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Regarding, “Weekly column promotes ignorance," I salute and congratulate Danny Mota for his response to the piece on Puerto Rico.
His was a most needed voice. The fact that some readers would not understand the bad taste in the original post shows how much work we still need to reduce insensitivity and isolation.
But as an online comment briefly mentioned, satire, as with other forms of conscientious humor (i.e. comedy), is meant to reveal problems in need of solution and bring attention to hidden, but important issues. We, then, should question what issues and problems were the original piece wanting to spotlight?
Certainly, this would have been a satire if it would have attempted to improve our understanding of the situation it insisted to ridicule.
If the purpose of writing would have been to show how trivial people could be in perceiving the problems on the island, then it would have been a proper way to laugh.
If the column would have pointed out how senseless some people's perceptions are of a nation we occupied and colonized, then it would have been a useful way to point out a real problem.
If the article would have said that the far-reaching political and economic decisions we take affecting other people are often made from indifference, and even worse, from incurious attitudes toward others, then it would have been an extremely intelligent and funny piece.
Unfortunately, the piece did not mean any of these. Instead, the author seemed to show he placed more value on popular-culture icons than on people's lives. True, near the end he admitted the shallowness of his points, but did not detract them and left it implied as if that was how he really felt. Funny was cheap that day.
It was surreal, but I heard people laugh when they read the original piece because they could relate, they said. But as Danny argued, this indicates little care for the plights of others and takes for granted our position of power (power is meant for justice).
Perhaps Puerto Rico will never join the union or no critical number of Puerto Ricans will ever want to apply. The situation is more complicated than it seems. Take for example that the United Nations approved this year yet another resolution urging the U.S. to decolonize Puerto Rico.
Yet, democracy only works when we are able to laugh at our mistakes, society's weaknesses and our political system (try that in North Korea). So let's make fun of that, then, and not of a colonized country.
Comedy directed toward others to highlight their unimportance is not simply a cheap form of humor; it is also a dangerous one. Ask any enslaved or racially branded person, or any other subjugated group, and they will explain it to you like no book would.
So, hopefully, we will continue to have more watchful students concerned with fairness.
Dennis R. Hidalgo
A version of this article appeared in the Dec 12 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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I guess we now have 2 people who can't read.
This article and the other response do more of a disservice to PR than the "Walking the Line" column. Instead of countering/accompanying a satire piece with a journalistic piece about the true prospects of PR, you decided to attack the satire piece.
I believe that you were angered/disappointed because you have strong feelings on the subject, feelings that would be great if shared. It's just a shame you chose to be ignorant instead of productive.
Most intelligent individuals read that satire piece and thought, "that's funny, I really don't know why PR isn't a state. I'll have to google that." It goes back to the basic idea of satire, which is to make someone laugh, and then make them think.
By the way, when the author "admitted the shallowness of his points" it was, by every definition of the word, a detraction.
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Or maybe you're the one who can't read. Denigrating others, whether in a serious or humorous tone, is offensive. Writing "just kidding" at the end is not hard to understand: actually I'm not kidding, I just want to cover my butt. (And I think the word you want is "retraction", not "detraction") And no, it is not, "by definition" a retraction. That would be a subsequent letter or article retracting what the author wrote earlier.
The original article was ignorant. Period. I will give you credit, though, at least you didn't resort to the cliche of the day to side-step the issue, "chillax".
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Adam, you my want to re-read both of the responses. It is not about Puerto Rico's status, but about the effect this type of "satire" has on other people.
In fact, the writer of the first response openly admitted he was not Puerto Rican, but that he could sense the effect this piece has on people. Though not meant toward him, he felt uncomfortable with such a rhetoric because it could one day be pointing to him. It is like avoiding gossipers because one day they will talk, in unfriendly way, about you.
This may be seen as more eloquent than a Puerto Rican complaining about the piece.
And while you attempted to psychoanalyze the author of this latest piece (as if he had a "strong feeling" about the issue), you display a shameful sense of arrogance.
Liberally calling others "ignorant" and "unintelligent" is not the trait of an educated and responsible Hokie. Unfortunately, it discredits your voice. As you told Jake when referring to the "period," belittling others do not make your point stronger.
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The author above said "detract", not "retract". I never said it was a retraction. Had you read above, you would have known that.
