Why Statehood is a no brainer.

[L_F_Miranda]

Statehooders are a strange bunch, specially those that express far out right wing ideas like most of the Statehooders on this board.

I have never figured them out. Here we have a bunch of Puerto Ricans that sound more like Red Necks, Kick Ass Marines or Trialer Park Trash than regular run of the mill educated Americans. They cling themselves to the very people and ideas that go against their ideology! Are they stupid or just plain naive?

My 2¢

Before 9-11 Statehood for Puerto Rico, in the United States, was a liberal concept, not a conservative one. Having an all Spanish Speaking State that LIKES government handouts, believes in Big Government as it's first employer, is a Liberal idea. Nonetheless clowns like Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer a.k.a. La Ñoña, Romero Barceló a.k.a. El Caballo, Ignacio Pesquera a.k.a. El Mongo, El Jibaro and many others have never smelled the coffee.

Since as long as I remember, Conservatives were those that most opposed Puerto Rican Statehood. The majority of the Republican party opposed it, as proven by the House vote of March 4 1998. Fox News commentator O'Reilly has always been against it, so has NBC's George Will, CNN's Pat Buchanan and the editorial staff of the New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, Boston Globe etc. etc. The only ultra conservative newspapers that have supported Statehood since day one are the San Juan Star, El Vocero and El Dia. But in the scheme of American National politics , Who cares!

As Puerto Rican nationalism continues to show it's face, it tends to run in a oppossite direction to American nationalism, especially after 9-11. The forced Navy exit from Vieques, The displacement of the Southern Command, the possible closing of Roosvelt Roads, Our refusal to learn English and the constant sale of Statehood as a welfare bonanza, further errodes Statehood in Gringo eyes, conservative or liberal.

I once thought that Statehooders would be better off if they sold their idea to American liberals. But to suggest this to La Ñoña and all Statehood conservatives was like selling their soul to the devil a.k.a. The Communists.

Now it's too late!

After 9-11, as Americans have become more nationalistic, even Liberals have distanced themselves from Statehood. The idea of a Hispanic state that will have more representatives than 20 English speaking states is a no brainer, specially with the hysteria of a Hispanic takeover of California and Florida by 2050

Independentistas shouldn't rock the boat. Let the Statehooders wallow in their own sh*t. I for one believes that when the Conservatives in power back a Puerto Rican State, snowballs will freeze in hell.

REMEMBER IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO!

[LatinoPR]

The problem is not statehood, but the overall problem of status. Damn if you do, damn if you don't. Congress is stuck between a rock and a hard place. In some circles, many of the conservatives and liberals do not want to back statehood, some back complete independence and others the status quo. So, where do we go from here? The great majority of the voters do not care what happens, as long as they can survive. The politicians in the island do not really care either; como se van a tumbar lo bueno que lo tienen con la politica? I am afraid the second advent will come and we will still be debating what the heck we want.

[L_F_Miranda]

LatinoPR said:
The problem is not statehood.
------------------------------------------------------------
No, the problem is not Statehood, FOR US, the ones who have the problem are the Gringos.

Due to the fact that we Puerto Ricans have the strange notion that we have CHOICES, We have DESIGNED statehood to fit our needs. A Spanish speaking State that doesn't care a hoot about the American flag or thinks of American citizenship only when we want more handouts, is a known fact through out the halls of Congress.

To most, if not all Boricuas, Statehood is a way to guarantee food, to keep a watchdog just in case we comit mistakes, in other words a pool in which we can never drown.

About becoming Americans like the ones of Idaho or Nebraska, it is never given a second thought. All that crap about equality and freedom gets lost on our basic necessities like, "where is the rice and beans coming from today."

Our other problem is that we expect "others" to bail us out all the time. Only Statehood will guarantee this. We also expect Mainland Gringos to believe our crap just because we are American Citizens and Gringos are always fair and tolerant. DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

No statehooder gives a damn if Statehood is in the best interests of the United States.

Questions:

1-Will our admission benefit the treasury? The CBO study said NO!.

2-Is Jibaro Statehood an option? Not in these post 9-11 times.

3-Will having more political power than 29 states be a problem? You bet, specially with the hysteria of Hispanics taking over the South West and Florida.

4-Are we still of Grave Strategic value to the U.S. in a world full of terrorists. Not so. If we were closer to the Middle East or to sources of oil, maybe.

Because most statehooders still live in the Cold War Years they think that history has frozen. With the abandonment of Vieques and the displacement of the Southern Command, even strategic reasons are up for change.

Statehooders are getting desperate. They pin their problems on the PIP, On Sila, on ungrateful Puerto Ricans, on our show of Nationalism, on the Nuyoricans, on our not voting for Statehood in larger numbers, we can go on and on with these self-hating resons without acknowledging the REAL CULPRITS.

