Recent impressions of Puerto Rico.

[L_F_Miranda]

I just returned from Puerto Rico where life goes on as usual and nobody seems to give a F*ck except to buy at Wal-mart or view the latest ghetto flicks of shoot outs, car chases and Kung Fu. Better movies are played at Cine Arte. However these movies are not exotic French flixs but run of the mill movies that normal people watch any where else, but not in Puerto Rico. Movies at Cine Arte are considered "Come Mierda movies."

And watch out because when you exit the movie at 10 O'clock one is acosted by drug addicts asking for 25¢ to $1.00 for watching your car, and you better part with your $$$$$ or else!

Juan-Ma's recent article, although not read, and less understood by the majority of the population, is just about what I think Puerto Rico has become.

I spoke with two friends, one of which had just returned from living 37 years in Scandinavia, and both were appalled at the land they once considered "La Isla del Encanto."

The guy who lived in Scandinavia told me what he missed most of the old Puerto Rico was a sense of respect and dignity. In comparison to Sweden and Norway, Puerto Ricans seem to have lost a sense of respect for others. They break laws at will, trying to get away from commitiments and trying to beat the system, much like poor folks do in the ghettos of America.

Although we might disagree, but I think what has most affected our modern culture for the worse, is not colonialism, but our adoption of a culture of MARGINALIZATION, a culture created in the Ghettos of the U.S and transported to the island.

Sorry to say it but even University graduates are caught up in this vortex. Its a world where everyone wants something for nothing, where education is valued as long as one doesn't have to study too hard, where an easy job is the goal, a government one if possible. After a few weeks on a new job they ask for a vacation, if they don't get it, they "say shove this job." Its a world of sex, Mamis shaking their booty, MTV, Cell phones, dancing perreo, shoot outs, cursing and people scared out of their minds to venture out after night fall.

Yes, there are many nice people who DON't partake of this culture of marginalization, but they are over whelmed by numbers, by the sheer amount of its force, a force that permeates all aspects of our society. That's what most people notice when they visit Puerto Rico. The island has become a Ghetto, not much different fron a state side ghetto where a small minority of educated are locked in fear that they get caught up in a shoot out or be identified as "un come mierda" or a "blanquito."

Sad but true their answer to to emmigrate, yet to another ghetto, Central Florida.

Can Independence erradicate this culture? I doubt it. Jamaica or Santo Domingo hasn't. What is the answer?, I don't know. Maybe its the times, maybe we should just give up and go with the flow, keep ourselves barricaded and let them take over of what's left of civilized society.

So guys turn your Bose recievers to full blast with Rageatton, put on your Du-rags, Bling and gold teeth, we've entered into another world. LOL

[Independencia_PR]

Miranda what do you expect, you are in Puerto Rico, not in Britain..lol lol lol!!!

[Suki]

I just returned from Puerto Rico where life goes on as usual and nobody seems to give a F*ck except to buy at Wal-mart or view the latest ghetto flicks of shoot outs, car chases and Kung Fu. Better movies are played at Cine Arte. However these movies are not exotic French flixs but run of the mill movies that normal people watch any where else, but not in Puerto Rico. Movies at Cine Arte are considered "Come Mierda movies."

Suki: Miranda, how is this relevant for the political status of Puerto Rico? There are horrible ghettos with car chases, and Wal-mart allover the world. How is this relating to Puerto Rico's colonial status. Explain that to me please.

And watch out because when you exit the movie at 10 O'clock one is acosted by drug addicts asking for 25¢ to $1.00 for watching your car, and you better part with your $$$$$ or else!

Suki: What else is new? Drugs are a scourge and I have already stated in this forum that the only way to cope with it is a hard line and some serious penalities for drug distributors and profiteers (including capital punishment when necessary), and long and professional drug rehab programs for the addicted. That is it. The only way that is gonna happen is getting rid of the USA's control of Puerto Rico.

Juan-Ma's recent article, although not read, and less understood by the majority of the population, is just about what I think Puerto Rico has become.

Suki: Many people don't read and are uninformed. The USA included. Why is Puerto Rico special? There are more literate Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico than there are literate Costa Ricans in Costa Rica, and some of the poorest states of the Union. How is that unique?

I spoke with two friends, one of which had just returned from living 37 years in Scandinavia, and both were appalled at the land they once considered "La Isla del Encanto."

Suki: They should be appalled. Appalled at the lack of action taken by many Puerto Ricans who are into a low consciousness level and don't want to deal with change.

