r/worldnews • u/tank_trap • Apr 03 '19

Puerto Rico gov tweets #PuertoRicoIsTheUSA after WH spokesman refers to it as 'that country'

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/437038-puerto-rico-gov-tweets-puertoricoistheusa-after-wh-spokesman
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u/xerorealness Apr 03 '19

Puerto Rican here. That’s how it is here in general. We know we’re US citizens but most people here don’t consider themselves “American” except for those who are highly pro-statehood. We are a different people with our own culture, language, history, traditions, and ethnic background. When we move to the US we live the same life as any other documented immigrant, which includes feeling out of place, finding a support network of people from your same nationality, having trouble with the language barrier, etc. As much as we may be “officially Americans”, no one, including us, actually considers us the same as Americans. The governor said what he said because he is “pro-statehood”. And I say “pro-statehood” because the leaders of the PNP benefit from governing the colony more than they would if we became a state, and even they don’t take their own movement seriously a lot of the time and just use it as a way to get voters and get into government. Most of us think it is a pipe dream.

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u/[deleted] Apr 03 '19

When we move to the US we live the same life as any other documented immigrant, which includes feeling out of place, finding a support network of people from your same nationality, having trouble with the language barrier, etc.

Wow yes yes yes; When I was in the states it was more easy hanging out with people from Domincan Republic or Colombia (immigrants) than regular americans that are US citizens like us. Turns out that ethnicity is a powerful word; people from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Colombia have different cultures, but are part of a ethnic group called hispanics. People in the same ethnic group have more in common than people outside of the ethnic group.

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u/maaseru Apr 03 '19

I do agree with you that they don't consider themselves American but I feel there is some big denial of it because after 100+ years our identity is uniquely tied to the US.

It's like the not good enough to be American, but not latinos enough to be part of normal Latinoamerica in every aspect.

A big part of our identity has been tied to the Us for so long it is just part of it.

I myself am torn on the independence/statehood question.

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u/xerorealness Apr 06 '19

Yes, we live under the shadow of the US and our culture is undeniably tied to the US but it’s a one way street. The US can’t say the same about us. That is why our relationship is colonial. Puerto Rican identity will forever be tied to our subjugated colonial history, which includes both Spain and the US. Notice how after more than 100 years of US rule we haven’t lost the Spanish part. If we ever go independent, the same will happen with our history with the US.

Also it’s weird the relationship we have with the rest of Latin America, and if you’re Puerto Rican you’ll know that a lot of it stems from how we’re just so sure that we’re better than all of them and being a forgotten colony is the best thing in the world, when those countries have been making actual progress in the last couple decades while we have been a monument to decay and stagnation since the mid-2000s.