# Fuck you if you don't care about Puerto Rico, peckerhead **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 22, 2017, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949 "2017-09-22T06:25:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/41 "2017-09-25T13:01:04Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > [Citizenship was granted in 1917](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico). [Before citizenship was granted, they were American nationals](https://www.immihelp.com/immigration/us-national.html). Granted in 1917, but retroactive to those born on or after 4/25/1898. Per your Wiki cite: > [@](#): > > U.S. citizenship and Puerto Rican citizenship > > In 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Jones–Shafroth Act, popularly called the Jones Act, which granted Puerto Ricans, born on or after, April 25, 1898, U.S. citizenship. And, by the way, the act had little support in Puerto Rico at the time: > [@](#): > > Opponents, which included all of the Puerto Rican House of Delegates, who voted unanimously against it, said that the US imposed citizenship in order to draft Puerto Rican men into the army as American entry into World War I became likely. My real point, though, is that this has never been an issue within either party. Neither has ever made any real effort to make Puerto Rico a state. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/42 "2017-09-25T13:32:08Z")
As to the thread title, I would have to concur. Though if you merely don’t care it would be in the middling “well yeah, I don’t give a fuck about you either” sense. OTOH the putzes who feel the need to proclaim it in public, just reveal they DO care AND want to be pricks about it in public so fuck them hard and fast and in public and in Spanish. Unless they’d like that in which case don’t. Had I the electricity or bandwidth to spare I’d go now into one of my columns about Puerto Rico citizenship, statehood, electoral politics, fiscal policy and taxes. Under current circumstance, search posts for my username and those subjects. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/43 "2017-09-25T14:08:06Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Puerto Rico is also pretty democratic so the Republicans are not too keen on just giving the Democrats another safe seat. It’s not that simple. For example, if in 2010, Puerto Rico were a state, it’d have five representatives in the House. Even if they all went to Democrats, that’s not a guaranteed bonus to them; those five seats get taken from other states. In the 2010 case, that’d’ve been California, Florida, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington. And depending how those states are districted, the missing seat could be Republican or could be Democratic. Of course the Senate is purely additive, so those seats could be safe. I’m not willing to guess how they’d turn out. Bottom line, from my view is that neither Democrats nor Republicans definitely gain or lose from admitting Puerto Rico as a state. Those opposing it probably aren’t doing it for purely partisan reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/44 "2017-09-25T14:24:36Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Also, most residents of Puerto Rico are not required to pay US Federal Income Tax. Heck, the IRS is [_based_ in Puerto Rico](http://mystrangemind.com/2006/08/irs-exposed-irs-is-privately-owned.html)! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/45 "2017-09-25T14:31:02Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > As well, allowing a state where the principal language isn’t English would be a change compared to the concept of US national identity as generally previously understood. Louisiana was admitted in 1812 - at a time when the majority of its citizens spoke French. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/46 "2017-09-26T11:14:51Z")
Dumb Donald FINALLY acknowledges the suffering in Puerto Rico. They got THREE, count 'em THREE, tweets! > [@](#): > > Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble… Yeah, if anyone knows about massive debt it’s Mr. Bankruptcy himself. > [@](#): > > …It’s old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars… Looks like Donald was sick (bone spurs?) when the difference between “it’s” and “its” was taught in school. > [@](#): > > …owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical are top priorities - and doing well. #FEMA Bottom line- it seems to be Puerto Rico’s own fault. And somehow they’re “doing well”. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/47 "2017-09-26T13:25:20Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > For example, if in 2010, Puerto Rico were a state, it’d have five representatives in the House. Even if they all went to Democrats, that’s not a guaranteed bonus to them; those five seats get taken from other states. The size of the House is determined by Federal law. Admitting PR as a state could be accompanied by an increase in the size of the House (apparently last done in 1911 (from 391 to 435, due to population growth)). Probably time to increase the size again, frankly. Don’t think it will happen, though - would likely increase the Democratic numbers (and further reduce the power of the single representative states), and the GOP isn’t going to vote for that. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/48 "2017-09-26T13:53:33Z")
> [@Debillw3](#): > > But to answer the question that you actually asked instead of the one you meant, they are, like everyone else, free to vote for whomever and whatever they want. When I was in third grade, we had a day where we, as a school, to learn about the various electoral processes, voted for president on copies of sample ballots. > > So, yes, they can vote. Just like everyone else. Nobody is going to stop Canadians from holding a US Presidential election, nor would they stop my elementary school or Puerto Rico. The results of those elections would all be meaningless, but it doesn’t mean they can’t vote. This is the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/49 "2017-09-26T14:21:11Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Dumb Donald FINALLY acknowledges the suffering in Puerto Rico. They got THREE, count 'em THREE, tweets! > > Yeah, if anyone knows about massive debt it’s Mr. Bankruptcy himself. > > Looks like Donald was sick (bone spurs?) when the difference between “it’s” and “its” was taught in school. > > Bottom line- it seems to be Puerto Rico’s own fault. And somehow they’re “doing well”. Well, they’re brown and many don’t speak English. Donnie was probably asking his cabinet about building a wall so that they wouldn’t flee to the US when Kelly and McMaster reminded him that PRicans are US citizens. Knowing Donnie, they probably had to go in and repeat it every 15 minutes during the intervening days it actually took him to respond. