S.W. this is a very interesting little demonstration. Note that it involves cloth and not roofing.
The idea that the “elites” would choose a blue roof because they want to avoid laser incineration would require a lot of assumptions including government level coordination and advance knowledge on their part. (I do not think they are all that informed about most things.) It does at least provide some rational argument for why a blue roof.
As previously pointed out, a blue colored roof implies a metal roof which the elites are more likely to be able to afford.
Good Night!
I'm pretty sure this is a proven thing. Perhaps not in this case, but it happens way more than we ever imagined and probably more than we imagine now.
PS in Hi many people use metal, at least on the Big Island. Don’t know about Lahaina, Id have to look at photos.