Puerto Rico’s largest newspaper

  • theprogressivist @lemmy.world
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    13 hours ago

    Not to sound like an asshole and not calling you out specifically, but I find it incredibly ridiculous and frustrating that Americans are so confused and ignorant about Puerto Rico.

    Edit: thanks RapidCreek for proving my point so well.

    • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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      14 hours ago

      I wouldn’t find it too ridiculous. After all, most people in the US haven’t traveled outside it’s borders and the concept of other countries is just not something they encounter.

        • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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          14 hours ago

          Yes, in fact it is outside US borders. It’s not a US state. It’s a protectorate, like the US Virgin Islands, and has its own government

          • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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            13 hours ago

            True, but you don’t need a passport to go there. To your average American it’s as much outside the US as Hawaii.

            • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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              13 hours ago

              Interesting subject. The US has many agreements with separate countries on travel. But, if you are traveling to another Caribbean island, and go through San Jaun for a connecting flight, you will be asked for your passport there as well as in Miami, or other US end point. Why? Because Puerto Rico has its own passport control, not US. Same is true of Canada, BTW.

              • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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                13 hours ago

                All states have their own passport control for international travelers.

                I’ve been to Puerto Rico several times, and I’ve never used a passport to go there or come back.

                -U.S. citizens do not need a passport to travel between the U.S. and these territories: -Guam -Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands -Puerto Rico -U.S. Virgin Islands

                https://www.usa.gov/visit-territories

                • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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                  13 hours ago

                  That’s true because Puerto Rico has a reciprocal agreement with Puerto Rico, just like Canada.

                  • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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                    13 hours ago

                    Through all of these comments, it’s really interesting to watch you constantly reshape your delusion To combat evidence that you’re wrong.

                    Are you just so egotistical that you can’t admit you’re wrong?

            • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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              3 hours ago

              You’re getting closer, but it’s not a US possession. It’s a protectorite not incorporated into the US and autonomous

              • signalsayge@lemm.ee
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                56 minutes ago

                Puerto Rico is not autonomous. In Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle, the US Supreme Court found that sovereignty of Puerto Rico ultimately resides in the United States Congress. The US Congress can pass a law for Puerto Rico and there is nothing anyone in the Puerto Rican government can do about it. US Congress has ultimate control over Puerto Rico (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROMESA as an example). That isn’t autonomous.

                “If Congress chose to alter Puerto Rico’s political status, it could do so through statute regardless of whether a plebiscite were held or what sentiment such a vote revealed.” Political Status of Puerto Rico: Brief Background and Recent Developments for Congress (https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44721/7)

          • Cethin
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            4 hours ago

            It’s a separate state (as in it has its own government), but so do US States. That clearly doesn’t exclude it from being in the US. It is a part of the US though, in that their citizens are US citizens. It is absolutely a part of the US, even though it is not a member-state. Their president is whoever the president of the US is.

            (You may recall Trump, after a hurricane, saying something stupid about the president of Puerto Rico needing to do something, which is dumb because he was the president of Puerto Rico.)

              • Cethin
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                3 hours ago

                A state has nothing to do with being part of the United States. Most states are not members of the United States. A state is a government. That’s all. The United States name comes from the fact that they were individual governments who formed a larger union of governments. Any government is called a state.

                • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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                  2 hours ago

                  So,yes, I understand your intended use of the word. What do you call a state on a defined piece of land?

                  • oxomoxo@lemmy.world
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                    1 hour ago

                    It depends on context, in the case of Puerto Rico it’s an unincorporated territory of the United States and is designated as a Commonwealth. Since 1953 due to resolution 748 the United Nations classified PR as non-governing territory of the United States. Technically PR hold both a Nation state and Commonwealth state according to the US federal government, but the Commonwealth or Territory designation takes precedence over the Nation designation. This is simply because the United States Federal government decrees it, which is why the subject is controversial among Boricuas, as many people feel they should succeed from the United States, while others are happy to be a territory or commonwealth of the United States as many have assimilated into American culture.

                    So on paper Puerto Rico could be considered a country, but in practice, due to the over site and will of the US federal government, Puerto Rico is a unincorporated territory of US citizens, who don’t have to pay federal taxes and have no representational within the rest of the United States, they can only effect their own internal governing body.

                    In many ways this is a travesty, but in other ways Puerto Ricans enjoy the protection of the US, both in defense and travel, as the US passport is very useful throughout the world, as well as economically due to the strength and stability of the dollar, without being constantly subjected to federal law.

          • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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            13 hours ago

            It’s a separate country.

            The Supreme Court of the United States of America would disagree with you.

              • ieatpwns@lemmy.world
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                12 hours ago

                No ones calling it a state. You’re calling the island a country it is not a country not any more it is an American territory. Are they taxed without representation? Like Dc? Is dc a country?

                • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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                  12 hours ago

                  So, not a state, not a territory.

                  Does Puerto Rico have elections to form a government?

                  • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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                    12 hours ago

                    Most certainly not a state, and has its own government. It’s a separate country.

                    Okay, you’ve shown that the first part of your statement is correct (that NO ONE has contested). Explain how PR is a separate country, as you have asserted. Or you can just say you were wrong. It’s okay.

