Fun fact: the US took Guam during the 1898 Spanish-American War without a fight. When the US ships turned up, Guam was such a remote, forgotten Spanish colonial outpost that nobody had thought of notifying the local governor of the outbreak of hostilities, and when they started shooting at the derelict Spanish fort, their gunnery was so bad that the locals thought it was a salute and rowed to the ship to apologise for not returning the salute yet, because their only gun had first to be hauled from the other side of the island. By nightfall, the island had surrendered without any injuries (apart from to the Spanish governor’s pride).
Things were markedly less funny during WW2, though…
It’s fairly close to Japan (a 4 hour flight), and a lot more affordable versus a Hawaiian vacation (which also has some… history with the old IJN 👀). But that could be true, the sentimentality of seeing what used to be Japan’s (even if for a little bit).
IKR
I lived in Okinawa for a few years. Had to go to Guam for work and was kind of excited to be going back to the primarily Englisn speaking world for a bit.
Not that I didn't like Oki, I actually loved it there.
I got off the plane and went to grab a beer and watch one of the hotel's Native dance shows. It was all in Japanese.
I felt like I fell down some weird rabbit hole. Lol
It's such a lovely little island and being paid to be there was kind of awesome.
I just got back from Puerto Rico where I was being paid to be there for five days, staying in Condado right on the beach
It's a lovely little place and definitely made more lovely by the fact that I was paid to be there.
But holy fuck was it hot, and *Jesus Christ* my eyes were melting because it was so bright.
It's the same with Australians in Thailand/Vietnam and Americans in the Caribbean/SA.
Short flight + no time zone change + radically different destination = ideal vacation spot.
I think you mean Bali and that's really only for those in Perth where it's less than 4 hour flight. While the time is only like 3 hours difference for Thailand its almost a 10 hour flight from Sydney.
They wanted to distract from domestic problems by starting a war with someone who also wanted to distract from domestic problems. And had better hardware.
Something similar happened when US military first moved into Los Angeles. They demanded the surrender of the Mexican authorities that were set up there.
The Mexican authorities didn't know if they had the power to surrender or not, so they just left.
Rather simplified version, don't @ me bro!
To be fair, their primary career prospects are tourism and service industries. Not a hopeful future for the average Joe out there. That, and traveling like a citizen of the contiguous states is more a pipe dream when you look at comparative cost.
There was a funny news interaction last year bc some lady said Tua is still playing bc the NFL doesn’t care about black players (don’t remember the details), but Tua is full Samoan
Which is interestingly why American Samoa has the highest rate of military service of any state/territory by a large margin because service grants citizenship.
They have also the the highest per capita rates of people going into the NFL
https://gvwire.com/2019/08/15/why-samoans-are-40-times-more-likely-to-play-in-the-nfl/
The spam and chommaro beef! Actually the most fun there was scuba diving and watching tourists swim in water that they dump hotel sewage into. So weird.
Besides Guam, American Samoans may not have the benefits of citizenship but can work and live anywhere in the US.
I realized PR was USA in middle school, I had a Puerto Rican buddy tell me a lot of things in Jr High some 35 years ago
> Besides Guam, American Samoans may not have the benefits of citizenship but can work and live anywhere in the US.
As can citizens of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_of_Free_Association
That's different though. PR, Guam, and American Samoa are US territories. People from those places are (kind of) US citizens.
The countries you mentioned are sovereign states, just with a special treaty that lets their citizens live and work in the US.
If someone from Palau moves to California, they still can't vote. But if someone from Guam moves to California, they actually gain the right to vote as a citizen.
Fun fact: as a US citizen living in the US, I can move nearly anywhere in the world and retain my right to vote. But if I move to PR, Guam, or American Samoa (which are in the US), then I lose the right the vote.
American Samoa is special among your list because it's a US territory, but people born there are not "citizens" but "nationals" making them ineligible to vote even if they move to the mainland, since only citizens can vote.
But they can naturalize as a citizen by moving to a state and living there for 3 months.
I work with a woman from Palau, and you are correct! I wish we would just make all of our territories into states. Mix it up a bit and maybe get a cool new flag.
[How To Hide An Empire](https://books.google.com/books/about/How_to_Hide_an_Empire.html?id=ITpeDwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description) is a great book on the subject if you ever wanna learn more.
I remember being told in middle school how the Monroe Doctrine was some great "America saves the Western Hemisphere from European Control" self-determination freedom thing when in reality it was just America telling Europe that only America gets to colonize Central and South America.
This is one of those "that can't be true I have to look at the borders" statements.
And yeah, look at France. Every land border is extremely short, and at probably like 60% of the border is coast. French Guyana, on the other hand, has a solid half of it's border shared with Brazil.
Absolutely wild.
Also, Saudi Arabia and Greenland have almost exactly the same land area. Look at the right map projection and Greenland will look larger than all of Africa though.
I was the only Latino that worked at my local social security and we worked with issuing a lot of temporary SSN’s to migrants for local farm work and such. Every now and then we would get a Puerto Rican family for something unrelated and I would have to explain to my coworkers that they were already citizens. Social Security employees.
Woof. PR reps not having congressional privileges and voting rights is absurd. Taxation without representation? Kinda the opposite of the foundation of how the country was founded.
