thought that term got left in the 60’s….. Would ‘head of the power structure’ look good on a resume?

And I didn’t know that I had the authority to order the fire department to do anything, let alone turn fire hoses on protestors. It’s a volunteer department; they only do what they volunteered for. Although after the letter from Waseca, I’m sure some will now volunteer for that duty.

I’m ignorant, divisive, racist, like a dictator, my mind thinks that Sustainable Ely shouldn’t be allowed to protest, I tell half-truths.

I think we’ve all seen this pattern before. Perfected in Washington, D.C., it unfortunately has come to Ely. To get what they want, some groups will do or say things that are not fair or not true. They count on a certain percentage to swallow it whole and the rest (in this case the silent majority) to just let it go. When someone dares to challenge them, they try to discredit and/or attack the challenger in any way they can. A civil discussion of the issue they can’t win, gets left behind.

Only one of the five letter writers addressed my main point that Sustainable Ely was trying to pull a couple hoaxes. Of the thousands of words that were written in reply to my column, they only said ‘hoax’ once. All the rest was spin or attack mode. So much for a civil discussion about whether we have a sustainable and vibrant economy and whether the canoe to Washington, D.C. represents the majority of local folks.

One last thought. A lot of folks have thanked me for saying something they felt needed to be said. If I inspired you to speak up, don’t follow the lead of the eco rock throwers. Keep it civil and about issues, don’t say rotten things to your neighbors.

Ross Petersen

Mayor of Ely