How Nantucket has changed

From Nantucket, Rhona tells a familiar and sad story: the ordinary American middle being squeezed out by the super-rich on one side and Third-Worlders on the other. She writes:

I am on my annual Nantucket vacation. I have been coming here since 1980 and the changes over that period of time have been enormous. When I first came here, it was laid back and unpretentious. Even though there was an overclass of WASP elites, they, by and large, lived and dressed relatively modestly. Over the years, it has become more and more like the Hamptons. The median price for a house sold last year was $1.5 million.

What has also changed dramatically over the years has been the types of people who are here. As I said, the rich and hyper-rich are more and more like those you would find in the Hamptons —overdressed and overhoused. However, the worker bottom has been transformed. Instead of the mix of white working class natives, college students, and a few European exchange students, you now have ever increasing numbers of Caribbean blacks—and—large groups of Hispanics. The Hispanic phenomenon is new. I would say it started in the last 2-3 years. However, this year it has become increasingly noticeable.

What drives the economy of Nantucket is the tourist industry and a big component of that is construction. The jobs are very high paying. This year, however, I noticed many crews are now entirely Hispanic. The house I used to rent is being totally renovated and the crew only speaks Spanish. My assumption is that these crews are composed of illegal aliens. I decided to contact the Police Department and the Building Department about this illegality. I suggested to the powers that be they look into this, but I was met with annoyance and outright disinterest. Remember, this is an island that tightly regulates every aspect of building design—you can’t have a window or mullion or color that is out of place or you will be discovered, cited, and fined. Yet my expression of concern designed to protect the native Nantucketers who do this work was met with disdain by the very people who live on this island and are sworn to uphold the laws. I decided to write an e-mail to the Police Department and this was the reply that I received:

“I received your e-mail and understand your frustration. Immigration issues are the sole jurisdiction of the United States Government. We as municipal police officers do not have any legal authority nor do we have the training required to understand the complex issues that are involved in immigration enforcement. Until this changes there is nothing that I can do that I’m aware of . When we do get involved with a person who commits a felony and it is determined that they may be here illegally we do contact the Immigrations officials and attempt to get them involved…”

Obviously, he can do more than he is saying, but either he doesn’t care or he is too afraid to take matters into his hands. What he may not realize is that this island will irrevocably change because of these actions, and I, sadly, have been watching it happen.

Alec H. writes:

Rhona is right, except for the ethnicity—on the Cape and Islands, it’s not Hispanics who have invaded, it’s Brazilians.

I was born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard, and it’s the same there, too. My brother is a carpenter who finally moved off the island, because of the vast number of illegals who have taken over the trades and suppressed wages below what a civilized person needs to survive. (The big competitive advantage enjoyed by the Brazilians is their willingness to live 10 or more to an apartment, and thus divvy-up the inflated rent. Many of the remaining white tradesmen now resort to commuting over from the Cape each morning, where the rents (and taxes), while still high, are a bit easier.)

This situation is a great preview of where the country as a whole is headed—a numerically small, fabulously wealthy plutocracy, waited upon by a horde of cheap, submissive (for now) serfs. They really think they’ll never get their throats cut.

Alex K. writes:

I was in East Hampton a couple weeks ago and the only convenience store within walking distance of my motel was staffed and patronized (except by me) entirely in Spanish. The clerk gave me the price of my soda in Spanish.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 26, 2006 11:56 AM | Send