Excerpt from Thick Observations of a Finch
on Invasion:
…if looked at from a generous standpoint, one can be pleased with the boost to local economy these
intruders bring. The intruders in return, can take advantage of the vast knowledge locals have of the place they have come
to be in the world. Insistence in the sole proprietorship of a certain space does not benefit anyone. The protagonist of
Jose Saramago’s short story, The Unknown Island, off-handedly says to another character, “Liking is probably the best
form of ownership, and ownership the worst form of liking”.1 Islanders who invoke the essence of this statement would be
well off in all seasons and situations. Once one admits, they were also an invader at the onset of their arrival to any place.
Then they are closer to seeing that they stay because they enjoy and flourish in that place. Rather than because they own
it. When one does not grow in the place they are in, it is a fair sign they must go and invade another territory to begin to
flourish again.
1 Saramago, J. (1981). The Unknown Island. New York, NY: Harvest Press.
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