We heard a lot about “outsiders” last week when a few of Fountain Hills’ young people (who grew up here) wanted to protest the brutal murder of George Floyd. The immediate response from townspeople was, “No, Black lives don’t matter, we’ll have a Trump rally to show them what this town is all about.” We witnessed classic fear-mongering and people who were afraid that “outsiders” might come to our little town.

It occurs to me that there probably isn’t anyone who can list Fountain Hills as their birthplace, since we don’t have a hospital. Most residents who are so afraid of “outsiders” actually came here from somewhere else and a great many residents actually live somewhere else part of the year. A good portion of people who argue against “outsiders” on social media don’t even live in this town. This is small-minded and the opposite of the image that Fountain Hills likes to claim, that we are friendly and welcoming. We are all outsiders.