The guy who lived in Scandinavia told me what he missed most of the old Puerto Rico was a sense of respect and dignity. In comparison to Sweden and Norway, Puerto Ricans seem to have lost a sense of respect for others. They break laws at will, trying to get away from commitiments and trying to beat the system, much like poor folks do in the ghettos of America.

Suki: What commitments are you going to have Miranda? If you live in an island with inflated costs of living and low salaries, most government jobs are all about survival and dirty politics, and the private sector wants Puerto Ricans to get paid like Haitians or Dominicans but pay for goods in USA dollars like Hawaii with taxes and etc. that is a disfunctional state of affairs, and people then become responders to the disfunction. They adapt to the disfunctional reality. They get food stamps, government assistance, and try to get gigs on the side and not report it to the government. How many private companies and government employees get stable and decent wages, with real benefits in Puerto Rico? Count them up. Very few for the amount of people who need it. What other alternative is it going to be but hustling and lying? Sure, there are other ways to make a living. But, people respond to their conditions. WHen the conditions change people have to change. That is the way of the world. It is all about circumstances. At the same time if you want people to break out of the habits that keep their problems going, you have to do something to change things and give an alternative. If you can't create sufficient jobs because the capitalist industries want Chinese style cheap labor and or third world exploitation, and not pay USA stateside comparable wages how are you going to sell it in Puerto Rico to the Puerto Ricans? Who if they want to can take a plane trip to the states and get the wages they need? The problem is that boricuas who stay on the island are not really either interested in USA living or find it to hard to adapt to it. So, they make do on the island. ANYWAY THEY CAN.

Although we might disagree, but I think what has most affected our modern culture for the worse, is not colonialism, but our adoption of a culture of MARGINALIZATION, a culture created in the Ghettos of the U.S and transported to the island.

Suki: There is no such thing as the culture of marginalization by itself. The marxists are absolutely correct, there is only the manifestations of capitalism through rotten colonialism and aggressive imperialism acting out its worst forms in PUerto Rico. That is all there is. The 'culture' of the boricua is integral always. It just adjusts to the economic realities. That is what all human societies do. Regardless of ethnicity. I would think you understand that already Miranda.

Sorry to say it but even University graduates are caught up in this vortex. Its a world where everyone wants something for nothing, where education is valued as long as one doesn't have to study too hard, where an easy job is the goal, a government one if possible. After a few weeks on a new job they ask for a vacation, if they don't get it, they "say shove this job." Its a world of sex, Mamis shaking their booty, MTV, Cell phones, dancing perreo, shoot outs, cursing and people scared out of their minds to venture out after night fall.

Suki: Crime is out of control in Puerto Rico Miranda, because crime FUNCTIONS in Puerto Rico without much opposition from either the local government or the Imperial shenanigans stateside and their corrupt cronies. And crime escalates in an environment where it is tolerated. Why is crime tolerated so acutely in Puerto Rico? That is the question.

Yes, there are many nice people who DON't partake of this culture of marginalization, but they are over whelmed by numbers, by the sheer amount of its force, a force that permeates all aspects of our society. That's what most people notice when they visit Puerto Rico. The island has become a Ghetto, not much different fron a state side ghetto where a small minority of educated are locked in fear that they get caught up in a shoot out or be identified as "un come mierda" or a "blanquito."

Suki: No matter how bad crime becomes in Puerto Rico it will never be the majority of the population. Check out the statistics Miranda. When a society has more criminals than workers then it becomes completely disfunctional and revolution is at hand. Do you think it is that bad Miranda?

Sad but true their answer to to emmigrate, yet to another ghetto, Central Florida.

Can Independence erradicate this culture? I doubt it. Jamaica or Santo Domingo hasn't. What is the answer?, I don't know. Maybe its the times, maybe we should just give up and go with the flow, keep ourselves barricaded and let them take over of what's left of civilized society.

Suki: Have you read Oscar Lewis? He also believed in the culture of poverty. But, he was more intelligent Miranda. He realized that raising the social consciousness of the people, and organization of the masses and having a government that is responsive to the people initially such as socialism---then eventually communism eradicates the LUMPEN element permanently. There is no bourgeoisie and lumpen in that schematic. It is a society free of such elements because the root cause has been dealt with. It is a society that requires a lot of sweat equity, hard work, responsibility and accountability, integrity and sacrifice. And it is the only ultimate answer to the problem of how to stop the perpetuation of crime and decadence in the world. On a state level first. Eventually all state rooted problems get edited out, as time marches on, and a high level of social responsibility is the norm and not the exception. Me entiendes? If you think it is all idealistic drivel, I think you are mistaken. All humans at some level have to respond to society. It is the nature of humanity. And it can't escape that basic reality.