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/50 "2017-09-26T18:46:00Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > …white trash dickhead… > > …YOUR trailer park… > > …you people… Yep, a heel, all right. I can’t call you on racism, because the SDMB in its benevolent wisdom has decreed that “white trash” and “trailer trash” are non-racist, suitable terms for poor or working white Americans. But I _can_ call you on your classism, you hoity toity, self-righteous pig. And I do. (NB to all who all who view us from outside: America’s filthy secret isn’t racism – it’s classism.) ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/51 "2017-09-26T21:41:22Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Dumb Donald FINALLY acknowledges the suffering in Puerto Rico. They got THREE, count 'em THREE, tweets! > [@D\_Odds](#): > > Well, they’re brown and many don’t speak English. Donnie was probably asking his cabinet about building a wall so that they wouldn’t flee to the US when Kelly and McMaster reminded him that PRicans are US citizens. Knowing Donnie, they probably had to go in and repeat it every 15 minutes during the intervening days it actually took him to respond. Let’s see. This is from Puerto Rico’s governor’s interview: JOHN YANG: Governor, are you getting all the aid you need or getting it fast enough from the states? GOV. RICARDO ROSSELLO: First of all, we are very grateful for the administration. They have responded quickly. The president has been very attentive to the situation, personally calling me several times. FEMA and the FEMA director have been here in Puerto Rico twice. As a matter of fact, they were here with us today, making sure that all the resources in FEMA were working in conjunction with the central government. We have been working together. We have been getting results. The magnitude of this catastrophe is enormous. This is going to take a lot of help, a lot of collaboration. So, my call is to congressmen and congresswomen to take action quickly and conclusively with an aid package for Puerto Rico. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/52 "2017-09-26T22:06:49Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > Let’s see. This is from Puerto Rico’s governor’s interview: > > JOHN YANG: Governor, are you getting all the aid you need or getting it fast enough from the states? > > GOV. RICARDO ROSSELLO: First of all, we are very grateful for the administration. They have responded quickly. > > The president has been very attentive to the situation, personally calling me several times. FEMA and the FEMA director have been here in Puerto Rico twice. As a matter of fact, they were here with us today, making sure that all the resources in FEMA were working in conjunction with the central government. We have been working together. > > We have been getting results. The magnitude of this catastrophe is enormous. This is going to take a lot of help, a lot of collaboration. So, my call is to congressmen and congresswomen to take action quickly and conclusively with an aid package for Puerto Rico. Nice link, asshole. [Link.](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/devastated-puerto-rico-needs-unprecedented-aid-says-governor/) How can they be getting aid when he’s calling for Congress to pass an aid package? How about some further quotes? > [@](#): > > PATRICIA MAZZEI: We saw a few little grocery stores open up here and there, but they were selling the supplies that they had had since before the storm. No one was getting resupplied. > > And people were starting to run out of their own stocks of water and things like that. There was one bakery in the town of Loiza that we went to that would open everyday at 7:00 a.m. and make all the bread it could for the day. And there was a line out the door. > > And then, as soon as they ran out, that was it. That was all they had. We even saw in San Juan that at least one hotel where foreign and locals were staying, \*\*they didn’t have any more water bottles either. They ran out of plantains, because they were just — there wasn’t new supplies coming in to any of these places yet. > \*\* > JOHN YANG: Did you see signs of relief aid? > > PATRICIA MAZZEI: We saw San Juan starting to get on its feet, because we saw debris removal, big tractors, that sort of thing, on the road, out of the city as well. We didn’t see utility trucks anywhere. > > **We didn’t see any distributions of food or water. The relief that was present already in the shelters,** those folks were trying to get together cots and things like that, but they were putting lists of supplies that they needed together, and it was the bare essentials, toothbrushes, toothpastes, female hygiene products, toilet paper. They were running out of all of it. Looks like sucking up to Trump doesn’t work when your citizens can’t vote. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/53 "2017-09-28T05:38:43Z")
Guess what Puerto Rico is running out of now? [Money](https://apnews.com/d98021c8616a451e9eca958638099abd/Now-even-money-is-running-out-in-storm-hit-Puerto-Rico). > [@](#): > > The aftermath of the powerful storm has resulted in a near-total shutdown of the U.S. territory’s economy that could last for weeks and has many people running seriously low on cash and worrying that it will become even harder to survive on this storm-ravaged island. > > There are long lines at the banks that are open with reduced hours or the scattered ATMs that are operational amid an islandwide power outage and near total loss of telecommunications. Many people are unable to work or run their businesses because diesel to run generators is in short supply or they can’t spend all day waiting for gas to fill their car. > [@](#): > > Cruzita Mojica is an employee of the Puerto Rico Treasury Department in San Juan. While she, like many public sector workers, has been called back to work she can’t go because she has to care for her elderly