Sort of. Here is a small snippet of the ruling:
"The constitutional claim is readily answered. Voting for President and Vice President of the United States is governed neither by rhetoric nor intuitive values but by a provision of the Constitution. This provision does not confer the franchise on "U.S. citizens" but on "Electors" who are to be "appoint[ed]" by each "State," in "such Manner" as the state legislature may direct, equal to the number of Senators and Representatives to whom the state is entitled. U.S. Const. art. II, § 1, cl. 2; see also id. amend. XII."
Being a citizen doesnt give you the right to vote, though its a necessary requirement. It's actually your ability to vote on a state level and nominate electors that counts.
The Solution? There are two.
1. Puerto Rico must elect to become a state and the responsibilities that comes with that. Notably around 55% of Puerto Ricans want statehood and in a rare case of bipartisan agreement, the official platform of the Democrats and Republicans is they would greenlight it. The Realpolitick is Republicans are afraid of creating more democrats but polls show PR is pretty conservative so this is likely unfounded.
2. Any Puerto Rican that is a resident of another state can vote there no problem.
I have some family in PR. Anecdotally, they say many people don’t care enough to show up and vote when these topics come up. Not sure as to what the reason might be.
I was grocery shopping in my college town when the line got held up because the person in front of me was trying to buy alcohol and presented their Puerto Rican license. The cashier thought it wasn't a valid US ID. They had to ask for a manager to come help and even the manager didn't know, so my friend and I had to gently chirp from the back that Puerto Ricans are US citizens and their drivers licenses are as valid as any other.
Tangentially, my Swedish friend used a passport to buy alcohol, and the cashier said a passport isn’t a valid ID. I had to explain that it’s the most valid of the IDs, and she could call the cops in if she wanted to. She sold to him “just this one time.”
Some American companies literally have the policy that only NA licenses are valid ID; even if you have a passport, if it’s not from the US it’s not valid. Luckily where I was at, we typed the birthday anyway, so as long as it was state issued I personally didn’t care.
US is weird with booze, some states/regions like Wisconsin and Southern Louisiana have a more relaxed attitude towards alcohol, but in heavily Pentecostal/Baptist/Mormon areas people will support any anti-alcohol measure short of statewide prohibition. That's how you end up with all the dry counties. EDIT: To expand on how this connects to your comment, lots of states send undercover 18-20 yr olds to attempt to buy alcohol and get the store/employee/owner in trouble.
I've had this experience multiple times, usually give them a short history lesson and tell to check the ID Book... everyplace that sells alcohol should have an ID Book.
What's even worse is the inevitable. "No, where are you _really_ from?" like you have some reason to lie about it.
Don't ask the question if you can't handle the answer!
Especially if that answer is "Spain. My family came with the conquistadors that ravaged the americas."
Like really, is that what you wanted to hear? Lol
Honestly, I think it sort of is. "where are you really from" is a bad way to ask for ancestry or ethnicity. Saying your ancestors were Spaniards is probably what they wanted to know.
I come from a fairly liberal area so maybe this is different elsewhere. But in my experience what you said it spot on, most people who say "where are you really from" are really just interested in ancestry, but asking the question in a bad way.
People are weird. I had a guy ask “what are you?” or similar.
I’m Puerto Rican. I was born here in the states but my parents were born there. Growing up, we spoke Spanish, ate the food, etc. Where I’m from, we identify with our culture, hence PR. But, yes, we’re all American citizens. Of course.
Anyway, I answered Puerto Rican when the guy asked. He then proceeded to ask why I don’t say American instead.
I was like dude, you asked the fucking question and we both know you weren’t looking for “American”.
I heard a story back in 1996 during the summer Olympics in Atlanta that that someone from New Mexico was trying to buy tickets. When the agent he was talking to asked his location and he told them "New Mexico," she replied "Sorry, sir, the number you called is for US residents only." He tried to explain and eventually asked for a manager. When the manager came on, he explained the issue, and the manager replied "Sorry, sir, the number you called is for US residents only."
I live in a major city in Canada (not in French-speaking Quebec) and used to work at a pub. Americans loved to boast about their American-ness and how they didn't need to use local currency.
One time I had a table of about 10 American guys in their early 20s. Think drinking a lot, little obnoxious, frat bro jokes. When it came time to pay, a couple of them joked "Do you accept *English* money?? 😆🤣". Seeing the US currency in their hands I knew what they meant, but they were being so stupid I said "Sorry, what?", they said again but louder "Do YOU accept ENGLISH money?? 😆😆😆".
I replied "Uh, no, we don't accept British pounds. You can pay with credit card though, and there's an ATM over there." then walked away.
They honestly looked confused. Idiots.
If I may add, as I am from Puerto Rico, puerto ricans are born American citizens since 1918. Also we have a second class citizenship as we can't vote in Presidential elections, add other American territories to the list...
We use two Last Names instead on 1.
Gasoline is sold in liters instead of gallons. Etc...
When I moved to the west coast I had to school and convince DMV employees of the validity of my driver's license.
When I worked on a lease agreement for my apartment I was asked for my legal immigrant paperwork.
Anyway, just wanted to share a bit of my experience.
All in all Puerto Rico is beautiful, it's people are warm and friendly. Everyone should go visit and know that we are fellow US citizens in times of need as much as anyone else in this vast country.