So guys turn your Bose recievers to full blast with Rageatton, put on your Du-rags, Bling and gold teeth, we've entered into another world. LOL

Suki: Dumb, ignorant, and greedy is the problem of the few. The reality is that most people have common needs that are reachable. They want education, they want dignified work, social respect, and to live in peace and with harmony. People even the hard core criminal if they stay around long enough in their old age, reach a certain level of 'maturity' and they realize, they too are gonna die someday. And they have to think what is meaningful and what is pure stupidity. If they never thought of it, their deaths are not a loss to anyone. How many viejos do you know over the age of 65 who only think of reggaeton and bling and du-rags? That is for the immature and the desperate. If durags is all there is out there, then du-rags is gonna happen. LOL!

[Suki]

Frankly Miranda I don't get freaked out over durags, gold teeth and bling. What freaks me out are bad nortena tunes in which the lyrics are ----ojala que te arrastren por el piso, pa' que sepas lo que es bueno, pa' que vuelvas conmigo. I am not lying those are real lyrics of a norteno, banda music mala hit of a Mexican band. I am listening to it right now the neighbors are blasting it away. I don't know. I don't think there is anything worse than bad banda music from northern Mexico. LOL.

[L_F_Miranda]

Gee Suki, I knew you liked Bling and ghetto styles but I never thought that you had the stuff in your jewlery box and in your closet to be used when you want to dress up to go to Church on Sunday. LOL

I would only use those things on Halloween. LOL

Norteño Music, like a lot of Hip Hop is highly folkloric, the music of the masses. I don't mind the music per se, I don't care for the a lot of the lyrics that go with it. To me Rapper music is the worst because of its anger and attacks on women.

You are arguing without any sense. How can a woman with some intelligence accept to be called a Bi*ch or a Ho by a bunch of low life's and dismiss it with, "oh that's non-elitist music. On the other hand you critisize Norteño songs that say, "pegame, arrastrame pero no me dejes" but fail to notice that Black music is just as demeaning to your persona. Is there an inconsistency here?

Gansta rap and songs that demean women are simply a glorification of Lumpen culture, the worst kind at that. Its gone mainstream because it makes a lot of money for its promotors, and who cares of the cultural ramifications to the kids of the poor. What gets me is that if anyone critisizes it one is quickly branded an elitist, a racist or a right-winger.

What I object of Lumpen based culture is not that it exists but that its glorified. No, its not the poor's fault, they only follow what they like. The problem is the guys who are making a lot of money exploiting the poor, making sure that they spend their welfare checks on all this garbage instead of trying to push their kids ahead.

You might folklorisize Bling and du-rags but I bet your kids don't use the stuff. If they do, You make sure they know when to take it off in order to get a job in the mainstream culture. Most poor folks don't get it, we should help them, not screw them up.

I was recently in Vietnam and the Far East and was shocked at the progress and an expanding, sleek clean infrastructure. What shocked me the most was the lack of a Lumpen element that is so prevalent on our societies. Yes, there is Prostitution, crime, illiteracy ,drugs and all other vices, but its not overwhelming like it is in Puerto Rico and the Latin barrios.

Is it something in our culture?

One of the things I noticed when I visited Cuba, Caracas, Mexico City, Rio etc. was an openly glorified culture of Lumpenism that is absent among the Asians.

Are there Lumpens in Asia? Of course there are!, but they don't seem to be given a free rein as they are in our culture. They have to adjust to the mainstream if they want to survive. The mainstrean dosen't adjust to them.

MMMMMMMMM, I wonder if one of the failures of the Cuban revolution has been its inability to erradicate a persistent Lumpen element that it inherited from the "ancien regime". Different from Asian communist nations that have undergone a revolution, like China and Vietnam, Cuba looks poor, acts poor, garbage is all over the place and its infrastructure is falling to pieces. Despite making huge strides in eduacation and health care its cities look like huge slums. The attitude in Cuba as in Puerto rico is , "Que lo arregle el gobierno."

Not so in Vietnam , a country poorer than Cuba.

What is it........????????????

[Suki]

Ay Miranda. You always knew I like durags and bling? What a jokester you are. Dude, I don't find any of those things attractive at all. Look at it as a psychologist Miranda. C'mon, do the psychological analysis on why the durags, gold teeth and bling is present and the disrespect for women in the tunes? It is very simple to analyze. You want me to try?

