Puerto Rico Statehood and General Discussion

[xote]

Many selected "white" because the US has a faulty binary conception of race. Most Latino immigrants would be characterized as "mestizo" or "predominantely indigenous," options that are not really present these days, substituted with the category "Hispanic" as if it were a racial category. So assuming that Latinos are simply going to melt away like red-haired Celts from Eire is simply naive one.

I for example am a mestizo, but my European heritage predominates, so I check "white." Given the option, I would happily check "mestizo."

[irving1903]

same here

lol

i would like to see purto rico become a state just because its so different from the rest of the country and i would enjoy having a spanish speaking state :]

but ultimatley its up to the Puerto Rican people to decide


how would the flag look if PR became a state.

[xote]

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by xote

Many selected "white" because the US has a faulty binary conception of race. Most Latino immigrants would be characterized as "mestizo" or "predominantely indigenous," options that are not really present these days, substituted with the category "Hispanic" as if it were a racial category. So assuming that Latinos are simply going to melt away like red-haired Celts from Eire is simply naive one.

I for example am a mestizo, but my European heritage predominates, so I check "white." Given the option, I would happily check "mestizo."

Of course your European heritage predominates......isn't that the same reason given by the majority of the "Latinos" who check white? And by the way a mestizo is a mixture of European and Native peoples(European and African was mulatto and actually the list goes on accordingly regarding mixtures in the Spanish colonial color caste system one that you still refer yourself to be a part of) so it would really be interesting to find out how if you consider yourself a true mixture between the European and the "Indian" how the European lineage within your ancestry now convenientlypredominates.
But truly coming from Puerto Rico their is even a greater chance that you are "mulatto", translated mule if we must use colonial language.

[urbanaturalist]

^ If a person is Hispanic/Latino and is ethnically mestizo, what is the reason beyond the fact that lines might "seem" to get blurred, for not checking white and Native American/American Indian on the census. Is it because that construct of Native Americans here in the United States creates a whole other set of issues when it comes to classifying a mestizo as "also" Native American? Last time I checked indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere were all imposed on more or less by Europeans and intermingled with whites and blacks to create what we have today? Native Americans/Amerindians/Indigenous people didn't stop at the Rio Grande when it came to making babies in the pre-Columbian days.

So I guess my point is that if Hispanic/Latino mestizos checked off Native American/American Indian the same way they checked off white there would be millions of extra "Native Americans" in this country as well, at least from the census bureau point of view. Of course, some Native Americans/Americans may feel like their numbers were being diluted to an extent. Hell, if more African-Americans and white Americans took DNA test there would probably be 100 million extra Native Americans/Amerindians in the United States...lol. So maybe there needs to be an "Amerindian" or even "Indigenous" classification that shows the indigenous culture throughout these Americas, so if you came from Peru or Ecuador or El Salvador and you believe your ancestors were indigenous you can put down "Amerindian" as well. Just a thought.

[xote]

Originally Posted by klamedia

Of course your European heritage predominates......isn't that the same reason given by the majority of the "Latinos" who check white? And by the way a mestizo is a mixture of European and Native peoples(European and African was mulatto and actually the list goes on accordingly regarding mixtures in the Spanish colonial color caste system one that you still refer yourself to be a part of) so it would really be interesting to find out how if you consider yourself a true mixture between the European and the "Indian" how the European lineage within your ancestry now convenientlypredominates.
But truly coming from Puerto Rico their is even a greater chance that you are "mulatto", translated mule if we must use colonial language.

Buddy, you seem to have a chip on your shoulder.

I check of "white" because my European heritage does predominate, I look like someone that just flew into New York from Sicily, Greece, or Istanbul, i.e., Mediterranean.

I do consider myself a true mixture, but I acknowledge that my familial history is more of European, with 3 of my 4 grandparents being "criollos," i.e., descendants of "peninsulares." And this was a function of geography than a conscious desire to discourse mixing (my grandparents come from mountainous inland regions, slave regions typically were costal regions).

So, back off. I am not identifying myself as "white" because of some perceived advantage.

