- Have you had a similar experience to Dayra Rivera's? If so, exlain...
- What do you think about other peoples' knowledge (or lack thereof) of Puerto Rico?
- Does Puerto Rico's political status confuse you? How? What about the social status? Is PR more American or more Puerto Rican? Explain...
- The BIG question: What do you think PR should do...become a state, become independent, stay the same, other?? Explain...
- Share this article with your parents or other family members, what do they think?
- Any other reactions, thoughts, questions, opinions that you have to this issue...
You should also start responding to your classmates' comments. Remember, this is a DISCUSSION with the whole class, not just with yourself. For example, "I really agree with ______ because _____." Or "I see the point that _____ is making, but I disagree because ________." As always, BE RESPECTFUL!!
Here is the link to the article:
State, nation, other: Puerto Rico tries to decide - Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the world
The article demonstrates facts that are true for Puerto Rico. For many years we have been in an unstable relationship. Are we or aren't we? Is the question that's always asked and confuses me. I don't know much about politics, but from what I see we, the citizens are not exactly sure of what we want. Pierluisi said that Puerto Rico is headed to statehood, but when. We have had chances before and they have failed showing peoples' indecision. I feel that being the United States "special friend" we have the best of both worlds. With that we have to accept that we are in both realms in which we have benefits and draw backs that each of us find in our different perspectives. From the experiences that I have seen faced in my short life I believe that we have to see what we actually want. After we know, we must do what is best for our island, because at the end we still have to live here and take things as they come.
ReplyDeleteI think that the article is very interesting. There have been times where I've asked myself the same question: should Puerto Rico be a state yes or no? Well to my opinion I don't think or want P.R. to be a state. Why? Well because I think that if we do we might loose the rich culture that we have and we will be just another ordinary state instead of an extraordinary and diverse island. If we do become a state it will take a long time until we finally do and a lot of changes will have to be made and why should we be a part of something (the U.S.) if some people don't even know we exist and the others that do probably don't even care what happens to us.That's just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteEverything in this article is true. We are undecided and it has come to a point where when it is time to vote nobody knows what to vote for and after voting comes regret. Yes, I've had similar experiences as Dayra Rivera's. I like to shop online and watch movies and everytime I press the play button or check out, I can't buy or see anything because I live in Puerto Rico. I get very mad when this happens. I lived in California and went to school there and once, one of my classmates asked me if I knew what a Harry Potter movie was. What do they think we are, Aliens? I find people's lack of knowledge about us disrespectful. I am VERY confused about everything in Puerto Rico and the sad thing is that there is no one that could really help me out because everyone is confused, as well. I think Puerto Rico is more American than Puerto Rican with the only difference that we speak Spanish which by the way is becoming more and more similar to English everyday. What is the problem with that? We are bilingual! Actually, I think we are brave and intelligent because of that. Although I'd miss having a Miss Universe(winning all the time) and having our own Olympic Team, I think Puerto Rico should be a state and we should be treated with a little more respect and equality because as the article states, our 4 million residents are American citizens, and we are closer to the mainland than Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteYes, i've had similiar experiences to Dayra's, i have tried to order things from other places and try to ship them to P.R. and they always say the same thing ''SORRY NOT AVAILABE FOR PUERTO RICO'' sometimes it even says ''not available for your country"!! Even when you try to do an 'Itunes Account' it says ''SORRY ITUNES IS STILL NOT AVAILABLE FOR YOUR COUNTRY'' and we have to put USA. Americans and people around the world lack from knowledge about Puerto Rico, but it will always be that way. For example, when Vaughn Ward said “I really don’t care what it is. It doesn’t matter.” This is a perfect example that most of the people dont know much about P.R. and they dont even care. Puerto Rico's status does not confuse me, i mean, i know that Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of USA; but it is iritating when you are talking to people and you are trying to explain who and what P.R. is. Like it said on the article, P.R. is like a couple that have been together for a long time and havent been married. Puerto Rico IS AS PUERTORICAN as it can be, we are very proud to be Puertoricans and we will always be. Anybody who says that P.R. is American is wrong!! Well, if it werent obvious already, i think P.R. should become independent. They always treat us different in every way, like working P.R. citizens have to pay a higher amount of taxes than USA citizens, and its suppose to be the same because we are American citizens too. Also, american establishments here in PR dont have to pay taxes for using our property, for having an American establishment on Puertorican land. Meanwhile, if I were to put a store or in general, an establishment, then i'd have to pay taxes for having a foreign store on American land. That is not fair, and this are just some of the things they make us do... They look at us like second-class citizens!
ReplyDeleteMy dad said:
WE NEED TO BE A REPUBLIC.WE NEED TO BE FREE!!WE ARE PREPARED FOR EVERYTHING, WE ARE CAPABLE OF ANYTHING.
