There's been a lot of debate about the costs versus the benefits of the potential Burien annexation of North Highline.
Proponents claim Burien will see a windfall of funds to help augment city services, while opponents claim the absorption of demographically poorer areas will damage the city financially.
Frankly, I have no idea who's right about the financial impact of an annexation, and I don't really care.
What I do know and care about is that when I hear opponents of annexation make their case I almost invariably get a queasy feeling in my gut. It's the feeling I get when someone is glossing over their beliefs with rationalizations and excuses.
Since when did all of these citizens become so concerned with the financial condition of city hall?
The more I listen at community meetings and speak with annexation opponents, the more it becomes clear what's really driving this - and it's not a pretty thing.
To many in Burien, North Highline is on "the wrong side of the tracks" - it's "rat city" or worse.
To many, annexation represents encroachment of the poor on a happy middle class hamlet. To others, it represents the coming of the "Mexicans" or the "blacks." The undercurrent of almost every conversation I've had with annexation opponents has been of some supposed undesirable element coming in and affecting our lives.
It's the politics of fear and ignorance-and it stinks.
One of the greatest assets of Highline, especially in recent years, is the spectacular ethnic diversity. In greater Burien you can find authentic cuisine from so many parts of the world-and many businesses with interesting wares from Latin America to Asia and beyond.
This myriad of cultures is truly the greatest treasure of Highline.
As for the economic distress of North Highline, I say who cares. We are all one community. That's the bottom line.
Why draw an imaginary line at some arbitrary street and claim that everything north of this is not our problem? These are all our neighbors, and we have a responsibility to act as if they are.
It's too bad when what brings people into the streets is a cynical, self-centered desire to keep away "undesirable elements." In the debate over North Highline, I propose replacing snobbishness, bigotry, ignorance and fear with welcoming, tolerance, charity and humility.
Now that would be an annexation of ideas truly worth taking to the streets for.
Jeff Upthegrove
Burien