[Bori427]

@klamedia: MOst puerto ricans could be called "white",we're not like "newyoricans" you know.I lived in Hawaii for a couple of months and everyone over there thought I was from the mainland till they heard me talking spanish.

Originally Posted by MRichR

There have been referendum's asking citizens of Puerto Rico if they would like to become a state, the last one in 1998, and the majority has always voted against it.

It only lost by about 2%

[a001lan]

I think PR doen't need to be a state. It's either should be as is now [us territory], either indepedence, or 'free association would mean independence with a special relationship to the U.S.'

and I also surprised why P - Ricans do not vote for the US president.? they are citizens of US, aren't they? Every citizen must vote for president - its a law, isn't it?

also, some people told about taxes. What's the point of paying the income taxes if, anyway, evetually you get them back??

[xote]

Originally Posted by a001lan

I think PR doen't need to be a state. It's either should be as is now [us territory], either indepedence, or 'free association would mean independence with a special relationship to the U.S.'

and I also surprised why P - Ricans do not vote for the US president.? they are citizens of US, aren't they? Every citizen must vote for president - its a law, isn't it?

also, some people told about taxes. What's the point of paying the income taxes if, anyway, evetually you get them back??

Electing the president is based on states via the electoral college. Since Puerto Rico is not a state, it is not in the electoral college, which means it can't vote for president. Although DC is an exception, I am not sure what the impetus would be to change it.

[-Corey-]

Why not?? California has more Spanish speakers than PR..

[e2ksj3]

I wish they would become the 51st state. It would be cool having our own version of Quebec, but heads would probably roll even more than they are now if we started doing everything in both English and Spanish, including the Pledge of Alligence, lol.

[Chalaco]

It would be nice to have Puerto Rico as a state. We could be bilingual like Canada.

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by Bori427

@klamedia: MOst puerto ricans could be called "white",we're not like "newyoricans" you know.

Mission accomplished!

[CRAROD1]

Originally Posted by Vrysxy

Why not?? California has more Spanish speakers than PR..

.....and Florida, Illinois, Arizona, Texas, NY, etc.....

Puerto Rico's population is about 4 million....

[cwilson758]

I think it should be independent. They are culturally different places (somewhat similar to Canada). There may be a lot of similarities,, but the language issue is very hard to over come therefore making them more different than the peeps to the north.

[Suburbanite]

Yes. I would rather see PR cut loose as it's own nation.

[irving1903]

Originally Posted by e2ksj3

I wish they would become the 51st state. It would be cool having our own version of Quebec, but heads would probably roll even more than they are now if we started doing everything in both English and Spanish, including the Pledge of Alligence, lol.

naw i dont think the pledge in spanish sounds good it sounds funny
(this comming from a spanish speaker)

at least with the french verison of O Canada it sounds nice

but i totally think it would be freaking awesome if we were a bilingual nation, i thats what makes the nations of the americas so great, we are so diverse, we have so many different languages, by nature and by immigration.

i dont think the language thing is a hard thing to overcome, if Canada can do it then the United States can too

i mean if in Louisiana can say Bienvenue au Louisiana, why shouldnt Texas say Bienvenido a Tejas :]

[Uncle Phil]

Originally Posted by Chalaco

It would be nice to have Puerto Rico as a state. We could be bilingual like Canada.

We have more Spanish speakers in this country then they do population.

[xote]

Originally Posted by Uncle Phil

We have more Spanish speakers in this country then they do population.

But they in the mainland have no real right to use Spanish with any public institutions, as they are immigrants.

This is different with Puerto Rico, which would have legal recourse to force the federal government and institutions to be bilingual by virtue of being a monolingual Spanish-speaking island, albeit officially bilingual.

[Uncle Phil]

Originally Posted by xote

But they in the mainland have no real right to use Spanish with any public institutions, as they are immigrants.

This is different with Puerto Rico, which would have legal recourse to force the federal government and institutions to be bilingual by virtue of being a monolingual Spanish-speaking island, albeit officially bilingual.

we are heading that way, anyway.