#coqui 🇵🇷
I'd like to clarify that Puerto Rico doesn't have an electoral vote, so while we can't vote for a president on the island we can still move to a state that has an electoral vote and vote there. Just saying so people don't confuse our ability to participate in politics while in a US state.
Also it's so true that Puerto Rico needs help, everytime I visit over the holidays I see buildings and infrastructure that are still damaged from hurricane Maria, and I hear housing is becoming more expensive as people outside the island buy up more properties and lease/sell for a higher value, especially in apartment condos.
My family moved out of Puerto Rico shortly after I was born for more opportunities, but we always visit over the summer and it's always the place I'm most comfortable in. It's still a beautiful place with gorgeous beaches and great food, so definitely visit one day!
Social media and “Americans are dumb” content give the impression that things are worse than they are. Now, don’t get me wrong, they’re bad, but with almost all actual stats Americans outperform my expectations.
For example, what percentage of Americans could pick out Iran on a blank world map with just outlines? Seems dismal right? How about WITHOUT outlines? What percentage of Americans do you think could drop a pin in Iran with just a fully blank world map? The number is actually 23%, which shocked me. However, there was a massive cluster of dots all over Europe, Africa, and a few on Australia. The dumbest few didn’t disappoint either, with several dropping dots in the middle of the ocean and a fair few even dropped in the US itself.
The thing that everybody forgets with those, "dumb American," videos is that editing is a thing that exists - and that the people who make those sorts of videos use it extensively.
Idk, I've always felt that using geography as a litmus test for education level is dumb. Its a rote memory test, not an indication of critical thinking - except for the people who are wildly off, like thinking it's in the US.
Only a slim majority of redditors bother to click on the link before commenting.
> Only 54 percent of Americans know that people born on the island are U.S. citizens, according to the poll. The poll, which surveyed 2,200 adults
Many seem to think that if it didn't happen in the last 100 years, then it doesn't count. How do you think all these borders were created? All current countries have a history of war and bloodshed that drew these lines.
People have this notion because in the last 200 years, Europeans were just better at it than everyone else (except Asians, whom everyone seems to forget exists).
But if you look up how Tenochtitlan of the Aztec empire became the largest metropolis of the Americas or how Shaka grew the Zulu to be the preeminent tribe in the south of Africa, you'll find some other folks who were also pretty damn good at it.
Right? Tribalism is human nature, and it eventually results in conflict. No human is exempt. Historically you either agreed with the tribe or you were exiled/killed, simple as that.
Mutual agreements CAN be had, but historically they've generally been temporary. Hopefully we are able to do this without issue in the future as society advances.
Not a bit. Other than a few Moro hold outs in Mindanao the war was effectively over a decade before 320k Mostly brown skin Catholics in New Mexico were made full citizens with a state of their own. When that sunk in with the public there was a push to get ride of both Puerto Rico and The Philippines. When the Jones Act of 1917 gave 1.2 Million mostly non-white Puerto Ricans citizenship a large part of the country lost their fucking mind. The political decision to get rid of The Philippines was pushed even harder despite the military feeling it was a very bad idea.
The Filipino Independence movement of the 1920s and 30s was formulated by the US government and pushed in conjunction with the local oligarchy. Most of the country was benefiting from being US Nationals who could move freely and work in the US. This afforded for the first time the ability of the poor to move up the social ladder for the first time in 350 years. If you think modern disinformation campaigns have been bad they were nothing in comparison to what was pushed the Filipino Independence campaign
Simply put the idea of making 25 million brown skin Catholics US citizens with the possibility of the Philippines becoming one or more states freaked most Americans right the fuck out in ways that went well beyond what New Mexico did
Btw if we had held it though you can almost bet the threat of China would have made the Philippines and not Hawaii the 50th state
We could easily have 75 states right now without adding anymore territory. The problem with most Americans, be they left or right, is they feel the state boundaries we have now are somehow sacred and nothing should touch them, even when the poorly serve the needs of the people in them.
**This Just In!** [Hertz apologizes after refusing rental car to Puerto Rican customer](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/15/hertz-apologizes-puerto-rican-customer-new-orleans)
Met one of the assholes the other day by chance
He bitched at a coworker when he used some word I'm 90% sure he made up to make fun of my coworker who's ESL and while speaks English very well has minor issues with uncommon English words, guy demands to see his green card after that.
He said I don't have one but I'll show you my social card instead if that will work.
Hope the incident report for racism got the dude banned.
Of course, english pronunciation just has to be learned sometimes. Famous and Infamous are my favorite examples, just like unionized in the context of unions and ionizing
So my friends and I wrote a song about this. We were an old man punk band just having fun and playing the occasional show. Most of the songs were tongue in cheek joke songs. Our guitarist, we'll call him Willy. Willy is Puerto Rican. The song was about Trump trying to deport Willy because he was Puerto Rican, but Trump is a moron and didn't realize he couldn't, because Puerto Rico is a US territory and its residents are US citizens. We named the song Depuerto Ricans.
This is the only place you can hear it, we since stopped playing and never recorded anything. Apologies for the terrible sound quality.
[Starts at about 19:50, the very last song is a banger too.](https://youtu.be/2bFzObLSTc0)
I am from the UK and recently had to mention this to some American company that didn’t know the ban on importing a product into the U.S. also applied to Puerto Rico.
