Together we rise, or none of us do.

When the earliest settlers poured into a wild continent there was no one to ask them where they came from. The only question was: Were they sturdy enough to make the journey, were they strong enough to clear the land, were they enduring enough to make a home for freedom, and were they brave enough to die for liberty if it became necessary to do so? And so it has been through all the great and testing moments of American history. Our history this year we see in Vietnam. Men there are dying; men named Fernandez and Zajac and Zelinko and Mariano and McCormick. Neither the enemy who killed them nor the people whose independence they have fought to save ever asked them where they or their parents came from. They were all Americans. It was for free men and for America that they gave their all, they gave their lives and selves. By eliminating that same question as a test for immigration the Congress proves ourselves worthy of those men and worthy of our own traditions as a nation. ~Lyndon B. Johnson.

I saw a video yesterday on Facebook in which a Puerto Rican woman was harassed by some old white dude for wearing a Puerto Rico shirt, and posted my own response to it, which of course sparked a discussion in the comments. In the course of that discussion, and at the urging of a friend of mine...a Puerto Rican lady that I know from one of the ferret groups I'm in, I decided to expand that post, which follows:

Firstly, it has to be said that Puerto Rico is part of the United States and has been since it was conquered and taken from Spain in the Spanish-American War. Anybody who doesn't know this failed either an American History or Geography class. It's just plain basic knowledge. Secondly, Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the United States for 101 years. They were made citizens during the run-up to U.S. entry into World War I so that they could be drafted to fight in the...just recently declared...war. Yes, unlike a lot of other People of Color, Puerto Ricans were just straight up given American citizenship...but then they went out and fucking fought for it and right there earned the right for their descendants not to be bothered in the park for wearing a damn shirt, and don't you forget it.

Puerto Ricans fought for Spain when the Spanish helped us during the Revolutionary War. The first known Puerto Rican U.S. Army veteran fought in the Civil War. In every American war since World War I Puerto Ricans have served, fought and died with courage and distinction. In peace and in war Puerto Rican people have served in numbers well out of proportion to their percentage of the United States population as a whole. If you look at the list of "firsts" for Latino people in the United States Armed Forces...far more often than you won't...look behind the name and read the biography and that was a Puerto Rican person who did that. The header photo above is of United States Air Force 1st Lieutenant (later Colonel) Olga Custodio...the first Latina and first Puerto Rican to complete Undergraduate Pilot Training. She served as a T-38 Talon instructor pilot.

It's not just that, though, not just in the military that Puerto Ricans have proved themselves, they're well represented in the arts, Benecio Del Toro, Jimmy Smits and Ricky Martin all have Puerto Rican heritage. In business there's Angel Ramos, the founder of Telemundo, and Herb Scannell, former chairman of MTV and president of Nickelodeon. In politics, people like Carmen Yulin Cruz come to mind, I'll never forget the videos of her wading hip-deep in floodwaters trying to find people and help with disaster relief after the hurricane that devastated the island, people like revolutionary Oscar Lopez Rivera...who fought in Vietnam and worked as a community organizer in Chicago before becoming a Communist revolutionary fighting for an independent Puerto Rico...for which he would later serve 36 years in prison. At the same time, Puerto Ricans are also over-represented in several major city police forces, unsurprisingly in particular the NYPD.

Hell, if you want to get really technical about it, Puerto Ricans from New York City, called Nuyoricans, have left such a mark on the Big Apple and are so identified with the city that they're often considered their own ethnic group.

But you know what? It doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter. I don't care if they've been citizens for 101 years or if we're talking about new immigrants from another country who just got here and haven't had a chance to contribute yet. No person in America should have to deal with harassment just for wearing a shirt at the park. It's just that simple to me.

This is America, where every person is legally free to practice whatever culture or religion they belong to or speak whatever language they like without having anybody bother them. If you can't understand that...well I'd suggest you go to some other country sometime and see for yourself what it's like to be the only American...no matter what color you are...in the room. I've been in places where I've been the only white person in the room and it didn't bother me.

In point of fact, I'm going to have to agree with what Rick Wilson said about this issue and about the Trump Supporters who keep getting offended because somebody called them racists. Well, maybe it's just me, maybe it's just the way I was raised but if you don't want to be called a racist I think the smart thing to do is probably not to act like a fucking racist, nor say racist shit nor get offended when somebody calls you a fucking racist.

It's really that simple, instead of objecting to people objecting to your bad qualities...maybe it's actually on you to try to be a better person?

Just a thought.

I'll just leave these here, for your consideration as well. Please, keep in mind that Rick is a Republican and you know what? At one time his view was pretty close to the default Republican interpretation of the facts, and yes, there was a time when facts and reality and truth and hell, even what was on the news, would be considered relevant to Republicans...believe it or not long, long ago Republicans didn't just try to ignore any news they didn't like. There was a time...and I used to be a Republican so I'd know...that it was unimaginable that Donald Trump, then a Democrat, could ever get elected President, much less do so as a Republican.

Standards have, apparently, gone way down. I'm not sure how to fix this, but I get the vibe that we have to keep calling out, and shunning and shouting down the racists and various fascists at every single damned opportunity. We have to keep the pressure on, it's the only way to be sure. Don't demand "Civility." People can't be civil with other people who don't think they have a right to exist. Don't ignore the shit either, ignoring Nazis is how you get more fucking Nazis and that is a demonstrable historical fact.

You are what you tolerate. It really is that fucking simple.

Please, keep this in mind, and pay close attention to the post being replied to and what they're on about at the end.

Consider how they view people, and what the apparent real beef is with said people.

If you're a Republican...is this the hill you're ready to see your party die on because I'm here to tell you whether it happens in this November or 20 years from now or a century from now...is racism really where Republicans want to make their last stand? If your answer is no, well, I'd say you need to be conscious that a majority of your own people seem to think that yes, it should be.

You are what you tolerate.
You are what you accept.
A person is, rightly or wrongly, judged by who they associate with.
Respect is earned, by every action, every day,

I want you to consider, as Trump craps all over our allies and gets us into trade wars that we can't win, who helped us after the September 11th attacks? The only time Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty was invoked was when we were attacked. If you have money...what made you your money? Free trade, or tariffs? What of the diverse, pluralistic society that has nurtured every American now living and put food on their table and money in their pocket and given them things unimaginable to people even 20 years ago?

What made that possible?

Adaptability, diversity, flexibility, intelligence, innovation.

There was a time, back in the 1970's and 1980's and early 1990's when I was growing up, that diversity was considered a default setting. Even conservatives recognized the power of collaborative efforts and the validity of social contracts, and the measure of a man was not money nor was the measure of success considered the next quarterly profit statement.

By any measure, America, we're doing a crap job.

If we don't stand up...as a people...we risk losing the American experiment and becoming just another banana republic with a gilded dictator. Only this time, we'll be on the opposite end of the power equation.

Is racism worth that? Is it really worth your freedom or the sovereignty of your nation?

During the Revolutionary War it was often said that we could all hang together or we could all hang separately.

I look at it a little differently.

Together we rise, or none of us do. We all have to help each other. Nobody else is gonna do it for us or save us. WE have to be the change we want to see in the world. Think on that.

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I'd like to dedicate this article to my friend Yary Gomez.

Thanks, you made this bit of work possible.