Reddit reviews War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America’s Colony

For those that don't know. Puerto Rico is a huge economic scam that the US government has been per enacting for the benefit of a hand full of billionaires. This scam also accounts for 5% of the US economy. We control the way they import and export, thus controlling their entire economy and preventing them from forming their own. This scam has led to the bull shit loans they were given with the future end goal of them defaulting in their loans and the all their assets being sold off to private interest. Their schools, infrastructure, prisons, naturals resources, utilities, you name it will eventually be given to their debtors and Puerto Rico will become a free market nightmare. Meanwhile whenever they attempt to get help from the government (fed loans or grants, or bankruptcy protection) congress votes it down because that hand full of families still needs to get their pay day.

https://www.amazon.com/War-Against-All-Puerto-Ricans/dp/1568585012/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1435763235&sr=1-1&keywords=nelson+denis&pebp=1435763237228&perid=0Y6VG7Q35DMERJN7WZ2C

It's funny, the US took Puerto Rico by force, spent a good part of the 20th century trying to extinguish any attempts at independence (I recommend reading http://www.amazon.com/War-Against-All-Puerto-Ricans/dp/1568585012) , and now is being so nitpicky about making us a state. I'd say they had us exactly where they wanted us.

There are reasons why many (well relatively few) of us will never support statehood. I understand it is better than the current status, but I have no desire to secure a permanent subordinate relationship which my country has only been out of for a few months since 1493 (Spain granted some autonomy in 1898 but then US took over).

A few examples

I think "Ley Jones", FBI's carpetas, which are extremely well documented in Nelson Dennis' War Against All Puerto Ricans, and the continued incarceration of Oscar Lopez Rivera are additional atrocities that were more subtle.

The killing of Filiberto Ojeda Rios is arguably another, but I am biased with this one. Regardless, the way he was killed was objectively inhumane (shot him at his house after he didn't resist then stood outside, waiting hours for him to bleed out and die).

Due to all of these things as well as insular persecution (because yes, some Puerto Ricans are also guilty) I disagree with the notion that there can ever be a fully democratic decision regarding the territorial status. Our collective mindset has been severely tainted. PNP (statehood) and PPD (ELA/colony) parties have been the only ones in power. Both of them have time and time again to be corrupt as fuck and mostly used the territorial debate as something that differentiates them but they're mostly exactly the same. This is anecdotal, but the more educated someone is the higher the probability they support independence.

Hopefully the independent (as it is used in US, not in relation to territory) candidates that are running for this term will get some influence. If it was up to me, I'd give PIP (independence as in territorial status) a shot, but the island is filled with melons (green on the outside as in PIP but red inside as in PPD mostly due to fears that no one else will vote PIP).

Would write some more but I've final exams to take care of. Just a final note, the only thing Congress has done so far is propose a Fiscal Control Board which is so colonial that even the current PPD governor, who will bend his ass over for anything, is against it. I also expect we will soon have a humanitarian crisis (well IMO we already do but some disagree) due to high incidences of Zika virus while 1 doctor is leaving the island per day

Thank you reddit for at least discussing this. I am doing my undergraduate here in the mainland and most people don't even know where the island is and much less that I'm not an "international student". To those that do know, they think the island is a tropical paradise which is rich and everyone sips Bacardi on a golf cart while jacking off to mamasitas. Sadly even the most liberal Sanders supporters mostly shrug or don't care when I explain what is (and has been, for decades) actually going on.