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They are and were treated as a colony. And they were clearly oppressed. Ever hear of Public Law 53, the “Gag Law,” which made it a criminal act to show any outward support for an independent Puerto Rico. How is that for oppression
Puerto Rico has high unemployment because it has not been well developed economically. That again is the doing of the US.
To be fair: pretty much all "LatAm" countries are hot messes, regardless of "race" and, except for Cuba and Puerto Rico, they've all been independent for almost 200 years.
I live in texas and our state pays more taxes than 12 of the 19 blue states combined ,
Let's look at per capita federal revenue by state which tells the actual story:
DC: $38K - Yeah, not a state. Sue me.
Delaware: $24K
Minnesota: $19.5K
New Jersey: $17K
Connecticut: $16.5K
Massachusetts: $16K
New York: $13.6K
Nebraska: $13.2K - Aha! A red state
Illinois: $12.3K
Where's Texas? A distant #17 (not counting DC) at $10.2K. Well behind New York. Behind California which is $10.4K.
They are and were treated as a colony. And they were clearly oppressed. Ever hear of Public Law 53, the “Gag Law,” which made it a criminal act to show any outward support for an independent Puerto Rico. How is that for oppression.
Hardly qualifies as "living like slaves".
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Puerto Rico has high unemployment because it has not been well developed economically. That again is the doing of the US.
Before Puerto Rico became a U.S territory, it was a completely undeveloped destitute Spanish colony filled with bumpkin campesino hicks. They were poor already. That was not created by America.
U.S citizenship was a gift that they benefited from.
But PR is not, and has not been for a very long time, an independent nation. They are a part of the USA, and their citizens are ALSO American citizens.
Puerto Rico was never independent (well, unless you consider the Tainos before Columbus arrived in 1493). The Carta de Autonomia that was signed in 1897 made Puerto Rico an overseas province of Spain (something akin to a state of the United States).
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Originally Posted by PullMyFinger
If they become a state they have to understand there will be ENGLISH ONLY in public schools and public discourse. Can they handle that?
There is no national language ... Congress cannot impose a language requirement for statehood - this is direct from Rep. Rob Bishop the current chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
He also opposed the idea that the use of Spanish in the territory should be a bar to equality for Puerto Rico within the nation. The language used by a State is a matter that society can manage without the Federal government imposing a mandate, the Natural Resources Committee Chairman explained.
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In an interview with El Nuevo Dia newspaper, Bishop even more strongly rejected opposing statehood because of a guess that a State of Puerto Rico would elect more Democrats than Republicans, allowing that some Republicans may have done so. That is “not a valid reason,” he stressed, “the potential support for a party should never be the reason for being for or against a petition for statehood.”
Each state is unique in its own way. Some more so than others. Even within states, there is an amazing gradation and variation in cultures. You wouldn't argue that South Florida and Oklahoma City are exactly the same culturally? Or that Hawaii and South Dakota are the same? Or maybe you would?
One of the best things about our country is its diversity of lands and people. If the PR people want to join in that diversity, I would love it. If they want to become their own country, I wish them the best.
Either way, we need to do right by their people and stop this half-way territory nonsense - it is simply wrong. And they, NOT Congress (or anyone else), should be the one that decides this.
I disagree. There are minority cultures living in most states but most of their citizens are still mainstream. No state is completely a different culture than mainstream. Puerto Rico would be.
I don't put a lot of faith in the cliché of "diversity is our strength". When people don't have things in common it creates division not unity.
It is up to Puerto Rico whether they want to become a state or not. I'm not in favor of it but it's their call not mine.
I disagree. There are minority cultures living in most states but most of their citizens are still mainstream. No state is completely a different culture than mainstream. Puerto Rico would be.
I don't put a lot of faith in the cliché of "diversity is our strength". When people don't have things in common it creates division not unity.
It is up to Puerto Rico whether they want to become a state or not. I'm not in favor of it but it's their call not mine.
We have plenty in common with them - for one, they're also Americans (and they love baseball)! This cannot be stated enough - they're already a part of this country.
You're living in denial if you don't think there are significant amounts of variation in our culture as a nation. Have you been to all states? It's a rather eye-opening experience. I highly recommend it!
And yes, the diversity is an enormous strength. Don't let anyone try to say otherwise. We would not be the nation that we are without immigration and the enormous breadth of cultures that have been amalgamated into general "Americana".
Last edited by HockeyMac18; 06-15-2017 at 06:25 PM..
To be fair: pretty much all "LatAm" countries are hot messes, regardless of "race" and, except for Cuba and Puerto Rico, they've all been independent for almost 200 years.
I disagree with that, Most Latin American countries are decent places. Half of South America isn't bad, Panama and Costa Rica are quite nice. Just because countries are not rich doesn't mean they are a mess. Most of the Caribbean isn't bad either. Just because there are poor people doesn't mean it's an awful place. I've met plenty of poor people who are quite happy and content with their lives. Most of the world has greatly improved in the last few decades.
We have plenty in common with them - for one, they're also Americans! This cannot be stated enough - they're already a part of this country.
You're living in denial if you don't think there are not significant amounts of variation in our culture as a nation. Have you been to all states? It's a rather eye-opening experience. I highly recommend it!
And yes, the diversity is an enormous strength. Don't let anyone try to say otherwise. We would not be the nation that we are without immigration and the enormous breadth of cultures that have been amalgamated into general "Americana".
I would argue that Puerto Rican culture is not that different either.
We have plenty in common with them - for one, they're also Americans (and they love baseball)! This cannot be stated enough - they're already a part of this country.
You're living in denial if you don't think there are significant amounts of variation in our culture as a nation. Have you been to all states? It's a rather eye-opening experience. I highly recommend it!
And yes, the diversity is an enormous strength. Don't let anyone try to say otherwise. We would not be the nation that we are without immigration and the enormous breadth of cultures that have been amalgamated into general "Americana".
Plenty, and all you could do is mention baseball? We already have Americans that we don't share a common culture with is this some kind of plus?
We have one "identifying" culture and language. The rest are just minority ones. I've been to several states and this seems to be the case in all of them.
You're entitled to your opinion but I disagree that diversity is our strength. We have a lot of culture clash going on in this country. I never had a problem with legal immigration but we used to be a melting pot not a salad bowl. You are spouting the typical liberal lines.
I disagree with that, Most Latin American countries are decent places. Half of South America isn't bad, Panama and Costa Rica are quite nice. Just because countries are not rich doesn't mean they are a mess. Most of the Caribbean isn't bad either. Just because there are poor people doesn't mean it's an awful place. I've met plenty of poor people who are quite happy and content with their lives. Most of the world has greatly improved in the last few decades.
Most of them are Banana Republics.
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We already have Americans that we don't share a common culture with is this some kind of plus?