Local

I spend time every day on facebook. Probably,truth be told,too much time. I enjoy reading the comments of others. Sometimes silly,sometimes sad, and sometimes I wonder what it is they are thinking. But occasionally a post catches my interest and gets me to thinking. I just read one the other day. The question was,"what is a local ?" There were several responses to this inquiry and as can be expected different responses.
I typed in my response. " A local--in or from the immediate locality. I'm local,meaning I live in this locality. Now,native to the locality is a different issue altogether. You can become local but not native."
Having been in the Navy and lived in many different localities I can relate to this question of what is local.
I can also relate to being a native of a certain area. Currently I am living in Greensboro,Md. I have lived here for over twenty years now. I'm a local. Ask someone who was born here and they would tell you I'm not from here. They would be correct. How long does it take to become a native ? Either you are or you're not.
On the base level I'm not even a Native American. My stock came from Europe.Swedish and German. I do consider myself an American however ! I'm local. My ancestors go back at least 14 generations in this country. Still,the fact remains,not a native American.
There is something in my makeup,and in most people I think,that takes pride in being native to a certain area. The place of your birth. The place where your family was raised. There are some that will readily adopt a new area as being home and make claim to it. To this day if someone asks me where I'm from the response is always Long Island. I don't say New York because everyone immediately assumes you mean the city. Not claiming that !
There is also a feeling that being native gives you certain rights and privileges that others don't have. My Grandfather and his father before him fished these waters ! We have all heard similar statements. Doesn't matter if you have lived in a certain locality for fifty years, that is always trumped by being native. It is like when you were a kid and calling it first. There is no defense against that. You called it ! I'm proud to be from Long Island. East Hampton to be exact. A lot of famous and rich people now call it home. I hear about the "Hamptons" all the time in the news. Some of these celebrities and power brokers have been there for years now. They are "locals." They are not native. They can not become native. Their children and children's children will possibly call East Hampton their home. Will they be native ?
Well, there is the question of Nativity. In genealogy your Nativity is the place of your birth. You were born there and therefore are native to the land. Following this logic they would indeed be natives. The "old" and "new" natives may not always see eye to eye. Change is often a difficult thing to witness. Every generation is convinced that their way was the best way. It is just the natural occurrence of things.
Now back to the initial comment. What is a local ? Do you mean local or native ? Or do you mean both. Is the question here really, " are you a native born local ? " Me,I'm just a local boy gone native !