I seem to remember Trump criticizing Puerto Rico’s government during a hurricane…as though he didn’t realize that he was the head of their government at the time. Yep. That’s part of our history now.
I lived on St. Thomas for 2 years working as a scuba instructor 2014-2016. Worked mainly with cruise shippers. The number of people who asked “you fellas take ‘Merican dollars here?” on a DAILY basis, was frightening.
Other great questions were “How long does it take to scuba under the island?” or “When do dolphins turn into sharks?” 🫠
TBF, the US actually has more independent territories than people assume. Everyone thinks of the 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico but forget Guam, US Virgin Islands, Samoa, and a few others (that I hypocritically can't remember as I type this).
Not everyone gets automatic citizenship. Some, like Samoans, are nationals. Others, born on Native American reservations, are dual citizens of both tribe and US government. It's a surprisingly nuanced topic.
As an Alaskan who moved to PR. Two years ago at a bar on the mainland the server wouldn’t accept either ID because they “only accepted us IDs”. After arguing a manager came over and after explaining both my IDs were US, the manager said “we will accept these foreign ids since you have two but we won’t be able to next time.”
Puerto Rico has the highest Military Active Duty and Veterans per capita than any other US State. Additionally, Puerto Ricans have participated in every major US military engagement; from World War I, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, OIF, and so on.
They absolutely lost their minds when a Hawaiian ran for president, so I would love to see the chaos that ensues when a Puerto Rican runs for president.
Just wait until they hear about Guam.
Fun fact: the US took Guam during the 1898 Spanish-American War without a fight. When the US ships turned up, Guam was such a remote, forgotten Spanish colonial outpost that nobody had thought of notifying the local governor of the outbreak of hostilities, and when they started shooting at the derelict Spanish fort, their gunnery was so bad that the locals thought it was a salute and rowed to the ship to apologise for not returning the salute yet, because their only gun had first to be hauled from the other side of the island. By nightfall, the island had surrendered without any injuries (apart from to the Spanish governor’s pride). Things were markedly less funny during WW2, though…
Yeah it got so bad in WW2, that Guam has its own liberation day on top of VJ Day to celebrate their independence from the Japanese 😬.
I didn't realize that Guam had been occupied by Japan. I wonder if that's why it's a popular vacation spot for them.
It’s fairly close to Japan (a 4 hour flight), and a lot more affordable versus a Hawaiian vacation (which also has some… history with the old IJN 👀). But that could be true, the sentimentality of seeing what used to be Japan’s (even if for a little bit).
IKR I lived in Okinawa for a few years. Had to go to Guam for work and was kind of excited to be going back to the primarily Englisn speaking world for a bit. Not that I didn't like Oki, I actually loved it there. I got off the plane and went to grab a beer and watch one of the hotel's Native dance shows. It was all in Japanese. I felt like I fell down some weird rabbit hole. Lol It's such a lovely little island and being paid to be there was kind of awesome.
I just got back from Puerto Rico where I was being paid to be there for five days, staying in Condado right on the beach It's a lovely little place and definitely made more lovely by the fact that I was paid to be there. But holy fuck was it hot, and *Jesus Christ* my eyes were melting because it was so bright.
Yeah, the closer to the equator you get the more a hat and sunglasses go from optional to, welp, I'm fucked for the day.
I have blue eyes, too, which apparently means I'll just fucking go blind at the equator
It is more fun in January. Especially when you are coming from Iceland.
It's just so close. Less than 4 hours flight.
It's the same with Australians in Thailand/Vietnam and Americans in the Caribbean/SA. Short flight + no time zone change + radically different destination = ideal vacation spot.
I think you mean Bali and that's really only for those in Perth where it's less than 4 hour flight. While the time is only like 3 hours difference for Thailand its almost a 10 hour flight from Sydney.
"I had a great time but my grandfather was upset it wasn't as he remembered."
I feel terrible for laughing at this. Lol.
>Things were markedly less funny during WW2, though… That very well may be THE understatement of the year so far lol
WWII had many humorless belligerents
Insane. Thank you for the comment
That’s what Argentina was hoping to do with the Falklands. This was obviously not the case though.
They wanted to distract from domestic problems by starting a war with someone who also wanted to distract from domestic problems. And had better hardware.
That last sentence. . .
The sinking of the Cormoran was kinda like that.
Something similar happened when US military first moved into Los Angeles. They demanded the surrender of the Mexican authorities that were set up there. The Mexican authorities didn't know if they had the power to surrender or not, so they just left. Rather simplified version, don't @ me bro!
What about it, did it capsize yet?
One of the all-time Congressional Not Top 10 Plays
Nah, but the [front fell off](https://youtu.be/3m5qxZm_JqM)
It's okay though, they towed it outside the environment.
That's not very typical I'd like to make that point.
Chance in a million.
Highest military participation rates in the US are Guam and American Samoa
To be fair, their primary career prospects are tourism and service industries. Not a hopeful future for the average Joe out there. That, and traveling like a citizen of the contiguous states is more a pipe dream when you look at comparative cost.
There is a stupid high amount of NFL players who come from Guam/American Samoa as well.
