The United States of America, my home, has a working relationship with my ancestral home, Puerto Rico. For better or worse, the relationship exists. I understand that there are arguments on both sides of the coin. There are those that favor the Commonwealth and statehood, while others want a completely independent Puerto Rico. This domain is not my area of expertise, and if you have questions about one very complicated issue, go ask jefe.
There are a few things that I do know though. I was born in Puerto Rico, and at birth, I became a United States citizen. As it is illustrated by the hundreds of thousands of people that migrate to the U.S., this birthright was clearly beneficial to my family. We came to New York City when I was five, and since then I have grown up to become a productive member of society. However, I often wonder if things would have gone this way for me, had I not been born a U.S. citizen? I am an American patriot; I make no secret of this. Even so, I am not beyond calling out Americans on their hypocrisy and B.S!
This arrangement with Puerto Rico is not a one-way relationship. The U.S. would not have established this arrangement if there was no benefit to them. Americans are kind people, but we are not fools. Everything that we do has some agenda attached to it, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is surely no exception. I will not be getting into the politics of this (remember: not my domain); however, I think that we can all agree that the benefits must go in both directions for such a relationship to exist.
WARNING: I’m now about to lose all my professionalism and decorum. Please bear with me. It is necessary.
So let’s talk about this Puerto Rican Powerball situation. At its simplest and rawest level, all that noise on Twitter and other social media platforms is just a major case of HATERS GONNA HATE syndrome. These fools are only seething because they were not the ones to win the Powerball. They are angry and jealous that someone from a place they may not be too familiar with actually won.
Here’s the thing though: your ignorance, or lack of information doesn’t change the rules, friends. The fact that you are an uneducated idiot, doesn’t mean that Puerto Ricans cannot fairly win at Powerball.
Frankly, I don’t care whether or not Puerto Ricans pay taxes. If Puerto Ricans are putting down a dollar, two dollars, or whatever quantity of money, and the Powerball folks are gladly accepting that money from them, why the hell should they not be allowed to win?
See, if you had a problem with the possibility of Puerto Ricans winning, because of the taxes or because you thought they weren’t U.S. citizens, or because you thought that they were using the euro, or whatever other ridiculously ignorant reasons you may have, perhaps you should have taken to arms when they were buying the tickets. (Speaking of taking to arms, Puerto Ricans have been defending the lives of fellow American citizens since 1917.) You don’t wait for someone to win, and then get upset, and try to protest or change the rules.
What’s that? Oh, you didn’t know that they were buying tickets or playing? Once again, your ignorance is not our problem. If you didn’t know then, why do you care now? Why do you have something to say when they win?
Allow me to sum up your stupidity with a simple question. Would you give up half of the jackpot if Puerto Ricans were the ones who contributed to it with their shiny, green, AMERICAN dollars? If the answer to that question is no, then you are a hypocrite.
Stop being so ignorant, step way from Twitter and open your minds.
***
Angel Rodriguez is the publisher of NYCTalking.com, a page that “covers current affairs, business reviews, fashion advice, opinion and commentary, along with random musings from time to time.” Angel is a Bronx boricua, poet, rapper and a U.S. Air Force vet. You can follow him on Twitter @arodomus.
I agree with you Mr. Rodriguez 100%, haters are going to hate hate. They are jealous because they didn’t win the big jackpot. The number one enemy of America is not Al Quada, ISIS or Hazbala, the number one enemy is “ignorance” and “illiteracy”.
BeaOrtiz this statement feels like a bit of a stretch. I’d be more concerned about ISIS than some ignorant fools on twitter. Although, one can argue that ISIS and the like have attained their power base via ignorance and illiteracy. Perhaps it really isn’t that much of a stretch after all!
Its a hoax.Puerto Rico didnt win shit. Its only made up so more of those filthy spics could spend more money.NY lotto is for new York only you fucking stupid whores
spicasskicker are you sure we are on the same page? or it is your narrow mind who does not let you see cause we are talking about powerball not newyork lottery.
the one who won the powerball jackpot in puerto rico paid 2 or 3 dollars to participate and will pay federal taxes and puerto rico taxes so what are you talking about? #ignorant# you wish you could deport me but you cant`t #PRarenaturalborncitizens#dealwithwithit #youmademelaugh
The Talmud must not be regarded http://utamadomino.com as an ordinary work, composed of twelve volumes; http://utamadomino.com/app/img/peraturan.html it posies absolutely no similarity http://utamadomino.com/app/img/jadwal.html to http://utamadomino.com/app/img/promo.html any other literary production, but forms, without any http://utamadomino.com/app/img/panduan.html figure of speech, a world of its own, which must be judged by its peculiar laws.
The Talmud contains much that http://utamadomino.com/ is frivolous of which it treats with http://dokterpoker.org/app/img/peraturan.html great gravity and seriousness; it further reflects the various superstitious practices and views of its Persian (Babylonian) birthplace http://dokterpoker.org/app/img/jadwal.html which presume the efficacy of http://dokterpoker.org/app/img/promo.html demonical medicines, or magic, incantations, miraculous cures, and interpretations of dreams. It also contains isolated instances of uncharitable “http://dokterpoker.org/app/img/panduan.html judgments and decrees http://dokterpoker.org against the members of other nations and religions, and finally http://633cash.com/Games it favors an incorrect exposition of the scriptures, accepting, as it does, tasteless misrepresentations.http://633cash.com/Games
The Babylonian http://633cash.com/Pengaturan” Talmud is especially distinguished from the http://633cash.com/Daftar Jerusalem or Palestine Talmud by http://633cash.com/Promo the flights of thought, the penetration of http://633cash.com/Deposit mind, the flashes of genius, which rise and vanish again. It was for http://633cash.com/Withdraw this reason that the Babylonian rather http://633cash.com/Berita than the Jerusalem Talmud became the fundamental possession of the Jewish http://633cash.com/Girl Race, its life breath, http://633cash.com/Livescore its very soul, nature and mankind, http://yakuza4d.com/ powers and events, were for the Jewish http://yakuza4d.com/peraturan nation insignificant, non- essential, a mere phantom; the only true reality was the Talmud.” (Professor H. Graetz, History of the Jews).
And finally it came Spain’s turn. http://yakuza4d.com/home Persecution had occurred there on “http://yakuza4d.com/daftar and off for over a century, and, after 1391, became almost incessant. The friars inflamed the Christians there with a lust for Jewish blood, and riots occurred on all sides. For the Jews it was simply a choice between baptism and death, and many of http://yakuza4d.com/cara_main them submitted http://yakuza4d.com/hasil to baptism.
But almost always conversion on thee terms http://yakuza4d.com/buku_mimpi was only outward and http://raksasapoker.com/app/img/peraturan.html false. Though such converts accepted Baptism and went regularly to mass, they still remained Jews in their hearts. They http://raksasapoker.com/app/img/jadwal.html were called Marrano, ‘http://raksasapoker.com/app/img/promo.html Accursed Ones,’ and there http://raksasapoker.com/app/img/panduan.html were perhaps a hundred thousand of them. Often they possessed enormous wealth. Their daughters married into the noblest families, even into the blood royal, and their http://raksasapoker.com/ sons sometimes entered the Church and rose to the highest offices. It is said that even one of the popes was of this Marrano stock.
[…] is beyond question: the island is a U.S. territory, and its inhabitants are U.S. citizens. But the animus behind these tweets —particularly the unprintable ones— indicates a fundamental […]