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5 reasons why Puerto Ricans are so angry about ‘trash’ joke at Trump rally

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5 reasons why Puerto Ricans are so angry about ‘trash’ joke at Trump rally

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Juan Garcia was a student at Amherst College in Massachusetts when he decided to join the military in 1982.

Garcia, now 67, served 34 years in the Army Reserves, deployed twice, evaded IEDs during the conflict in Iraq, and retired from the Army Reserves as a colonel; All while graduating from Amherst, earning a law degree from Boston College, and working as a civil servant. A lawyer in New York and now Miami.

Born in New York, Garcia comes from a Puerto Rican family with deep military roots. His grandfather and uncle served during World War II, and two of his sons fought in the U.S. Army in Iraq. One of them, Jaime, was shot in the chest during the conflict and received a Purple Heart, Garcia said.

Puerto Ricans have served in every major U.S. military conflict since World War I, when the U.S. granted Puerto Ricans citizenship so they could help fight.

But Garcia believes Puerto Ricans don’t join the military solely out of patriotic duty or self-interest. As U.S. citizens often treated as “foreigners,” Garcia believes they participated because they felt they had something to prove.

“Many Puerto Ricans joined and served in the military to be accepted and accepted,” Garcia said in an interview.

When comedian Tony Hinchcliffe compared Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage” at a Trump rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27, Garcia understood why there was so much outrage pouring in from ordinary Puerto Ricans and celebrities around the world. like Jennifer Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda And Bad Rabbit.

“It is exhausting to have to go through the same struggle to accept our personhood and our right to be Americans when we are born as citizens of the United States on that island called ‘garbage,’” Garcia said in an email.

Puerto Ricans are known for their immense pride, which they openly display with Puerto Rican flags often hung on car mirrors or vibrant street festivals and parades in cities with large Puerto Rican populations.

This pride often stems from Puerto Ricans’ long-standing struggle for acceptance of Puerto Rico as a U.S. colony and the political turmoil sparked by the absurd “joke” about Puerto Rico at the Trump rally. In response, the Trump campaign attempted to distance itself from the comments.

“This joke would be offensive not just to Puerto Ricans, but to anyone whose country is chosen,” said Carlos Vargas-Ramos, director of public policy at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York. “But the fact that this was done to offend (Puerto Ricans) makes you wonder what the intent of not just the comedian, but the Trump campaign, was to allow him to ostracize, denigrate and denigrate an entire country in this way.”

Here are five reasons why Trump’s rally joke hit Puerto Ricans hard.

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Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States

Puerto Rico was colonized by Spain after Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1493. The first inhabitants of the island were the indigenous Tainos. Puerto Rican is a blend of Taino, Spanish, and African cultures; the latter are carried by enslaved Africans.

Puerto Rico remained under Spanish rule until 1898, when Spain ceded the island, a major producer of sugar cane and military outpost, to the United States following the Spanish-American War. At the time, efforts for independence from the Spanish crown were simmering when Puerto Ricans suddenly found themselves under U.S. rule.

“How did Puerto Rico become a colony of the United States? Yes, Puerto Rico is the spoils of war. Puerto Rico is part of the spoils of war won by the United States after the Cuban-Spanish-American War in 1898,” Vargas-Ramos said. in question.

U.S. states have operated military bases in Puerto Rico for decades; this includes training areas on Vieques, where the Navy tested Agent Orange, napalm, white phosphorus and depleted uranium. It caused cancer and other diseases among the population. The United States ended bombing drills in Vieques in 2003 after faulty bombs killed a Puerto Rican civilian security guard in 1999, sparking mass protests.

Politically, Puerto Ricans are still divided between those who want independence, those who want Puerto Rico to become the 51st state, and those who prefer the status quo as a commonwealth of the United States.

“Puerto Ricans of all political persuasions are very proud, but the fact that Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States increases that pride even more,” Vargas-Ramos said. he said.