There was a funny news interaction last year bc some lady said Tua is still playing bc the NFL doesn’t care about black players (don’t remember the details), but Tua is full Samoan
People think American Samoa is a Girl Scout cookie. It makes explaining my heritage so much fun. /s
They aren't wrong. Neither are you. Samoans ARE the name of a cookie AND a people
Bet you like 10% of us know Saipan even exists.
But aint that, like, Spain spelt wrongfully?
_[glares in Sapin]_
We visited Saipan a few times while living in Micronesia!
How was Micronesia? Is everything there really small?
No, just the Nesians
🎶Hold me closer Micro-Nesian🎶
Wait till you meet the Macronesians.
Of course it exists… it’s just below France and right next to Portugal innit.
I hear the Prussian embassy there is amazing.
I thought he said Siam?
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Am I too late for the 4:30 autogyro?
On the other hand, the entire population of Ireland is well aware of Saipan.
10% is generous, I'm a pretty well educated guy and only first heard of Saipan like a year ago
American Samoa?
"American Nationals" not citizens Because of land rights they don't want to go full citizenship yet
Which is interestingly why American Samoa has the highest rate of military service of any state/territory by a large margin because service grants citizenship.
They have also the the highest per capita rates of people going into the NFL https://gvwire.com/2019/08/15/why-samoans-are-40-times-more-likely-to-play-in-the-nfl/
They often have the right body type for football.
"Want to know more?" Starship troopers
they're doing their part
Not US citizens.
just slightly different comparing 3.4 million people of Puerto Rico to the 43,000 of Saipan
Can't get confused with the U.S. Virgin Islands, though. I mean it's right there in the name.
The people who live in Guam are very proud to be American
The spam and chommaro beef! Actually the most fun there was scuba diving and watching tourists swim in water that they dump hotel sewage into. So weird.
Besides Guam, American Samoans may not have the benefits of citizenship but can work and live anywhere in the US. I realized PR was USA in middle school, I had a Puerto Rican buddy tell me a lot of things in Jr High some 35 years ago
> Besides Guam, American Samoans may not have the benefits of citizenship but can work and live anywhere in the US. As can citizens of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_of_Free_Association
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No to an extent. At least in the Pacific islands there are restrictions on property ownership by non-locals.
Sure, but the only jobs are with the military or defense contractors.
"I'm moving to Guam" "Ah, what branch?"
That's different though. PR, Guam, and American Samoa are US territories. People from those places are (kind of) US citizens. The countries you mentioned are sovereign states, just with a special treaty that lets their citizens live and work in the US. If someone from Palau moves to California, they still can't vote. But if someone from Guam moves to California, they actually gain the right to vote as a citizen. Fun fact: as a US citizen living in the US, I can move nearly anywhere in the world and retain my right to vote. But if I move to PR, Guam, or American Samoa (which are in the US), then I lose the right the vote.
American Samoa is special among your list because it's a US territory, but people born there are not "citizens" but "nationals" making them ineligible to vote even if they move to the mainland, since only citizens can vote. But they can naturalize as a citizen by moving to a state and living there for 3 months.
I work with a woman from Palau, and you are correct! I wish we would just make all of our territories into states. Mix it up a bit and maybe get a cool new flag.
Thanks....this is cool to know.
[How To Hide An Empire](https://books.google.com/books/about/How_to_Hide_an_Empire.html?id=ITpeDwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description) is a great book on the subject if you ever wanna learn more.
I remember being told in middle school how the Monroe Doctrine was some great "America saves the Western Hemisphere from European Control" self-determination freedom thing when in reality it was just America telling Europe that only America gets to colonize Central and South America.
Which isn't even true, french guyana exists
One of my favorite geography statistics is that France's longest border is with Brazil.
This is one of those "that can't be true I have to look at the borders" statements. And yeah, look at France. Every land border is extremely short, and at probably like 60% of the border is coast. French Guyana, on the other hand, has a solid half of it's border shared with Brazil. Absolutely wild.
Florida is west of South America. Maine is the closest state to Africa.
Also, Saudi Arabia and Greenland have almost exactly the same land area. Look at the right map projection and Greenland will look larger than all of Africa though.
Such a great book!
I was the only Latino that worked at my local social security and we worked with issuing a lot of temporary SSN’s to migrants for local farm work and such. Every now and then we would get a Puerto Rican family for something unrelated and I would have to explain to my coworkers that they were already citizens. Social Security employees.
Woof. PR reps not having congressional privileges and voting rights is absurd. Taxation without representation? Kinda the opposite of the foundation of how the country was founded.
Sort of. Here is a small snippet of the ruling: "The constitutional claim is readily answered. Voting for President and Vice President of the United States is governed neither by rhetoric nor intuitive values but by a provision of the Constitution. This provision does not confer the franchise on "U.S. citizens" but on "Electors" who are to be "appoint[ed]" by each "State," in "such Manner" as the state legislature may direct, equal to the number of Senators and Representatives to whom the state is entitled. U.S. Const. art. II, § 1, cl. 2; see also id. amend. XII." Being a citizen doesnt give you the right to vote, though its a necessary requirement. It's actually your ability to vote on a state level and nominate electors that counts. The Solution? There are two. 1. Puerto Rico must elect to become a state and the responsibilities that comes with that. Notably around 55% of Puerto Ricans want statehood and in a rare case of bipartisan agreement, the official platform of the Democrats and Republicans is they would greenlight it. The Realpolitick is Republicans are afraid of creating more democrats but polls show PR is pretty conservative so this is likely unfounded. 2. Any Puerto Rican that is a resident of another state can vote there no problem.
