Age-old conundrum should spur debate on newcomers

A nondescript pickup truck rolled down Kalanianaole Highway, a nondescript man behind the wheel. The bumper sticker on the back had words that perfectly described the modern version of a generations-old conflict:

“It was country before you came”

Three decades ago the rallying cry against urban sprawl, luxury development in undeveloped areas and the general gentrification of funky rural Hawaii towns was summed up in bumper stickers that said, “Keep the country country.”

But now the people sometimes arguing the loudest to keep the country unchanged are talking about not changing it from the way they found it when they moved here a few years back. They want it unchanged from the way they changed it to their liking. They like their two-story tile-roof luxury homes, the convenience of national retailers just down the road and the social status of a dog park. They like their lawns behind their tall rock walls. They wouldn’t want to go back to Hanalei in the 1950s with crooked little wooden houses or Paia in the 1960s when the sugar mill was cranking and the little stores sold family groceries, not tourist tchotchkes. Kahala’s or Hawaii Kai’s or Kailua’s past as farming communities aren’t the Hawaii country they remember or miss or want. It’s amazing how quickly newcomers assume the outrage of kamaaina and take up protests to protect the version of Hawaii they’ve come to think of as their own.

Looked at from a wider perspective, it is the global conundrum of immigration. It’s hard to even talk about the actual, quantifiable effects of scores of new people setting up homes — or tents — on a small island, what that does to traffic and sewers, view planes and property values, privacy and open spaces.

It is difficult for anyone to bring up the impact of new people moving into a community without being called a racist, xenophobe or just a straight-up hater. But if we can’t talk about it, it’s like pretending that there’s nothing to talk about. There’s so much to talk about, plan for and decide on. But it’s hard for a disgruntled lifelong Hawaii resident to speak out about the changes that have befallen their little country town without sounding like some sort of Trump-y bigot.

The utopian ideal is that every community will welcome everyone and anyone. There’s always room for one more. Pour some water in the stew and make a space at the table. But on an island, at some point we’ll run out of space and run out of stew.

The other part of that golden fantasy is that new people will bring their cool beliefs and behaviors and share with the established beliefs and behaviors and all will be better for the experience. It would be lovely if that worked, but when old newcomers are complaining about new newcomers putting up high walls that are higher than the walls they put in, well, what can you do but resort to snarky bumper stickers?

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.