gofor-itWho knew the crunchy residents of Boulder even owned pearls, much less clutched them in horror over a little dirty word.  No, we’re not talking about capitalism, we’re talking about the f-word, rhymes with truck. And, for once, we partially agree with an editorial in the Boulder Daily Camera.

Here’s story. Apparently, Boulder hired a consultant to help “inspire” youth to get more engaged in the political and policy process.  This consultant, Becky Boone, a fellow with Code for America, dropped some f-bombs during her speech in which she pointed out that the under 40 crowd in Boulder makes up 65% of the Boulder population, but a mere 17% of those who attend policy meetings.

The editorial writer hypothesizes that those complaining about Boone’s language are those who don’t want youth to participate – he calls them the new Boulder conservatives because they don’t want development to proceed.  This is where he lost us.  Here’s what he said:

“These days, we are very much aware of the constituency in Boulder unhappy with the current development boom and backing a pair of proposed ballot initiatives designed to slow it down. Let’s call this group what it is: They are Boulder’s new conservatives. They want the pace of change to slow down. They may identify as “progressives” because they’re in favor of municipalization of the electric utility or support environmental causes, but progress is another word for change, and they are most definitely not in favor of accelerating the pace of change in Boulder. Their influence over Boulder’s politics would be diluted if younger people and renters became more active in the political process, which is what Boone was advocating in her Ignite address.”

He’s working awfully hard to align those not in favor of the f-word with conservatives, who probably would be happy to see capitalism march aggressively through Boulder’s granola-paved streets.

Nonetheless, he’s right that it’s a little silly to be so offended by the f-word, but what is offensive is that Boulder actually paid someone to come in to try to activate its youth.  There’s a group already in Colorado who is actually already paid to do that.  It’s called New Era Colorado and they’ll swear at your citizens for free.