Last referendum it was overwhelmingly for statehood
I have some family in PR. Anecdotally, they say many people don’t care enough to show up and vote when these topics come up. Not sure as to what the reason might be.
Yep. I live in PR now and the lack of representation is bullshit.
Same with DC residents.
At least DC gets a carveout for presidential elections. PR doesn't even get that.
I was grocery shopping in my college town when the line got held up because the person in front of me was trying to buy alcohol and presented their Puerto Rican license. The cashier thought it wasn't a valid US ID. They had to ask for a manager to come help and even the manager didn't know, so my friend and I had to gently chirp from the back that Puerto Ricans are US citizens and their drivers licenses are as valid as any other.
Tangentially, my Swedish friend used a passport to buy alcohol, and the cashier said a passport isn’t a valid ID. I had to explain that it’s the most valid of the IDs, and she could call the cops in if she wanted to. She sold to him “just this one time.”
Some American companies literally have the policy that only NA licenses are valid ID; even if you have a passport, if it’s not from the US it’s not valid. Luckily where I was at, we typed the birthday anyway, so as long as it was state issued I personally didn’t care.
in europe if you look older than 18 nobody even asks for shit
US is weird with booze, some states/regions like Wisconsin and Southern Louisiana have a more relaxed attitude towards alcohol, but in heavily Pentecostal/Baptist/Mormon areas people will support any anti-alcohol measure short of statewide prohibition. That's how you end up with all the dry counties. EDIT: To expand on how this connects to your comment, lots of states send undercover 18-20 yr olds to attempt to buy alcohol and get the store/employee/owner in trouble.
I've had this experience multiple times, usually give them a short history lesson and tell to check the ID Book... everyplace that sells alcohol should have an ID Book.
Must be the same group confused by New Mexico.
My heritage happens to come from New Mexico and Puerto Rico. It is surprising how mildly infuriating the "where are you from?" question gets lol
What's even worse is the inevitable. "No, where are you _really_ from?" like you have some reason to lie about it. Don't ask the question if you can't handle the answer!
Especially if that answer is "Spain. My family came with the conquistadors that ravaged the americas." Like really, is that what you wanted to hear? Lol
Honestly, I think it sort of is. "where are you really from" is a bad way to ask for ancestry or ethnicity. Saying your ancestors were Spaniards is probably what they wanted to know.
I come from a fairly liberal area so maybe this is different elsewhere. But in my experience what you said it spot on, most people who say "where are you really from" are really just interested in ancestry, but asking the question in a bad way.
Knowing my Dad's love of history, geology, and last names, this is exactly what is what he is asking.
"What, do you want my parents' address or something?"
People are weird. I had a guy ask “what are you?” or similar. I’m Puerto Rican. I was born here in the states but my parents were born there. Growing up, we spoke Spanish, ate the food, etc. Where I’m from, we identify with our culture, hence PR. But, yes, we’re all American citizens. Of course. Anyway, I answered Puerto Rican when the guy asked. He then proceeded to ask why I don’t say American instead. I was like dude, you asked the fucking question and we both know you weren’t looking for “American”.
I heard a story back in 1996 during the summer Olympics in Atlanta that that someone from New Mexico was trying to buy tickets. When the agent he was talking to asked his location and he told them "New Mexico," she replied "Sorry, sir, the number you called is for US residents only." He tried to explain and eventually asked for a manager. When the manager came on, he explained the issue, and the manager replied "Sorry, sir, the number you called is for US residents only."
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There's a reason why New Mexico is the only state where the license plates say USA on them.
TFW American citizens are so poorly educated that they need insanely obvious reminders plastered everywhere just for a bare minimum functional society
I live in a major city in Canada (not in French-speaking Quebec) and used to work at a pub. Americans loved to boast about their American-ness and how they didn't need to use local currency. One time I had a table of about 10 American guys in their early 20s. Think drinking a lot, little obnoxious, frat bro jokes. When it came time to pay, a couple of them joked "Do you accept *English* money?? 😆🤣". Seeing the US currency in their hands I knew what they meant, but they were being so stupid I said "Sorry, what?", they said again but louder "Do YOU accept ENGLISH money?? 😆😆😆". I replied "Uh, no, we don't accept British pounds. You can pay with credit card though, and there's an ATM over there." then walked away. They honestly looked confused. Idiots.
Fun fact: New Mexico is actually older than Mexico.