If you grow up poor in a ghetto, go to bad public schools in which your teachers are generally middle class of all races and ethnicities that secretly harbor a great disdain for your background and experiences and life---and you dream of a life that is promoted by the powers that be. Bling, powers, over masculinity, recognition and fear. It all becomes a big Machiavellian scene. It is better to be feared than loved. No one gave a damn if you lived or died, studied or did not, and if you wanted to succeed in any small way, you needed to do it outside the mainstream. The mainstream society never integrated your experiences and made them meaningful. Your immediate family and surroundings and environment never had the 'cultural' capital to break out of the cycle going on.

People look for an answer to the lack of answers given to them. Their music is low and disrespectful because who really, truly respects people living in marginizalized communities? Have you ever talked to people who have kids who go to really really bad schools? I have. It is the reality of desperation Miranda. Who wants to be reviled? Disrespected? And ignored? Rejected and dismissed? People living in the circumstances of the underclass are the MOST INVISIBLE people in society. If you want to get attention how do you do it? With bling, gold teeth, du-rags, counter culture, and showing the 'mainstream' that you don't care or need their approval to make 'it' in the world. It is all about reacting to what you have been fed subconsciously your whole life. Subliminal messages. And changing that mentality is an uphill battle. Got to replace the 'insecurity' with knowledge, intelligence, drive and responsibility. ANd capitalism as it is practiced today won't be able to. That is a fact.

I don't like fads, and flash and superficial anything Miranda. So how could I even buy one of those things? Lol. You are a provocateur. I just see a lot of those rappers for what they are. Some pobres diablos without formal educations in life or music, desperately trying to shock and hawk their wares to anyone willing to follow them so they can climb out of their very difficult and intellectually lacking lives. No one taught them anything different. You want to change the world? Spend time teaching those who want to learn. ALL of them. Give them a chance to get some freedom, knowledge is the only way to break out of the prison of ignorance and insecurity.

[Suki]

Miranda, how can you be so subjective about Latin America? Vietnam is a country that went through a long and exhausting war with France and then the USA. It was totally DESTROYED by war. So was Japan after WWII. It had to be rebuilt. Many of the extreme right wingers and pro-Americans fled to the USA. They are super reactionary and as you say make Jibaro look like a liberal.

Cuba is Cuba. It is not Vietnam. Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and many other nations in Latin America every time they attempted to change their disfunctional societies were stepped on by the Giant to the North. Have you noticed Miranda that when the USA is busy in Iraq, Latin America has been moving left steadily and steadfastly?

All societies whether they are Asian or not have super LUMPEN elements. In Thailand they have pedophilia sex tourism. In which naive country girls are told and their parents are told they are going to get factory jobs in the big city when it reality they are to be sold as slaves to foreign child molestors for profit. As bochinchosos as boricuas are do you think Puerto Ricans would allow their 4 or 5 year old little tiny girls and boys to be sodomized, raped and sold to perverted European and American tourists and keep it quiet for years?

Each society has to respond to their own matrix. We are not into world terror as an answer to our political dilemmas. Not like other societies. Each society has to be judged within its context.

Each society has their 'elements' of degradation and human evil. The important thing is focusing on the SOLUTION and not to wallow in what is a result of lack of CHANGE and lack of implementation of a solution. What is truly amazing is that people keep doing the same thing over and over again and keep expecting a different RESULT. It is incredible! If you keep doing the same thing and get the same results that are unacceptable the only SANE thing to do is to try something DIFFERENT to see if you can get different results. The island has tried status quo and commonwealth colonialism and it is failed. They have not tried statehood yet. But statehood is not going to go with the USA's lack and track record of second class treatment of Puerto Rico. So, independence is the only option left. What is amazing is that people keep clamoring for change, but they keep trying the failed methods.

The USA is not moving to change things. They are not. Why? You know why they are not. You might want them to move Miranda and change---but they don't. If they move on PR they have to move on USA VI, Guam and every other possession. They have to renounce their imperial past due to either economic bankruptcy or military bankruptcy. In today's high tech information age world---being indebted to the PRC and other nations to the tune of TRILLIONS of bucks is a fast track formula to second rate superpower status. If the current levels of spending don't cease and the baby boomers retire and don't produce labor---and the yuppies don't have children to replace them in society, what you will have is a radical change on all levels Miranda. And many people in the USA fear it. I don't. It might be one of many elements that spells the end of colonialism for Puerto Rico.