Latino Rebels, Buzzfeed and other websites have risen to call attention the racist remarks many Americans have felt the need to proclaim when one of the winners of the Powerball lottery in February 11, 2015, (an estimated $50 million dollars) was none other than a Puerto Rican. The Powerball Lottery just recently began to be sold in Puerto Rico no less than a year ago, but this was big news, apparently, to many people. It’s interesting to see how climatic these reactions have ranged all over the internet; specifically Twitter, with posts like “Puerto Rico should not win the Powerball **** that non sense,” and “***…since when could you win a Powerball jackpot in Puerto Rico? Don’t they use Euro as currency?” and many other remarks that clearly state the ignorance many Americans hold on the history of Puerto Rico.
To begin with, Puerto Rico has been U.S. territory of the United States of America since the Spanish-American War in 1898, and the residents are U.S. citizens since 1917 under the Jones Act . The Powerball Lottery, on the other hand, was created in the late 1980’s. More than enough time for the United States to give a little insight on Puerto Rico’s origins, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.
Puerto Rico, on the other hand, has classes dedicated to learn the history of the United States both in school and in universities. There are streets named after American historical figures, and a street lined with statues honoring the Presidents of the United States right in front of the Capitolio in Old San Juan. Puerto Rico is required to pay for federal taxes, in fact, they pay more than what they receive in return. Also, more than 10,000 on active duty in the U.S. army are Puerto Rican.
The list goes on, but the fact of the matter is, these tweets represent a severe lack of knowledge concerned with Puerto Rico and the residents of this little island in the Caribbean. This may be the time to call attention to who they are, and that they do, in fact, exist.
Disclaimer: All images were found in Google.