My mom said:
ITS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT A PUERTORICAN GOES TROUGH THESE KIND OF PROBLEMS, BECAUSE THERE STILL EXIST PEOPLE WITH LACK OF KNOWLEDGE FROM P.R. {I WENT TO FLORIDA ONCE [my mom] FOR A WORKSHOP AND I WAS WORKING WITH TEACHERS, WHEN I TOLD THEM I WAS FROM P.R. THEY ASKED ME ''WHERE IS PR?'' THEY LIVED IN FLORIDA, SO CLOSE TO PR AND YET THEY DIDNT KNOW IT EVEN EXISTED.}
My brother said:
We shouldnt have to go trough these problems because we are part of United States.
Well Ive never passed through an experience that Ive been restricted to get something just because I live in Puerto Rico. I got two American cousins and they have never seen me like I was lesser because I'm puerto rican, they saw as me as regular person and as an equal to them,not because were the same blood but the more they are being influenced by latin culture the more equal we become.In the places Ive been in America Ive never experienced that American American spirit, its like nothing different than PR. I don't get our political status very much its just like a big mess because were like half independent and half dependent and I really believe we should be 100% in one of those two. I believe that we should become a state, Puerto Rico will NOT last as an independent country, we got barely any resources to obtain the things we need to survive, most of our food is exported and PR's agricultural system is not that good. I mean where are we going to hang on, our education is going lower and lower, we have barely nothing to trade and things are not going to be the same.
ReplyDeletei couldnt believe that guy called puerto rico a country and it means nothing at all not important fyi if the dude is bline puerto rico is an island meaningful to the US. we need to be treated like part of the US were bearly of the coast of florida. they think that maybe we still live in small huts and bathe in the river and know nothing about technology. half of my family lives in the US. i have seen many people around the island that arent from here starting with chinese food. i have never been denied something because i live in puerto rico and hopefully dont have to. our government is no help to us at all. its like there slowly drowning the place. we need more access ,better. hard workers im not saying that there isnt but there is but some complain about having a job when some people want to be in their place at that moment. we had pen pal letters last year and they would talk to us like if we didnt know what it was like if we were still in the times of tainops and that really makes me mad i know what i pod a wii a car!!!!! they think were not civilized. or burger king miss really.
ReplyDeleteThis article is indeed interesting...I personally have had a similar experience like Dayra.I once requested for a card and they didn't want to give it to me because I was from P.R. At first, it upset me and it was then I realized the controversy between the island and the states. Then, after a long process, they gave me the card which made me happy. This was due to a Puertorrican that worked at the store. Thank you Nationalism!!! Yes, Puerto Rico's political status confuses me a lot. I personally prefer to become a state but I also share the fear that some of our customs will be lost. On the contrary, P.R. is mostly based on american things, especially commercial goods. I think we should all make a balance and try to decide what is best for the people and not the government. When I showed this to my mom, she agreed with me because she also want to P.R. to become a state. :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete- Jalimar Gonzalez
ReplyDeletePolitics! I can’t stand it! I don’t like talking about it. The politicians don’t ever know what they are talking about. This problem of Puerto Rico being a state or not has been around since they “helped us”. By saying they “helped” I mean that they made better our economy when we barely had food to eat and gave men the opportunity to join the army and actually have money to buy food. At least that’s what my grandfather told me once. I never had a problem like Dayra Rivera. I don’t think that any president has really cared about Puerto Rico. Personally, I think the only one is Obama. He is trying to help us. Hearing stuff said about Puerto Rico like: “I really don’t care what it is. It doesn’t matter.” really annoys me. This situation is definitely confusing. I think they should just decide. If I had to vote for it in an early future I will vote against becoming a state. I don’t want to be just another state. Still, I don’t want to be an independent country because if we become so there would be no American stuff and we are all used to that. If all the American stuff goes away, seriously we won’t have anything. No fast foods, no Wal-marts. None of that stuff. So definitely we should stay just as we are and Puerto Rican politicians should just stop confusing people and themselves. I agree with Anluishgie when she says that we have the best of both worlds right now because we have our own culture mixed with the American culture. Perfectly blended and we like it like that! I disagree with classmates that think we are going to loose our own culture. We are Puerto Ricans and we are always proud to say it no matter what. So it doesn’t matter how much American stuff we have, we won’t ever loose the love for our ISLAND (not state) or our beloved culture. So, I’m not saying that I want to be a state because I simply don’t, but in case we become one we will never forget our traditions and our roots. My mom agrees with me. She doesn’t like the idea of Puerto Rico becoming a state.
It's the same old situation is nothing new. For me it doesn't matter to me because if the U.S doesn't want Puerto Rico to be a state fine, I'll just move there. Problem solved. Besides "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding"
ReplyDelete-PAOLA B.
