Sunday 6 of march 2011
Daniel Ballori
I’d like to start this similar to the way Mr. Krikorian did.. I am sitting at home reading this blog and the pseudo-author is going on about an issue which he is obviously misinformed on. Now I do not know if when referring to “pseudo” you refer to Luis Gutierrez, an individual who claims to represent Puerto Rico, or to our Congressman Pedro Pierluisi, the only democratically elected representative of 4 million American Citizens in Puerto Rico?
Mr. Krikorian I wish to set you strait, I am 28 years old, Chairman of the Young Republican Federation of Puerto Rico, former Legislative Assistant to Congressman Fortuño of Puerto Rico, and for two years after that, Policy Advisor to the now Governor of Puerto Rico Fortuño. So I believe my experience in this field far exceeds yours, and I hope that as a pseudo-reporter /writer/ author whatever you claim yourself to be you can read and learn from the truth.
Mr. Krikorians Misconceptions:
# 1 - Pseudo? - Mr. Pierluisi was voted into office with over 50 % of the electorate totaling over 1 million votes in an open, fair and democratic election, sworn into office by then Speaker Pelosi and now Speaker Boehner.
# 2 “We? - Puerto Rico is a foreign country” WE are in fact are a nation of immigrants, and I am sure you are not 100% Native American. I am no genealogist, but I believe that in fact your name is Armenian. Puerto Rico is not a country; it is a territory of the United States, as were the other states that joined the Union after its formation by the original 13 colonies. Texas at one point was its very own Country, ever heard of the Republic of Texas? With a President, Mr. Sam Houston, who later became a U.S Senator for Texas and subsequently its Governor? I could also go into Hawaii, which was its own country, with a Monarchy and everything, still has its own distinct language and yet hold both English and Olelo Hawai (Hawaiian) as official languages.
# 3 U.S. Citizenship - It was during World War 1 that the U.S. granted U.S. citizenship to the residents of Puerto Rico and since that point onward hundreds of thousands of Puerto Rican American soldiers have served, fought and died for our Country. You should try that type of bravery some day and then you might respect those who do. Add to that the five Puerto Rican Soldiers have obtained the Congressional Medal of Honor defending freedom and Democracy around the world.
# 4 Language – English is taught in all public Schools, and is the Official Language of Puerto Rico along with Spanish, as other states also have various official languages, some have French, Patois, Spanish, and Creole!
#5 Independence – Most Puerto Ricans prefer an end to the territorial status of Puerto Rico and the highest percentage of people favor Statehood.
Below I read some replies which saddened me by their simple ignorance. Puerto Ricans are Americans! We are proud to be a part of this Great Country. Yes, you will have small groups on the island, groups who do not believe in America, but very similar to the KKK in the south who no longer believes in America, as well as some Texans who still wish for Independence and others who simply don’t feel as Americans as the rest of us, those groups are very small. We cannot group an entire society for the loud mouths of a few; it was Ronald Reagan that once said he would not let the mouths of a handful of communist speak above the free opinion of the many. I will not let these individuals below, nor will I allow you, Sir, to express your point of view over issues you are obviously not well versed in, and have no direct insight on.
I am an American, I was born in Puerto Rico, I have served our Federal Government, I value the American dream as do the great majority of Patriotic Americans who reside on the Island. I leave you with one last thought Mr. Krikorian. Your last name, unless I am mistaken, is Armenian. Think about your ancestors who came to this country in search of a better life and think if you would tell them to go back to Armenia and leave America alone?
1. It's straight, not strait.
ResponderEliminar2. Until a referendum asking people the following: "Do you wish for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state of the Union?" wins, the statement that the highest percentage of people want statehood is just as off-base and ridiculous as Kirkorian's blog.
3. We have two official languages, and I believe that Spanish is the primary one, so it is incorrect to say that English is THE official language rather than AN or ONE OF THE and push Spanish towards a second level.
4. I fail to see what's wrong when people wish for self determination. Self determination does not mean become a state and just like you wish for PR to become a state, others wish for it to become independent (is there something wrong with that?) and others, like myself, are satisfied with the status quo (that means current status for the all-English speakers). To compare us with the KKK (which had nothing to do with secessionist movements), or the Texans who long for their state to become what it was, or the Hawaiians who believe that US annexation was unjustified, is immoral. Similarly, I can compare the statehooders with the communists in China who have long maintained that Taiwan is a part of China and that it must eventually be integrated into it, without so much as a thought on how Taiwanese people would like to see their country like. Who with too much power in their hands look to crackdown on anyone who does not think like them. While I do not support violent revolutions, I won't support violent crackdowns either or biased comparisons too for that matter.
So while I do not accept Mr. Kirkorian's entry, I cannot accept yours either which, in the nature of this "blog" is already fully biased towards statehood and against any other options.