My opinion is that the REAL POWER and CULPRIT is Washington, not us. Gringos are the ones who, despite what Statehooders say, don't want Statehood! If they did they would have enticed us with accepting Rosselló's 30-A plan, The Young Bill or at least given us a message by making us an INCORPORATED TERRITORY, the first step towards eventual statehood.

BUT no, Statehooders refuse to come down to the Real world and smell the roses. Most are stuck in an old world that was full of Evil Empires and Communist conspiricies. There are also those who honestly believe that our problem is that WE HAVE NEVER ASKED FOR STATEHOOD! These are people who are always putting the blame on us and leaving the Gringos innocent and free from guilt.

So you see, the problem is not Statehood, it's how statehooders interpret Statehood.
------------------------------------------------------------

Congress is stuck between a rock and a hard place. In some circles, many of the conservatives and liberals do not want to back statehood, some back complete independence and others the status quo. So, where do we go from here?
----------------------------------------------------------- Gringos are no fools or are as innocent as you picture them. They are not stuck between a rock and a hard place, they know that Statehood was NEVER their intention. If it were they wouldn't have put so many obstacles in front of it.

You tend to agree that Statehood has problems among Conservatives and Liberals.

Thus, Statehood is a no brainer because all of Congress is composed of Conservatives and Liberals. When you add the media and the loss of income of the multinationals, STATEHOOD HAS GRAVE PROBLEMS.
------------------------------------------------------------

The great majority of the voters do not care what happens, as long as they can survive. The politicians in the island do not really care either; como se van a tumbar lo bueno que lo tienen con la politica? I am afraid the second advent will come and we will still be debating what the heck we want.
------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone in Puerto Rico is SCARED OF WHAT MAY COME. Deep down if it's not some form of expanded Colonialism or Statehood, the PERCEPTION is that we are lost in an ocean full of sharks.

Independence is too damn scary! we prefer something that will assure us our levels of consumption and give us freedom to destroy our environment or move to what ever State pays more welfare. But, to think that Gringos have to get STUCK with a people that are scared of their own shadow is too much for me to accept.

I'm no fool. I also know that to sink to the lows of a Dominican Republic, Haiti or Cuba is too much to ask. Does that have to happen?

Independence is going to depend on a leap of faith, which none of us are willing to take. However, like I've said many times, Gringos will push us to take that leap, and I'm also sure it won't be via Statehood.

[Stanley]

I am self employed, pay a lot of taxes for myself and my employees and live in the USA. If PR is a state or republic that would not change my situation at all. Despite that I am still ambivalent and feel quite bad for the everage Puerto Rican who waves his PR flag and cries freedom for Vieques while living on food stamps and welfare in the Bronx. It is quite a paradox-------------- even for those who live in PR using the same US benefits.

To be sincere, I would actually enjoy the Puerto Rican Republic. I envision a Puerto Rican criollo peso that will be valued about 10:1 with the dollar (just like Mexico). I could then retire early and spend every winter in PR playing golf and enjoying the good life. I would assume that all those folks in PR who depend on the federal government would choose the American citizenship and move to the states. Therefore I look forward to an island with a lower crime rate and less population. Hopefully it will be a democracy and the ones who favor a Castro like regimen (you know who they are) will not be able to impose their ideology.

But, going back to the original question: MOst Americans know nothing about PR and if you were to poll them they would reject PR as a state. BTW, this does not only include the white folks. Blacks like Jesses Jackson would also be against statehood.

[ReddPR]

"1-Will our admission benefit the treasury? The CBO study said NO!. "

No but we're a benifit to the U.S. economy.

Originally posted by L_F_Miranda
LatinoPR said:
The problem is not statehood.
------------------------------------------------------------
No, the problem is not Statehood, FOR US, the ones who have the problem are the Gringos.

Due to the fact that we Puerto Ricans have the strange notion that we have CHOICES, We have DESIGNED statehood to fit our needs. A Spanish speaking State that doesn't care a hoot about the American flag or thinks of American citizenship only when we want more handouts, is a known fact through out the halls of Congress.

To most, if not all Boricuas, Statehood is a way to guarantee food, to keep a watchdog just in case we comit mistakes, in other words a pool in which we can never drown.

About becoming Americans like the ones of Idaho or Nebraska, it is never given a second thought. All that crap about equality and freedom gets lost on our basic necessities like, "where is the rice and beans coming from today."

Our other problem is that we expect "others" to bail us out all the time. Only Statehood will guarantee this. We also expect Mainland Gringos to believe our crap just because we are American Citizens and Gringos are always fair and tolerant. DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

No statehooder gives a damn if Statehood is in the best interests of the United States.

