| In My Opinion – Sasha Nyary |
I’ll never forget the first time I was told I hadn’t lived in my neighborhood long enough to have an opinion. It was 20 years ago and I was living in Brooklyn. Something like half of the residents of New York City are born in other countries, so it was kind of odd to be so challenged. I was part of a group of people who were working to revive our local community garden and I had made a suggestion. One of my neighbors looked at me and said, “You don’t get a vote. You haven’t lived here long enough.”
I had lived on this block for two years and the only response I could think to say was, “When do I get a vote? When will I be allowed to express my opinions? How long do I have to live here?” She didn’t have an answer.
After I’d lived in New York for nearly two decades I moved to western Massachusetts, where again, I heard grumbling about newcomers, and now, New Yorkers taking over. I put my head down and got a job in town. I put my daughter in the public schools and I paid my taxes. I joined a neighborhood book group and the YMCA and the local food co-op and I worked part-time at the public library. I served as the constable at an election site.
In 2020, 15 years later, my world upended, just like everyone else’s. I was able to move to Maine to live with my new wife in her family home. It was lonely to move to a new town in a new state at the height of Covid, but I reached out where I could. We began to fix up the house, hiring local contractors and tradesmen. Once the library reopened I started shelving books and helping with the website. I joined the Friends of the New Gloucester Library. I shopped at New Gloucester establishments. I wrote for the New Gloucester Xchange. I’ve attended Tiny Timber and church and the community lunch and Town Meeting, even the special one last winter that was on my birthday. I volunteered at three different booths at the Community Fair this past summer. I pay my taxes.
I love living here. I like how people wave and say hi and stop to chat when I walk the roads. I love seeing my neighbors with their dogs on the Interurban behind our house. I like to walk up Gloucester Hill Road to the top of the hill and look out over that unspoiled postcard view of the Intervale below. On the way, I often stop by the graves of my wife’s parents to pay my respects. I thank them for their three wonderful daughters and this gorgeous town they worked so hard for for so many years—they and their ancestors, back to the founding of the First Congregational Church.
I love that strong roots are valued in New Gloucester, that people are passionate about the town and how it should be run. I know that the people who worked and continue to work so hard for New Gloucester make this a special town. I like how people state where they live and how long they’ve lived here when they speak at Town Meeting—how they identify themselves as members of the community.
I also know of people who have been told “You haven’t lived here long enough” when they disagreed about town policies. I’ve read that some residents “are not New Gloucester,” because of their values and opinions. The “We’ve always done it this way” response to the protest of the presence of the Confederate flag in this year’s Memorial Day parade left no room to express other viewpoints. I was one of those protesting the flag and I was threatened with violence.
Of course I have ideas that not everyone agrees with and I do try to be respectful—like commenting when invited to at a public meeting or quietly holding a sign at a march. I want to encourage change in ways I think will be positive for the town and I believe I have a right to express my opinions.
Here are a few: I believe stability is important and that change is inevitable, and that it will be coming faster and ever more dramatically in the coming years—and that the town has to get ready for it. I think it’s essential that the town act now to address issues of livability, and of diversity in order to get ahead of those issues. I believe in getting as close as we can to consensus, not bullying people out of speaking. I think asking questions about whom we honor on Memorial Day is crucial if we want New Gloucester to be welcome and open to all. Perhaps in the coming year we will see progress in some of these areas.
I live here, work here, spend money here, volunteer here. I pay my taxes (although don’t renters get to speak out too?). When do I and others with perhaps differing views about how to do things get to have a say? How many years will we have to live here before we are all considered a part of New Gloucester?
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this opinion piece are solely those of the author. Publication does not reflect endorsement by the NGXchange or its volunteers. NGX welcomes diverse viewpoints and invites your submissions. Learn more here.
