But I believe she’s a good person. I’m sure she’s like the many locals I’ve met since the CNMI allowed me to work and reside here years and years ago: kind, hospitable, generous to a fault, always willing to help.
For speaking out her mind like the free citizen of a democratic society that she is, she has been accused of many things, mostly by those who can express their righteous indignation behind the skirt of anonymity.
I’m surprised Winnie had to apologize for her opinions. But then again, it only shows how considerate she is.
For the politically correct, her candor deserves nothing but scorn. She’s not alone, however. Her sentiments reflect how other locals are perceiving the rapid changes happening to their islands. Those who refuse to listen to them and are basically content to talk with others who share their own “enlightened” and “progressive” opinions will always be startled or even appalled by CNMI election results.
And those who believe that citing the provisions of the Constitution and recounting history will “open” the eyes of the “ordinary” people are also wasting their time.
For a lot of local people, the issue about nonresidents is not about legalities. It is about their future as islanders. They are getting poorer, the cost of living is increasing, their job opportunities are shrinking. And then they hear non-locals from the states or Third World countries telling them what is good for their islands.
As the economy continues its nosedive, locals now fear that “outsiders” will get the remaining jobs in what remains of the private sector.
Locals, moreover, resent the blanket criticism leveled against them. They detect racial overtones whenever a non-local comments about crimes or abuses of power perpetrated by locals. They feel they are being “typecast.” When a non-local violates the law it’s because he’s a bad person. When it’s a local, it’s because he’s a “racist” Chamorro or Carolinian.
This is unfair to the local people as all non-locals who have lived here for many years will tell you. We are neighbors, co-workers or friends. We get along just fine.
I would like to think that my commentaries will be judged based on what they say, and not who is saying them. But even in a multi-cultural community, or perhaps because we’re in such a community, one’s ethnic identity is inescapable. Hence the need for a willingness to understand why people disagree with you and where they are coming from. We need to respect and even value our differences. It also helps to realize that you cannot use “logic” when dealing with an emotional issue.
The main issue for most locals is their continued existence as a distinct people on their islands. They fear scarcity. They are afraid that they are already losing their islands to “outsiders.”
This administration and its minions in the Legislature cannot fix the CNMI’s problems but they can stoke that fear. They cannot admit responsibility for their dismal failures as leaders so they blame “outsiders.”
Those who advocate real change should not allow these reactionaries to hoodwink the people once again. Reformists should reach out to residents like Winnie. We need more dialogues not debates with the local people.
But all this talk about the “injustice” supposedly inflicted on non-locals — all this victimhood rhetoric doesn’t help. If we say we want to stay here then why do we keep saying it’s awful here?
Such rhetoric slanders the local community and plays right into the demagogues’ hands. The current leaders want the argument to be about locals vs. non-locals when it should be about their corruption and their incompetence.
It should be about why the people of the CNMI deserve so much better.
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