Born with U.S. citizenship but without the right to vote for the president, Puerto Ricans are the stepchildren of the United States. The island was a spoil of the Spanish-American war and since then has been used as a strategic military base and its residents have been used as guinea pigs for everything from birth control to radiation.

And the question that is always asked is, well why don’t Puerto Ricans do something about their “Estado Libre Asociado” or free associated state, which in name makes as little sense as it does in practice. There are those that point to the numerous referendums, which as I have said a million times before, are nothing more than glorified opinion polls. The referendums have no political power. The only body that has the power to change the status of Puerto Rico is the U.S. Congress, not the Puerto Rican people themselves. No wonder there are organizations like los Macheteros.

And why is this relevant now? Well as a Rican, it’s always relevant to me. From the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep, I am aware of my Rican-ness and the privilege that living on Long Island has over living on the island of enchantment. But for non-Ricans, they may suddenly see more of Puerto Rico in their news and not necessarily from people they would expect.

Recently the people of Vieques filed a lawsuit against the Navy and federal government over contamination that years of using the island as a bombing range caused.

…the weapons used on the island included napalm; depleted uranium, a heavy metal used in armor-piercing ammunition; and Agent Orange, the defoliant used on the Vietnamese jungles that was later linked to cancer and other illnesses in veterans.

The response of the United States, Obama’s United States, is to claim sovereign immunity, that is to claim that the state cannot commit a wrong and is immune from prosecution. The U.S. is also stating that there is no proof that the military’s actions damage the land/people of Vieques.

The U.S. government loves to pay lip service to its’ veterans, especially when it comes to claims of taking care of them. When it comes to Puerto Ricans, citizens in name only and when it comes to being used by the U.S. government, years of service and contaminating your body and the island body of your patria are repaid with indifference.

…40 years ago, Hermogenes Marrero was a teenage U.S. Marine, stationed as a security guard on the tiny American island of Vieques…At age 57, the former Marine sergeant is nearly blind, needs an oxygen tank, has Lou Gehrig’s disease and crippling back problems, and sometimes needs a wheelchair…”I’d go out to the firing range, and sometimes I’d start bleeding automatically from my nose,”…I come back, and maybe I’m vomiting now. I used to get diarrhea, pains in my stomach all the time,”…The military has never acknowledged a link between Marrero’s ailments and his time at Vieques, so he receives few disability or medical benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

If a country could be diagnosed with a mental illness, I would have to say that the actions of the United States towards Puerto Rico remind me of Münchausen syndrome by proxy. The U.S. causes harm to its territories while seeking attention and praise for it’s democracy inspiring actions in other countries.

And yes, there is a problem with the metaphor. Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans are not children. The island and its people have a long history, filled with pride worthy acts of courage, inspirational art that will no doubt continue.Hell, writing this post made my eyes fill with tears. Pero I think the United States treats the island and it’s people like a child and I think that too many are waiting for the issues of the island to be fixed by a process that doesn’t really exist.

So many politicians and other famosos made a big show of getting arrested on Vieques demanding that the U.S. Navy stop using it as a bombing range, Rep. Luis Gutierrez among them. Where are these politicos and stars now?

Via / CNN, El Diario la Prensa