However, the point remains that the above author, and "Jake" for that matter, don't comprehend what was written. The article is a satire of the American view on the situation, not an insult to PR. If anyone is offended, it should be Americans, not Puerto Ricans, as Americans have been cast in a negative light. The article specifically highlights the worst parts of the American attitude. It does so quite effectively, I might add, since you have taken offense to the attitude.
Your beef is not with the article, it's with the mentality that is satirized. So, while you think the author made a huge mistake, he actually is on your side of the argument. That's why I suggested to write something focused on the issue, not the satire.
I suggest folks read up on the history satire and reread the original article. If you still can't understand the point of the article, just let it go.
The original article was brilliant satire. It illicited a stern reaction on the topic, which is precisely the intent of satire. Unfortunately, some people are too ignorant to attack back on the issue instead of the satire.
You are the ignorant one because you think saying "period" makes your point. Instead, I would implore you to make some kind of reasonable argument that the article was anything but effective satire.
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Adam, you appear as an eloquent and analytical individual. However, it seems as if you do not understand the point of the two gentlemen that responded to the satire. They are not discussing satire or any other type of literature. They are discussing human values and sensitivity. I suggest you take a deep breath and try to put yourself in the shoes of the Puerto Rican people. Read the history and you will understand.
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I would be with you if they simply wrote about human values and sensitivity. That is what I wanted them to do. However, they made sure to take swings at the original author, and those swings are disingenuous in regard to the issue. At least the first response had some content regarding the issue. The response above is merely an attack on the original piece.
The response above includes this: "Yet, democracy only works when we are able to laugh at our mistakes, society's weaknesses and our political system (try that in North Korea). So let's make fun of that, then, and not of a colonized country. "
That line is exactly what the original piece is about. Unfortunately some misguided readers thought it was commentary on PR and not a satire of Americans. The democracy, society, and political system sent through the grinder in the original piece were not those of PR, but those of America.
The two responders should have used the article to springboard into the issue, but they did not. They attacked the article and the author and wasted a prime opportunity to talk about a subject they feel strongly about. Being sensitive to a subject should absolutely bring about an emotional response. That response shouldn't devolve into bickering because it degrades the purpose.
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Adam, the authors responding to Nick actually did focus on values and sensitivity.
Seeing Nick's piece as a satire mocking the way Americans perceive Puerto Ricans for the purpose of revealing the hidden fault lines in this relationship is giving him too much credit. Like the author above, I believe that that would have been really, really funny. In fact, it would have been unprecedented for Nick.
When the disappointed students arrive at the newspaper's office, the editors (of which Nick is one) did not share your views about the piece. The author above, however, thinks like you that satire and comedy are essential to our society, but not this kind.
If the piece would have been making fun of the paltry reasons Americans ignored their position of power over Puerto Ricans while benefitting from their low wages (pharmaceutical factories are still among the largest employers because of Puerto Ricans high skill levels and low salaries), and from their strategic position in the Caribbean (think Cold War and now the “War on Drugs”), the students would not have been offended. In fact, Nick would have been congratulated by the same people who are now unhappy.
For this piece to have been the satire you say it was, it would have been unmistakeably so: there should have been no doubts that Puerto Ricans were not the ones being laugh at. Satirists need the skills to make people laugh at themselves while not offending those who you don't know much about.
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Adam, don't you see something awkward here?
“Puerto Ricans are way too sensitive and should simply learn to take a joke...”
“Another minority offended. What's new?”
“Oh, wait, we are not making fun of you... we are instead laughing at ourselves...”
Attempting to challenge the conventions of society with this type of mockery may seem “cool” and even cutting edge to many. But that is a false illusion.
Indeed, it takes a callous person to ignore how a title like “Puerto Rico, America's Ugly Stepchild” would not offend Puerto Ricans and Latinos in general. It rings too familiar to the mocking of the “other” and the exclusion of the “unworthy.”
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Adam, don't you see something awkward here?
“Puerto Ricans are way too sensitive and should simply learn to take a joke...”
“Another minority offended. What's new?”
“Oh, wait, we are not making fun of you... we are instead laughing at ourselves...”
Attempting to challenge the conventions of society with this type of mockery may seem “cool” and even cutting edge to many. But that is a false illusion.
Indeed, it takes a callous person to ignore how a title like “Puerto Rico, America's Ugly Stepchild” would not offend Puerto Ricans and Latinos in general. It rings too familiar to the mocking of the “other” and the exclusion of the “unworthy.”
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I don't see why Latinos would be offended. Puerto Rico isn't part of Latin America.
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