ReplyDeleteSincerly haven't had a experience as Dayra, but i probably would have had the same reaction.When Ward said that PR is country then when corrected said that it doesn't matter made me think two things. 1- he failed in geography and 2- he needs his eyes checked to make him see the latin diversity that is found in Idaho and in the intire US.
I agree with the people that want for PR to become a state. I mean some people here criticizes the US government but when you ask them if they receive help from the government they say yes. To me they are hipocrits. Seriously what does PR has if you take out all the help the US provides for them? Almost nothing to provide for their citizens.
Both of my parents would love for PR to become state being that they were both born in the US and they see the advantages that PR will get but with of course some disadvantages. The Hawaiians don't think of themselves as pure Americans so why should we have to be any different. We are Puertoricans until death and becoming a state won't change that until you no longer think yourself as one.
well i have had that experience in allot of cases but the most shocking was before Halloween i tried to order a costume in party city and it didnt have the option to ship to puerto rico. we have a party city here, we have like 3 stores here. and it is also true that nobody cares about puerto rico. we have the sizzle that makes the spark. we make evrything we touch glow. howcome nobody recognizes that i believe us without US would be boring. i agree with @Natalia S. and her whole family. we are patr of the US and we should also be free. but that will be like peace the eternal war.
ReplyDeleteI had an experience like her with a video game i bought online that three weeks later i got an email saying that it couldn't ship to Puerto Rico and they gave my money back. since the status of P.R. is not clear most of the people look at us as a colony or any thing but real Americans.the status of P.R.is a colony because we are not a state nor a free country. with this type of government we are not capable of being a country and if we were a state we wouldn't have any representation world wide. even the best answer would be independence because we would be treated as a country and we could do more stuff like trades with other countries, have no war, our seat in the united nations and all that stuff. we have our own dollar that maybe could be use as our own money. we have everything the only thing missing is the movement of the people and the building of a new government to run a country. my parents and my sister said that P.R. should be a colony of Spain again because they are more stable and have a better government.
ReplyDeletei have had a lot of expiriences like these, i love ordering stuff online but i get mad because it is very difficult to find a website that ships to Puerto Rico. I have never understod all this talk about politics. i hate talking about them. i just think everything should just be equal and thast this should be stopped.i just know that Puerto Rico can not survive if they become independent. where would we get food, clothes, etc. we should just resolve this whole problem.
ReplyDeleteThis article es very true because I've heard similar situations, but I've never had a similar situation like the one of Dayra Rivera. I think PR should be a state because we would have more benefits like the US such as benefits in helping the elders, for childrens, better protection for people such as mothers that are alone with their childrens, and also better treatment and benefits for handicap people, the ones that doesnt have employment receive lot of help not like know in PR, and laws are follow better than hear. Also the employ possibility is more and better and they pay more; things are better than in PR. I think it would be better for PR. Also many people think that with becoming a state we would loose our culture, and is true but we wont loose it at all because we will always be puertoricans and we will always remember that and be proud of being puertoricans. I also agree with some of the people in not being a state in some parts but I prefer being a state. I never want to PR became an independent country.
ReplyDeletewell i think that Puero Rico should become a republic becauase its very difficult to get stuff from internet because puerto rico is not included in the places that most of the things send.I agreed with everyone that Puero rico should become a state to became more bigger and have more benefits because this whole world can change to be a better place.I dont want Puerto Rico to be independent because I think we wouldnt survive to make our own things..!
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. Kaufhold Im Ian you probaly wondering why Im using my sisters account its because I ad alot of problems making an account this week,but either way this is my answer to this question. We should stay the way we are because if we become the 51st state our culture would be crushed imaging our land without our culture anymore what would we be. I like our land the way we are, imaging Three kings, the day when our land was discovered, and our national anthem won't be there anymore what about us .
ReplyDeleteI really do hate politics! It's too complicated. When I read the article I felt very offended and in shock. I couldn't believe how some people can disrespect and not even care about P.R like if we didn't exist. I've had something similar to what happened to Dayra occur to me, because sometimes when I want to buy a shirt on internet and I go to the list to find Puerto Rico so it can be sent, it's not even in the options. It really infuriates me each time that happens because it's really not fair. Also something that really made me mad was when a guy was corrected by someone telling him P.R is an "island" and he responded by saying " It doesn't matter, that's not really important". I hate how no one really knows exactly what we are and how confusing this whole situation is. In spite of all that, I really believe we should stay an island because we are quiet well as we are right now if we compare ourselves to other places like Haiti or Cuba for example. Also that's what makes us unique and special. The only thing is that they should give us more rights because we are practically state. I really love Puerto Rico and also believe that it should be tought more in school so that we have more knowledge of it. I also agree 100% and feel the same way as Paola H. because I also don't think we would survive if we were independent.
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