                  • ieatpwns@lemmy.world
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                    12 hours ago

                    Bruh I’m not gonna keep going with you. the link talks about Puerto Ricans voting for kamala. You’re talking about people that live on the the island voting. Not the same step up your critical thinking

          • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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            14 hours ago

            All states and territories have their own local government. They still operate under the US federal government. Your stubborn ignorance doesn’t make Puerto Rico another country.

            Puerto Ricans are United States citizens, they use United States dollar as a currency, they pay United States taxes, and they have a representative in Congress.

            • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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              13 hours ago

              It’s not a state. It’s not a territory. To be so, it would need congressional approval. It is a separate country of US citizens. And not the only one. Sorry, if this reality doesn’t conform with your imagination

                • saigot@lemmy.ca
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                  12 hours ago

                  I’m not American or weighing in on this, but I don’t think country is a legal term nor mutually exclusive with being a territory. England is a country despite being governed by the UK. Greenland is the same.

                  If we look at the wiki for Country

                  A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term “country” may refer to a sovereign state, states with limited recognition, constituent country, or a dependent territory.[1][2][3][4] Most sovereign states, but not all countries, are members of the United Nations.[5] There is no universal agreement on the number of “countries” in the world since several states have disputed sovereignty status, limited recognition and a number of non-sovereign entities are commonly considered countries.[6][5]

                  The definition and usage of the word “country” are flexible and have changed over time. The Economist wrote in 2010 that “any attempt to find a clear definition of a country soon runs into a thicket of exceptions and anomalies.”[7]

                  Again, I am not making a claim about whether PR is a country specifically, just that being a territory does not disqualify it.

                  • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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                    12 hours ago

                    As a sovereign nation, we can define our own legal terms.

                    I also find it somewhat amusing that someone from outside of this country with professed knowledge or expertise such as you do. It’s mostly losing because you’re wrong.

                  • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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                    13 hours ago

                    I did, yet it didn’t force me to start hallucinating that Puerto Rico is not part of the US. It’s almost as if I saw the facts rather than what I wished to to confirm my own biases.

            • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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              12 hours ago

              Its actually not their ignorance… its yours.

              Slightly older data, but almost assuredly worse or unchanged considering the shifts in economic prosperity and demographics post covid:

              • Eleven percent of survey respondents have never traveled outside of the state where they were born.

              • Over half of those surveyed (54 percent) say they’ve visited 10 states or fewer.

              • As many as 13 percent say they have never flown in an airplane.

              • Forty percent of those questioned said they’ve never left the country.

              • Over half of respondents have never owned a passport. (For years U.S. citizens did not need one to travel to Mexico, Canada and on many cruises, which may clarify the previous stat.)

              The ignorance in this instance, is in-fact, your ignorance, not Rapidcreek’s. You clearly have a misconception about how well-traveled or worldly US citizens are. In-fact, US citizens are shockingly poorly traveled within their own borders.

              So rapidcreeks’:

              I wouldn’t find it too ridiculous. After all, most people in the US haven’t traveled (…)

              shows they know more about the context of this situation than you do, and they are offering a plausible explanation to contain your exacerbation.

              And this response:

              No, it is ridiculous. Quit excusing the willful ignorance.

              Is really just inflammatory and not based in fact. Also you missed their very subtle joke.

              • lad@programming.dev
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                4 hours ago

                Also you missed their very subtle joke.

                If it was a joke, it went way overboard

                • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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                  4 hours ago

                  Rapidcreek in this comment is 100% correct. The subtle joke (explained), rapidcreek is that theprogressivist needs to take a vacation, as in to travel and broaden their horizons, to resolve their ignorance and become more worldly.

                  In at least just this comment, rapidcreek is right and theprogressivist is just plain wrong.

              • theprogressivist @lemmy.world
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                11 hours ago

                Lol, so I’m ignorant for pointing out the ignorance of Americans? Just because they aren’t well traveled doesn’t excuse people from being ignorant of facts, especially those involving their own country and surrounding territories. It’s as sad as Americans not knowing US history, which ironically Puerto Rico is a part of. Nice try, though.

                • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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                  11 hours ago

                  Well ignorance is the state of “not knowing”. So yeah. You were/ are the ignorant one in that exchange. It might make you uncomfortable, but your “not knowing” in that exchange does make you the ignorant one. No amount of downvotes or upvotes changes that.

                  And to be clear, in your second response, you weren’t identifying the ignorance of Americans, you were blaming them for it. Then, when you could have just engaged with what Rapidcreek said, and instead you became accusatory and inflammatory. Which actually lines up well with the sentiment of the prior statement you made where you blamed Americans for their ignorance. The reality of travel is that its a privilege, and that even those who haven’t traveled desire to (which you would know if you had done something to resolve your ignorance), but that there are structural economic and political barriers for many US citizens to be able to do so. Many Americans want to travel, but they can’t afford to, or because of the structure of their lives, they can’t find the time to.

                  So I agree with what Rapidcreek said. I think you need a vacation.

                  • theprogressivist @lemmy.world
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                    11 hours ago

                    Again, just because you can’t travel doesn’t mean you can’t educate yourself on matters. Quit excusing ignorance, champ.