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens but are often treated as foreigners

3.2 million Puerto Ricans live in Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans living in the US can vote in presidential primaries, but cannot participate in presidential elections. There are 5.8 million Puerto Ricans living in the United States, about 65,000 of whom live in Arizona. Puerto Ricans living in the United States have the right to register and vote for president.

Although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, they are often mistaken for foreigners or immigrants, in part because Puerto Rico’s primary language is Spanish, not English.

“People forget that Puerto Rico is under the jurisdiction of the United States, Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States, and the people on that island are U.S. citizens,” Vargas-Ramos said. “This is due to the will of the U.S. Congress, which rarely pays political attention to Puerto Rico.”

“Puerto Ricans are out of their minds, right? The vast majority of people in the United States ignore Puerto Rico. They ignore Puerto Ricans. It doesn’t register unless there are situations like this (a joke) or disasters like Hurricane Maria or Puerto Ricans.” When Ricans decided to take their demands to the halls of Congress,” Vargas-Ramos said. 1954 attack by Puerto Rican nationalists The incident injured five members of Congress.

Puerto Ricans remember Trump’s ‘paper towel’ response to hurricanes

In September 2017, while Donald Trump was president, Puerto Rico was hit by two devastating storms: Hurricane Irma, followed less than two weeks later by Hurricane Maria. Back-to-back major hurricanes killed nearly 3,000 people, flattened neighborhoods, destroyed 80% of the island’s power grid and caused $90 billion in damage. The third most expensive in US history.

Video of then-President Trump throwing paper towels into a crowd of desperate Puerto Ricans during his visit to the island outraged Puerto Ricans and symbolized the Trump administration’s handling of the disaster on the island. Trump has also resisted sending disaster funds to the island, citing possible corruption.

“The only way he saw fit to show his help was to deescalate the situation. He began throwing away paper towels as a necessity, a basic necessity for the people who died under his watch.”“ Vargas-Ramos said. Puerto Ricans “saw the insensitivity and indifference of the circumstances.“

Puerto Ricans proud of their contributions to the United States

Despite its small size, Puerto Rico has made major contributions to the United States that are often overlooked, Vargas-Ramos said.

“For such a small country, so many notable people have come out of Puerto Rico compared to other countries of the same size and population, and that inspires pride among Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans,” Vargas-Ramos said. he said.

In sports, Vargas-Ramos mentioned pioneering baseball players Roberto Clemente and Pedro “Perucho” Cepeda; boxers Hector “Macho” Camacho, Wilfredo Gomez and Wilfred Benitez; and actors Rita Moreno, Jose Ferrer and Raul Julia.

“In popular music we have Bad Bunny lately, and in science we have a lot of astronauts, including Joseph Acaba and Marcos Berríos,” Vargas-Ramos said.

Trump missed opportunity to reach Puerto Ricans

Trump attempted to distance himself from Hinchcliffe’s comments.

“I have no idea who he is,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “What they did was they took someone who had nothing to do with the party and tried to make a big deal out of it.”

But Vargas-Ramos said Trump wasted an opportunity to reach Puerto Ricans.

“These comments are not how President Trump or his campaign thinks about Puerto Rico,” Vargas-Ramos said. he said. “So, what does President Trump think about Puerto Rico? What kind of public policy does President Trump want to develop regarding Puerto Rico? Does President Trump want to trade Puerto Rico for Greenland?” Vargas-Ramos said. He was referring to comments by former Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor. Taylor said that in 2020, Trump suggested replacing Puerto Rico with Greenland before a DHS hurricane relief trip to Puerto Rico in 2018.

Taylor told MSNBC Trump said he wanted to trade Puerto Rico because, in Trump’s words, “Puerto Rico was dirty and the people were poor.”

“What is his stance on rebuilding Puerto Rico, seven years, eight years after the hurricanes and subsequent earthquakes in Puerto Rico?” Vargas-Ramos continued. “What are their plans for Puerto Rico? This was a huge missed opportunity for President Trump and the entire Republican Party because we must remember that the sovereignty of Puerto Rico belongs to the U.S. Congress.”

Reach the reporter’s address [email protected].

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