I have a lot of stuff to catch up on, not just here, but I just happened to see this and it made me really angry. In the popular blog PostSecret there is a letter featuring a U.S. flag, with this written in between the stripes: "People who live in the United States and don't bother to learn English make me sick." Underneath that is a picture of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC.
What the hell?!
First off, these are Puerto Ricans who are probably at least second or third generation and I'd bet money that nearly everyone in that picture speaks English quite well. In fact a lot of them most likely don't even speak Spanish.
But more than that I'm bothered by how there is this sense of Puerto Ricans are the invaders, while in reality they were the ones being invaded.
Now I don't want to make a political statement about people who don't speak English, not because I don't have an opinion (who doesn't?) but rather because it doesn't have anything to do with Puerto Ricans. They are in a completely different situation: Puerto Ricans by default are not immigrants, either legal or illegal. They are American citizens from early on in their experiences with American colonization.
Also, by adding Puerto Rico to the United States after the Spanish American War, the U.S. picked up a population of native Spanish speakers. If they didn't want Spanish speakers, they shouldn't have done that. If they don't want them now, then let them go. Forced Americanization didn't work (as intended, anyways) before and it won't work now. While most Puerto Ricans can at the very least understand English, with fewer considering themselves completely fluent, expecting an entire nation to change overnight for the whims of a country that largely hasn't cared about them is a joke.
I'm not one to advocate independence for PR (I'm not puertorriqueña so I don't think I have much of a place to say my views on the island's status) but if English is such a requirement for living in this country, you'll have to do something about their status. And if you don't have a good suggestion (because there are serious flaws in all of the choices), then don't complain about it. Please.
Basically, you chose to keep Puerto Rico, you'll have to put up with the people you've annexed as well as their language. Don't want them, don't keep them.
This brings me back to the scandal of a couple of years ago, when a giant group of artists collaborated on a Spanish version of the Star Spangled Banner. Quality notwithstanding, it caused such a big fuss because English should be the official language and it supported illegal immigration blah blah blah... when in reality, most of the artists involved were Puerto Rican. As if they didn't have a right to sing their national anthem in their language!
I don't really think it's that people are really against Puerto Ricans but it's just that they're ignorant. I get asked a lot of Puerto Ricans are American citizens, for example, or they need to apply to move to the U.S. or if they have their own currency. The island has been a U.S. territory for over 100 years and yet most people don't even realize that. And these are educated people who study and interact with other cultures daily. I can't even imagine what it's like for others.
I guess that's why I have this blog in the first place, really: to shed some light on an island that few people know about or even care about, but at the same time has a fascinating story to tell to anyone who wants to listen. It's unfortunate that so many people overlook or misunderstand the island without knowing that many of their decisions indirectly land in Puerto Rico's lap. A little education goes a long way in this case. Hell, even dropping by el Morro for a few minutes is better than nothing.
So wake up America! You have a colony of 4 million people that don't speak your language but are citizens of your country. It's time to learn about them along with the 13 colonies and the Civil War as part of U.S. history. It can only benefit you.
As for the card, I'm really hoping that they just used the wrong picture. And that all the people discussing it can look past the temptation of debating immigration (again) and realize that by doing so they are accusing a population of not speaking English and performing illegal acts which they are not responsible for--a gross misrepresentation of the current political status of Puerto Rico.
