Social media, history classes, Netflix documentaries — everywhere you look, there are discussions of colonialism. Was it as bad as they say? Should colonizers and their descendants be allowed to stay in the places where they ended up? What should be done about vestiges of colonialism in museums, language instruction, fitness programs, and standards of beauty? One thing all these discussions usually have in common is that they treat colonialism as something from the past. Yet Puerto Rico is a possession of the United States. More than three million U.S. citizens live there, and they have repeatedly voted against continuing in the current relationship. Four times the Island has voted for full statehood, and four times Congress has ignored the people. The United States, a nation built on government with the consent of the governed, continues to govern the territory of Puerto Rico against the democratically expressed will of the people.
Are you against colonialism? If so, you should be working for statehood for Puerto Rico.
Do a search at any social media platform — not just Facebook and TikTok but Bluesky, Substack, Mastodon, Reddit, and more — and you will see discussions of Iran, Israel, Portugal, and Africa (rarely any specific nations in Africa). You will almost never see anything about Puerto Rico. Americans write passionately about Tibet, Greenland, and colonialism in the 1500s, but ignore the fact that our country owns colonies and refuses to admit as a state the one very populous territory that has officially demanded statehood.
Are Americans really against colonialism?
You would think so. A recent survey on the subject found that the largest number of American adults (41%) were opposed to colonialism. Only 14% were opposed to decolonization. Another recent poll finds that 75% of Americans are opposed to the U.S. taking control of Greenland.
And colonialism is certainly on people’s minds. Check out all the searches people make on Google on the subject of colonialism:
But searches, social media discussions, classrooms assignments, and polls on colonialism continue to ignore Puerto Rico.
Is Puerto Rico a colony?
The U.S. consistently says that Puerto Rico is not a colony. People who describe U.S. actions in Iran as colonialism cannot look at the fact that the United States owns Puerto Rico but does not include any voting representatives of the Island in decisions about Puerto Rico and fail to see colonialism.
If you are against colonialism, tell your legislators that you care about equality and justice for Puerto Rico. Ask them to respect Puerto Rico’s votes for statehood. You can’t be against colonialism and indifferent to Puerto Rico.
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