1998 - Political Activism with a Twist
In which Teófilo remembers how he embraced yet another cause, as if he needed more busy work...
Despite everything that had been happening to me in 1998, I still had time to take up a political cause: supporting Puerto Rico's statehood. By that I mean advocating Puerto Rico's admission to the U.S. as its 51st state - pace, D.C.
Papi had been a supporter of statehood by 1956, he told me. Back then, the Republican Statehood Party was the political formation defending this goal. Then, in 1967, the pro-statehood movement converged into the New Progressive Party. This party was, and remains, a coalition of Republican and Democratic statehood supporters. Papi attended its founding rally in Ponce, in 1968.
Puerto Rico statehood had always remained in the back of my mind ever since. It was my "default" position. By my thirties, after reading about the American Revolution, I was ready to defend the idea in larger discussions. My political debates took off as my religious discussions wound down. I entered a silent period on the later and pursued a new passion.
The old and venerable Usenet provided me with the right newsgroup. These were discussion groups running on the Internet backbone. I was active in the one called soc.culture.puerto-rico from 1994 to 2001, defending statehood.
My argument for Puerto Rico statehood is simple: the Founders hated colonialism. They had broken off from Britain for this reason. The Constitution they designed didn't contemplate it. It had no provision authorizing the United States to own territory as "real estate." Every territory the Union acquired was to be on the road to eventual statehood.
This changed in 1903 with the Insular Cases. The Supreme Court ruled that the islands the U.S. captured from Spain in 1898 were not on the path to becoming states. These new possessions were to be held as unincorporated territories. This allowed Congress apply the Constitution in a different way to these territories.
These decisions were racist through and through:
...The Downes v. Bidwell called the people of the insular areas "alien races" and the DeLima v. Bidwell ruling termed them "savage tribes." The Downes v. Bidwell case further suggested that "the administration of government and justice, according to Anglo-Saxon principles" of "alien races" "may for a time be impossible". The District Court of the Virgin Islands called out the cases' "racist doctrine" and the era's "intrinsically racist imperialism". (Source)
Removing the impact of the Insular Cases is a civil rights matter for America. "I argued that Congress should respect Puerto Ricans' vote for statehood. I also argued that Congress had the moral duty to grant statehood when Puerto Ricans voted for it.
Since a plebiscite was to take place in the summer of 1998, I got to work. I debated the issue on the Usenet and in other forums. I wrote Op-Eds for the Johnstown Tribune Democrat. I spoke on the radio and had columns published in other newspapers.
I divided my outreach into two efforts. I tried to persuade mainland Americans that admitting Puerto Rico as a state was both in the national interest and fair. In my second effort I tried to persuade Puerto Ricans that statehood was in their best interest.
I also created a proto-blog I called El Nuevo Federalista.
Congress declined to sponsor the 1998 plebiscite. Statehood didn't win in 1998 due to political maneuvers by the local party supporting commonwealth status. I'm not going to enter into details. I continued to be an unwavering supporter of Puerto Rico statehood.
I still support statehood, although my activism has lessened. My faith in Americans understanding the issue has weakened. My cynicism that we ever will has increased instead.
Bonus Links
Visit Puerto Rico 51st - A website defending the cause I once supported and continue to support.
You can still see chunks of El Nuevo Federalista at the Internet Wayback Machine.