mother in the aftermath of the storm. She got up at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and went to four ATM machines only to find each one empty. > > “Of course I took out money before the hurricane, but it’s gone already,” she said. “We’re without gasoline. Without money. Without food. This is a disaster.” > [@](#): > > Surgical technician Dilma Gonzalez said she had only $40 left and her job hasn’t called people back to work yet in the capital. “Until they let us know otherwise, I’m not supposed to go back,” she said with a shrug as she pressure washed the street in front of her house, sending muddy debris flying. > [@](#): > > Antonia Garcia, a retiree who lives in the city of Bayamon, said she was down to her last $4. She spent a day using precious gas to look for an ATM that was in operation because she couldn’t get into her credit union, which was taking only 200 customers a day. “This has become chaotic,” she said. > [@](#): > > Making matters worse for many consumers is the fact that those food stores that are open, typically on reduced hours, are unable to process credit or bank cards or the local system of welfare payments. The businesses are insisting on cash, even though that is technically illegal. It was only 12 years ago that I watched in horror as corpses floated in the water that covered New Orleans while my president praised the man in charge of the relief effort, so I’m aghast now at the rank incompetence that GOP Presidents seem to routinely display in the 21st century with regards to the suffering of our fellow Americans due to natural disasters. What is, or rather what is not happening in Puerto Rico is disgraceful and disgusting; our citizens deserve better. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/54 "2017-09-28T13:40:03Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Guess what Puerto Rico is running out of now? [Money](https://apnews.com/d98021c8616a451e9eca958638099abd/Now-even-money-is-running-out-in-storm-hit-Puerto-Rico).It was only 12 years ago that I watched in horror as corpses floated in the water that covered New Orleans while my president praised the man in charge of the relief effort, so I’m aghast now at the rank incompetence that GOP Presidents seem to routinely display in the 21st century with regards to the suffering of our fellow Americans due to natural disasters. > > What is, or rather what is not happening in Puerto Rico is disgraceful and disgusting; our citizens deserve better. The difference is that while Bush/Brownie were in over their heads, I think they cared about what happened. Trump doesn’t give a shit about Puerto Rico. They’re brown and they can’t vote. He probably thinks they’re not “real Americans”. He had no problem lifting the Jones Act for Florida and Texas but here he can’t because shipping companies don’t want it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/55 "2017-09-28T13:44:40Z")
He finally agreed to lift the Jones Act this morning, more than a week after Maria hit Puerto Rico. > **[Puerto Ricans say US relief efforts failing them](https://apnews.com/475dbbe238ac4820a5c2c32091aab499/Trump-waives-cargo-restrictions-to-speed-help-to-Puerto-Rico)** > > SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Trump administration declared Thursday that its relief efforts in Puerto Rico are succeeding, but people on the island said help was scarce and disorganized while food supplies dwindled in some remote towns eight days... ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/56 "2017-09-28T18:43:10Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > 51 stars lay out just fine. [51st state - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/51st_state) Alternating 8 and 9 rows twists knots in OCD Punoqllads. I much prefer the [circular](https://imgur.com/a/io72X) design. It kind of harkens back to the original 13-star design, though its penultimate ring has 15 stars, not 13. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/57 "2017-09-28T19:21:46Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Trump doesn’t give a shit about Puerto Rico. They’re brown and they can’t vote. He probably thinks they’re not “real Americans”. > He had no problem lifting the Jones Act for Florida and Texas but here he can’t because shipping companies don’t want it. The ones in Puerto Rico can’t vote, but their family and friends on the mainland sure as hell can. It will be interesting to see how Florida goes the next election. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/58 "2017-09-28T22:00:04Z")
So John McCain has taken up the call for permanent repeal of the Jones Act > Then McCain, along introduced legislation to permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the law. > This is going to go against the xenophobia and protectionism of Trump and his base, yet it’ll be like Charlottesville again if he opposes it. And I’m sure McCain knows that. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/59 "2017-09-28T22:14:09Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Alternating 8 and 9 rows twists knots in OCD Punoqllads. I much prefer the [circular](https://imgur.com/a/io72X) design. It kind of harkens back to the original 13-star design, though its penultimate ring has 15 stars, not 13. I agree - if PR is admitted (and we don’t do something sensible like combine the Dakotas into one state), go with the circle. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949/60 "2017-09-29T02:55:46Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > So John McCain has taken up the call for permanent repeal of the Jones Act > > [x.com](https://mobile.twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/913389472255025152) > > Then McCain, along introduced legislation to permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the law. > > [x.com](https://mobile.twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/913458220991225856) > > This is going to go against the xenophobia and protectionism of Trump and his base, yet it’ll be like Charlottesville again if he opposes it. And I’m sure McCain knows that. Ah, but the Orange One just waived the Jones Act today, so you gotta give him credit and stuff. And I’m sure those folks in P.R. can bite the bullet and drink their own spit until the aid arrives. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-if-you-dont-care-about-puerto-rico-peckerhead/796949.md?page=4)