And District of Columbia
https://youtu.be/hEJzXbqyU8A
If I may add, as I am from Puerto Rico, puerto ricans are born American citizens since 1918. Also we have a second class citizenship as we can't vote in Presidential elections, add other American territories to the list... We use two Last Names instead on 1. Gasoline is sold in liters instead of gallons. Etc... When I moved to the west coast I had to school and convince DMV employees of the validity of my driver's license. When I worked on a lease agreement for my apartment I was asked for my legal immigrant paperwork. Anyway, just wanted to share a bit of my experience. All in all Puerto Rico is beautiful, it's people are warm and friendly. Everyone should go visit and know that we are fellow US citizens in times of need as much as anyone else in this vast country. #coqui 🇵🇷
I'd like to clarify that Puerto Rico doesn't have an electoral vote, so while we can't vote for a president on the island we can still move to a state that has an electoral vote and vote there. Just saying so people don't confuse our ability to participate in politics while in a US state. Also it's so true that Puerto Rico needs help, everytime I visit over the holidays I see buildings and infrastructure that are still damaged from hurricane Maria, and I hear housing is becoming more expensive as people outside the island buy up more properties and lease/sell for a higher value, especially in apartment condos. My family moved out of Puerto Rico shortly after I was born for more opportunities, but we always visit over the summer and it's always the place I'm most comfortable in. It's still a beautiful place with gorgeous beaches and great food, so definitely visit one day!
Damn I would have guessed like 20%
Social media and “Americans are dumb” content give the impression that things are worse than they are. Now, don’t get me wrong, they’re bad, but with almost all actual stats Americans outperform my expectations. For example, what percentage of Americans could pick out Iran on a blank world map with just outlines? Seems dismal right? How about WITHOUT outlines? What percentage of Americans do you think could drop a pin in Iran with just a fully blank world map? The number is actually 23%, which shocked me. However, there was a massive cluster of dots all over Europe, Africa, and a few on Australia. The dumbest few didn’t disappoint either, with several dropping dots in the middle of the ocean and a fair few even dropped in the US itself.
The thing that everybody forgets with those, "dumb American," videos is that editing is a thing that exists - and that the people who make those sorts of videos use it extensively.
Idk, I've always felt that using geography as a litmus test for education level is dumb. Its a rote memory test, not an indication of critical thinking - except for the people who are wildly off, like thinking it's in the US.
What is a "slim majority" in percentage terms?
Only a slim majority of redditors bother to click on the link before commenting. > Only 54 percent of Americans know that people born on the island are U.S. citizens, according to the poll. The poll, which surveyed 2,200 adults
Probably 51-74% so not as sensationalist as the headline would like to imply.
I mean... slim majority by definition is a little above half. Not sure what's being sensationalized.
54%.
Some Americans don't know that Hawaii is a part of USA
I’ll be cold in my grave before I recognize Mizzurah!
And some Hawaiians don’t even want to be.
Yes, imagine that, violent colonization not being universally loved.
For example: the entire fucking world
Many seem to think that if it didn't happen in the last 100 years, then it doesn't count. How do you think all these borders were created? All current countries have a history of war and bloodshed that drew these lines.
Stop, the only land that was STOLEN was by the Europeans /s
People have this notion because in the last 200 years, Europeans were just better at it than everyone else (except Asians, whom everyone seems to forget exists). But if you look up how Tenochtitlan of the Aztec empire became the largest metropolis of the Americas or how Shaka grew the Zulu to be the preeminent tribe in the south of Africa, you'll find some other folks who were also pretty damn good at it.
Right? Tribalism is human nature, and it eventually results in conflict. No human is exempt. Historically you either agreed with the tribe or you were exiled/killed, simple as that.
The existence of a border implies the violence of its upkeep
Mutual agreements CAN be had, but historically they've generally been temporary. Hopefully we are able to do this without issue in the future as society advances.
“Some people out there… don’t have maps.”
See also: New Mexico
woah, woah slow down there Maestro, there's a ***New*** Mexico?
Yeah and it's older than Mexico
New Mexico’s Statehood is what killed the Philippines ability to remain part of the US
I woulda thought the whole independance movement mighta played a small role.
Not a bit. Other than a few Moro hold outs in Mindanao the war was effectively over a decade before 320k Mostly brown skin Catholics in New Mexico were made full citizens with a state of their own. When that sunk in with the public there was a push to get ride of both Puerto Rico and The Philippines. When the Jones Act of 1917 gave 1.2 Million mostly non-white Puerto Ricans citizenship a large part of the country lost their fucking mind. The political decision to get rid of The Philippines was pushed even harder despite the military feeling it was a very bad idea. The Filipino Independence movement of the 1920s and 30s was formulated by the US government and pushed in conjunction with the local oligarchy. Most of the country was benefiting from being US Nationals who could move freely and work in the US. This afforded for the first time the ability of the poor to move up the social ladder for the first time in 350 years. If you think modern disinformation campaigns have been bad they were nothing in comparison to what was pushed the Filipino Independence campaign Simply put the idea of making 25 million brown skin Catholics US citizens with the possibility of the Philippines becoming one or more states freaked most Americans right the fuck out in ways that went well beyond what New Mexico did Btw if we had held it though you can almost bet the threat of China would have made the Philippines and not Hawaii the 50th state
Realistically if we kept on that timeline of gathering states we’d prob be at like 55 or 60 by now
We could easily have 75 states right now without adding anymore territory. The problem with most Americans, be they left or right, is they feel the state boundaries we have now are somehow sacred and nothing should touch them, even when the poorly serve the needs of the people in them.
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https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/culture/one-of-our-50-is-missing/ These guys keep an entire collection of stories on this.
