I sometimes wonder if others grow weary of the divisiveness perpetrated through the rhetoric of some South Lake Tahoe community members regarding longtime versus shorter-time residency.

Comments written by some individuals identifying themselves as longtime locals declare that unless someone has lived here at least as long as they have that those late-comers don’t know anything and should just be quiet. They tell us that they know more than any individuals that relocate to South Lake Tahoe, and while it’s OK for us late-comers to pay property and sales taxes to support South Lake Tahoe and to patronize their local businesses so they can prosper, our opinions aren’t welcomed, valued or respected; and we should just accept that any expectations we may have for the future of the community in which we’ve chosen to live should be marginalized since, after all, we aren’t longtime locals and don’t know anything.

I’ve lived and paid property taxes in South Lake Tahoe for slightly less than two decades and remain incredulous of that mindset, but I’ve come to recognize that some longtime local folks just don’t like us late-comers, they don’t respect us, and they don’t want us here.

Well, guess what, some people who chose to move to South Lake Tahoe from other places actually possess a substantial intellect, they have an extensive education, and they’ve acquired wide-ranging experience and exposure in numerous capacities prior to ever moving here. While they may not have lived here as long as some they’ve not lived their lives in a vacuum, and they actually do have something to contribute to South Lake Tahoe other than just paying taxes.

The “longtime resident versus short-time resident” attitude is juvenile and counterproductive, and it’s as tiresome as the us-against-them mindset related to the California/Nevada/Stateline area. Our community deserves better than this.

Priscilla W. Tommei

South Lake Tahoe, Calif.