SAMUEL Johnson once noted that “patriotism is the last refuge for scoundrels” — a wise quote everyone should ponder as racist statements dressed up in the guise of patriotism, like those of Eric Atalig, get published in local newspapers. Mr. Atalig never discusses the crux of my argument, which is that the United States has been nothing but benevolent to these islands. He brings up, and is correct about, the unrelated point of the unjust treatment of African-Americans and Native Americans. African and Native-Americans certainly do have grievances that are, and should continue to be, addressed. None of those things apply to the CNMI.
Probably the number one factor that separates the CNMI from the truly destitute islands in this region is the enormous amount of federal dollars that gets pumped in by U.S. taxpayers, who are largely unaware of the sweetheart tax deal the CNMI gets. It would take about a day for a demagogue like Bill O’Reilly on Fox News to have people furious about it. Places like Puerto Rico don’t want to become a state, and thereby get senators and voting representatives, because that would mean residents would pay the same taxes that all the other states have to pay, and the elected minorities, and their groupies, can’t abuse the system as easily as they do here and there.
Perhaps Mr. Atalig can’t see this because he views things through a failed politician’s perspective. People like Mr. Atalig often get elected, or if not as in his case, become hangers-on or appointees of those that do, and do the bidding for the people that ignore the power plant, waste money on Rose Bowl floats, give tax breaks to garment factories, never raise the minimum wage and use the Third World to bloat the labor supply and make sure local people can’t get a job that pays a living wage in the private sector. For dessert they go on government funded trips to Hawaii and the Philippines to party it up, keep people’s land prices artificially low with Article XII so a few rich local families can buy it all up on the cheap, and then pass out a few crumbs to the normal people and hope the party continues.
Now the party is ending and they’re hostile, so they try to stir people up by bashing statesiders and immigrant workers for thinking maybe they should get more than $3.05 an hour after 10 years at that rate. Plus they want to defend a racist system where someone born here can’t own land, such as my sons, who committed the crime of being Filipino-Americans. If you are born in a place, live there your whole life, and aren’t indigenous, like my sons, then let’s just change the meaning of the word. The world grows increasingly international, but a few scoundrels can’t accept it.
The next step is to talk nonsense about imperialism, as if raising the minimum wage to something human and denying a cheap maid is imperialistic, which is the real basis for why these crackpots are upset. And as for submerged lands, stop letting the hotels dump their sewage into the lagoon and I’ll be more sympathetic. Who is more devilish, the abusers and their enablers, or those who try to put a spotlight on the abuse? I wouldn’t be surprised if they hold their “$3.05 is great money/keep our cheap maid” rally in a phone booth somewhere and still have room to do jumping-jacks since virtually no one thinks higher wages are a bad idea. How nice it would be if the views of the majority were represented — not just the views of the rich and connected.
I know what it is like to have embarrassing leaders. As an American traveler, people sometimes want to view me through the prism of dupes and incompetents like Fox News or George W. Bush. That is why I’m quick to realize that racially inflammatory blowhards like Mr. Atalig are the rare exception to the very welcoming and friendly local people of these islands, perhaps the kindest people I’ve encountered in six years of living, traveling and working overseas. I think Tina Sablan’s profound letter and new leaders like Cinta Kaipat giving office money for police uniforms instead of picnic tables and parties, are clear illustrations that people have had it with the mediocre, failed system we have, and no amount of stirring up faux patriotic feelings via immigrant and mainlander bashing will work this time. George Miller and Nancy Pelosi aren’t the problem — keeping people dependent on a flawed and dying cheap labor/government handout model is the problem.
Finally, the numerous local people fleeing this mismanagement and heading to the states aren’t “guests” in the U.S., and I’m not a guest here. I’ve made better readers and writers out of almost 1,000 island residents since I’ve been here. I’ll stack that up against your job of serving a few rich and powerful people and appealing to the worst instincts in others — all to protect a failed model that serves a small minority while life gets much worse for the majority of the indigenous people because of these policies!

JEFFREY C. TURBITT
Dandan, Saipan