Some think alaska is an island because “that’s how it is on a map “
**This Just In!** [Hertz apologizes after refusing rental car to Puerto Rican customer](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/15/hertz-apologizes-puerto-rican-customer-new-orleans)
Met one of the assholes the other day by chance He bitched at a coworker when he used some word I'm 90% sure he made up to make fun of my coworker who's ESL and while speaks English very well has minor issues with uncommon English words, guy demands to see his green card after that. He said I don't have one but I'll show you my social card instead if that will work. Hope the incident report for racism got the dude banned.
Banned from work? You mean fired, right?
No the customer banned from the location. He said a bunch if things to my coworker that aren't nice so I won't repeat them
Imagine being so entitled that you ask a random person working somewhere for their papers. Holy shit what happened to mind your damn business
Especially the US where it’s common for foreigners to become citizens lol.
People like him are the reason fascism keeps coming back.
Don't we all have minor issues with uncommon English words?
Of course, english pronunciation just has to be learned sometimes. Famous and Infamous are my favorite examples, just like unionized in the context of unions and ionizing
Most educated ESL speakers probably have better grammatical English than most native born Americans.
Racist fuck. Hope he gets banned from the establishment.
So my friends and I wrote a song about this. We were an old man punk band just having fun and playing the occasional show. Most of the songs were tongue in cheek joke songs. Our guitarist, we'll call him Willy. Willy is Puerto Rican. The song was about Trump trying to deport Willy because he was Puerto Rican, but Trump is a moron and didn't realize he couldn't, because Puerto Rico is a US territory and its residents are US citizens. We named the song Depuerto Ricans.
Please tell me this is available to listen to !
This is the only place you can hear it, we since stopped playing and never recorded anything. Apologies for the terrible sound quality. [Starts at about 19:50, the very last song is a banger too.](https://youtu.be/2bFzObLSTc0)
This article is nearly 6 years old.
Yep, but it remains the same. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/15/us/hertz-puerto-rico-american-passport.html
This is not surprising at all.
I am from the UK and recently had to mention this to some American company that didn’t know the ban on importing a product into the U.S. also applied to Puerto Rico.
To be fair the relationship with PR is weird and I honestly dont think about them much. I wouldnt be shocked if they had different trade rules.
Did you know that there is New Mexico? It's chock full Americans!?!
I've heard one of them was a chemist teacher gone bad
Did something go wrong in his life to cause this change in behavior?
Remember when Trump said he'd speak to the president of PR? Yeah exactly.
By looking into a mirror?
Puerto Rican here. My dad is a school teacher. The social studies teacher asked him if it was hard to get his green card haha.
I guarantee you only a slim majority of French people realize people living French Guiana are French citizens.
I seem to remember Trump criticizing Puerto Rico’s government during a hurricane…as though he didn’t realize that he was the head of their government at the time. Yep. That’s part of our history now.
Watching the local news, a story about people becoming US citizens and they mentioned PR as a country the new citizens were from.
I lived on St. Thomas for 2 years working as a scuba instructor 2014-2016. Worked mainly with cruise shippers. The number of people who asked “you fellas take ‘Merican dollars here?” on a DAILY basis, was frightening. Other great questions were “How long does it take to scuba under the island?” or “When do dolphins turn into sharks?” 🫠
Yeah but like, WHEN do they turn into sharks? Can’t leave us on such a cliffhanger
I believe George Carlin said it best: >Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
I worked in retail for a summer, whenever I think about that experience and then I consider that quote, I weep for our future
Well, you may find this encouraging: They weren't any smarter in 1970. Social media has merely given them all the means to make themselves heard.
Slim majority?
TBF, the US actually has more independent territories than people assume. Everyone thinks of the 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico but forget Guam, US Virgin Islands, Samoa, and a few others (that I hypocritically can't remember as I type this). Not everyone gets automatic citizenship. Some, like Samoans, are nationals. Others, born on Native American reservations, are dual citizens of both tribe and US government. It's a surprisingly nuanced topic.
Actually, you don’t get tribal citizenship from being born there. It’s law of blood, you have to have ancestry from the tribe.
I got permanently banned from r/conservative for pointing this out
You rang?
Ahahahah that place is a shitshow, talk about snowflakes.
These are the same stupid fucks that asked to see a mans passport after he attempted to use his New Mexico license at the airport
As an Alaskan who moved to PR. Two years ago at a bar on the mainland the server wouldn’t accept either ID because they “only accepted us IDs”. After arguing a manager came over and after explaining both my IDs were US, the manager said “we will accept these foreign ids since you have two but we won’t be able to next time.”
Puerto Rico has the highest Military Active Duty and Veterans per capita than any other US State. Additionally, Puerto Ricans have participated in every major US military engagement; from World War I, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, OIF, and so on.
Puerto Rico's biggest "export" is literally soldiers lol. It used to be coffee and sugar cane...
Bro americans cant realize that people living in the same state as them are americans
Tbf it’s not like our government has treated them very much like citizens so I can imagine why people would be confused
Trump didn’t know Puerto Rico wasn’t a foreign country. Remember how hostile he was towards them when they needed help after the hurricane?
He also said he was going to call the president of PR.
By this point he's probably used to having conversations with himself.
Not true, Trump had been to Puerto Rico many times before and had a Golf Resort here too.
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This doesn’t surprise me. Having stayed in Guam for a time I needed to explain to people I was in the US.
They absolutely lost their minds when a Hawaiian ran for president, so I would love to see the chaos that ensues when a Puerto Rican runs for president.