Questions:

1-Will our admission benefit the treasury? The CBO study said NO!.

2-Is Jibaro Statehood an option? Not in these post 9-11 times.

3-Will having more political power than 29 states be a problem? You bet, specially with the hysteria of Hispanics taking over the South West and Florida.

4-Are we still of Grave Strategic value to the U.S. in a world full of terrorists. Not so. If we were closer to the Middle East or to sources of oil, maybe.

Because most statehooders still live in the Cold War Years they think that history has frozen. With the abandonment of Vieques and the displacement of the Southern Command, even strategic reasons are up for change.

Statehooders are getting desperate. They pin their problems on the PIP, On Sila, on ungrateful Puerto Ricans, on our show of Nationalism, on the Nuyoricans, on our not voting for Statehood in larger numbers, we can go on and on with these self-hating resons without acknowledging the REAL CULPRITS.

My opinion is that the REAL POWER and CULPRIT is Washington, not us. Gringos are the ones who, despite what Statehooders say, don't want Statehood! If they did they would have enticed us with accepting Rosselló's 30-A plan, The Young Bill or at least given us a message by making us an INCORPORATED TERRITORY, the first step towards eventual statehood.

BUT no, Statehooders refuse to come down to the Real world and smell the roses. Most are stuck in an old world that was full of Evil Empires and Communist conspiricies. There are also those who honestly believe that our problem is that WE HAVE NEVER ASKED FOR STATEHOOD! These are people who are always putting the blame on us and leaving the Gringos innocent and free from guilt.

So you see, the problem is not Statehood, it's how statehooders interpret Statehood.
------------------------------------------------------------

Congress is stuck between a rock and a hard place. In some circles, many of the conservatives and liberals do not want to back statehood, some back complete independence and others the status quo. So, where do we go from here?
----------------------------------------------------------- Gringos are no fools or are as innocent as you picture them. They are not stuck between a rock and a hard place, they know that Statehood was NEVER their intention. If it were they wouldn't have put so many obstacles in front of it.

You tend to agree that Statehood has problems among Conservatives and Liberals.

Thus, Statehood is a no brainer because all of Congress is composed of Conservatives and Liberals. When you add the media and the loss of income of the multinationals, STATEHOOD HAS GRAVE PROBLEMS.
------------------------------------------------------------

The great majority of the voters do not care what happens, as long as they can survive. The politicians in the island do not really care either; como se van a tumbar lo bueno que lo tienen con la politica? I am afraid the second advent will come and we will still be debating what the heck we want.
------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone in Puerto Rico is SCARED OF WHAT MAY COME. Deep down if it's not some form of expanded Colonialism or Statehood, the PERCEPTION is that we are lost in an ocean full of sharks.

Independence is too damn scary! we prefer something that will assure us our levels of consumption and give us freedom to destroy our environment or move to what ever State pays more welfare. But, to think that Gringos have to get STUCK with a people that are scared of their own shadow is too much for me to accept.

I'm no fool. I also know that to sink to the lows of a Dominican Republic, Haiti or Cuba is too much to ask. Does that have to happen?

Independence is going to depend on a leap of faith, which none of us are willing to take. However, like I've said many times, Gringos will push us to take that leap, and I'm also sure it won't be via Statehood.

[LatinoPR]

Mr. Miranda,

Its obvious you are against Statehood, but again I ask, Where do we go? I have lived 26 years of my life in Puerto Rico, and 21 one of them has been in my adulthood. Many in Puerto Rico do not care about the status. Many folks just care about surviving. You are correct, many of us are afraid of change, but that is a human factor. When I said, "Congress is stuck between a rock and a hard place". You prove my point. They never put on the table that they would give us statehood, but they will not agree to expanding the powers of "ELA" because it is a territory. Then we do not want to go the route of independence. Now, the only way that PR will be independent is if Congress kicks us out, but then, how would they face the international community? How would they explain to the Latino community in the U.S.? How do they explain their actions to the Puerto Ricans on the island that believes in statehood, and the rightwingers and centralist PPD members? Yes, they are afraid that if put forth, a legal, binding and Congressional vote, (which will never be) that PR will decide to be a state. What then? I summize, that Congress would just love to hear us say, give us libertad! But, like I mention before, many on the island do not care. Like Stanley said, "Bariguita llena, corazon contento." I believed once in statehood, but I gave it up. I believe that the only dignified thing we can do is go at it ourselves.

[Ecuajey]

Originally posted by LatinoPR
I believe that the only dignified thing we can do is go at it ourselves.

Do you think we'll ultimately accomplish that belief of yours?