How's your Spanish? "Atypical arsenal confiscated"

[Witin]

Interesting read in today's "El Nuevo Dia" a Puerto Rican newspaper.

Go through the gallery to see the hand-made "weapons". They found some shotguns made with pipe and bicycle handlebars, plus some real guns including a full-auto AK-47 and an Intratech. I think I saw a Hi-Point carbine in there as well.

Gun control works wonders!

Link

 

[Jose]

Puerto Rican gun control laws are worse than Mass. Permits needed to own anything that goes bang. No class 3. CCW only if you are part of the rich/famous/political elite.

Seems they work about as well, though.

My home state is a crime-ridden craphole and I will NEVER return.

 

[FeeBear]

Puerto Rican gun control laws are worse than Mass. Permits needed to own anything that goes bang. No class 3. CCW only if you are part of the rich/famous/political elite.

Seems they work about as well, though.

My home state is a crime-ridden craphole and I will NEVER return.

Sorry you feel that way, I think PR is one of the most beautiful places in the world and the Women! Ahi!

Fee

 

[M1911]

Sorry you feel that way, I think PR is one of the most beautiful places in the world and the Women! Ahi!

Fee

The last time I was in PR, we were staying in a casino hotel on the beach in San Juan. We got back early from the client site and were relaxing at the hotel (which was surrounded by a 14' high wrought iron fence). My colleague decided to go for a walk on the beach. As she left via the beach-side gate, the security guard asked her: "You will be back before dark?" She didn't really respond audibly, so the security guard spoke again, though this time it was more of a command than a question: "You WILL be back before dark!"

Every time I was in the lobby of the hotel, there was a well-dressed, very well-built young man in a blazer and slacks, with bulge under his arm and a radio in his hand standing in the lobby watching the doors.

Put it this way, as we rode from the airport to the hotel, my boss made me a bet. He said that he would buy me dinner if I could point out an occupied dwelling that didn't have iron bars on the windows up to the third floor. I did not collect on that bet.

Puerto Rico? Sorry, it's a third-world sh*thole and I have no desire to go back, even if I could carry while there (but you can't).

Beautiful? I couldn't say. San Juan sure wasn't pretty in any way shape or form.

 

[Jose]

I think PR is one of the most beautiful places in the world and the Women! Ahi!

Fee

You must not have traveled far, then

 

[Jose]

Puerto Rico? Sorry, it's a third-world sh*thole and I have no desire to go back, even if I could carry while there (but you can't).

Not quite third world. Unless you consider places like Detroit and Chicago third world.

PR is indeed crime ridden, but it is FAR above anyplace else in the Caribbean and most places in Central and South American in standard of living.

San Juan is just a big sprawling metropolis, but the rest of the island does have a lot of beauty to it.

 

[Jose]

and the Women! Ahi!

I will agree with you on that. Wife is Boricua, daughter is Boricua born in Kansas:

 

[M1911]

Not quite third world. Unless you consider places like Detroit and Chicago third world.

I grew up just outside of Chicago. At the time, I'd argue that parts of the South Side certainly were third world, but I guess I'm just a chicken suburban boy...

 

[FeeBear]

You must not have traveled far, then

Listen, I respect your opinion Jose. You are entitled to it. You being from PR would know the island better than I, but anywhere in the world you will find crime and corruption. I am Hispanic, my family comes from the island, so I do have knowledge of the Caribe also. I also have travel on Work and pleasure to many countries and I can find faults with every place just like I can find faults here. That being said, my time in PR was great, the people were/are great and island of PR has BEAUTIFUL spots and the women are beautiful. Would I live there? Maybe, if I could find a job there that pays me enough. If PR was so bad wouldn't everybody have moved already?

Fee

Somos Americanos pero tambien somos Latinos nuestra cultura es bien importante mantener para nuestros hijos/hijas.

 

[Jose]

If PR was so bad wouldn't everybody have moved already?

Don't know about others. I know that I didn't want to live the rest of my life in a place where virtually all homes have security bars on windows and doors or are in gated communities. Crime in PR was bad while I was growing up there and it has continued to grow worse since I left in 1984. I still have lots of family there so it's not like I don't know what is happening now. Along with crime, the cost of living, congestion, and crowding continue to grow.

Somos Americanos pero tambien somos Latinos nuestra cultura es bien importante mantener para nuestros hijos/hijas.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

 

[depicts]

Not quite third world. Unless you consider places like Detroit and Chicago third world.

PR is indeed crime ridden, but it is FAR above anyplace else in the Caribbean and most places in Central and South American in standard of living.

San Juan is just a big sprawling metropolis, but the rest of the island does have a lot of beauty to it.

As a matter of fact, I DO consider Detroit and Chicago third world, wish we could send both cities there.

You can dump in LA and San Fransisco for that matter (SF just for Nancy Polosi and Diane Feinstien)

 

[FeeBear]

Don't know about others. I know that I didn't want to live the rest of my life in a place where virtually all homes have security bars on windows and doors or are in gated communities. Crime in PR was bad while I was growing up there and it has continued to grow worse since I left in 1984. I still have lots of family there so it's not like I don't know what is happening now. Along with crime, the cost of living, congestion, and crowding continue to grow.


We'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

I know I should leave this alone but I can't, you disagree with which point, that we are American and latino or that we should pass our culture/Lanuage to our kids? I ask only because you earlier identified your wife and child as Boricua so in some ways you identify being latino.

Fee

 

[Jose]

I know I should leave this alone but I can't, you disagree with which point, that we are American and latino or that we should pass our culture/Lanuage to our kids? I ask only because you earlier identified your wife and child as Boricua so in some ways you identify being latino.

Fee

My wife and I were born and raised in Puerto Rico. I mention we are Boricuas just like someone born and raised in Texas says he's a Texan, regardless of where he lives. It does not mean anything more.

We, however, are Americans, first, last, and always. We do not waste time passing on the culture or language of Puerto Rico to our daughter because she doesn't need them. We do not wear our culture on our sleeve. We do not join latino clubs or associations. We do not miss the island. We do not need nor want bilingual anything. In fact, we hardly speak Spanish at home anymore.

We strongly believe, like the old school immigrants, that the old country should be left behind in all respects.

 

[FeeBear]

My wife and I were born and raised in Puerto Rico. I mention we are Boricuas just like someone born and raised in Texas says he's a Texan, regardless of where he lives. It does not mean anything more.

We, however, are Americans, first, last, and always. We do not waste time passing on the culture or language of Puerto Rico to our daughter because she doesn't need them. We do not wear our culture on our sleeve. We do not join latino clubs or associations. We do not miss the island. We do not need nor want bilingual anything. In fact, we hardly speak Spanish at home anymore.

We strongly believe, like the old school immigrants, that the old country should be left behind in all respects.

Well my friend, I will agree to disagree. I believe that what makes us Americans is the fact that we are not a homogeneous society. We build our strength from our differences. As far as old school immigrant, I doubt the idea was to forget their culture completely if that were the case you wouldn't have so many Italian-American clubs, Irish-American clubs etc.... Do I believe we all should speak English? Of course I do. Do I believe it should be the only language a person should know? No, I think being bilingual is not only a good thing but could be helpful in the future. Of course the great thing about being American is that we can disagree and still get along. May I ask you a question, just trying to understand your point of view better, how old were you when you left PUerto Rico?

Fee

 

[Jose]

May I ask you a question, just trying to understand your point of view better, how old were you when you left PUerto Rico?

I left as soon as I graduated from high school. I had planned it from a few years back since I had planned and achieved acceptance to several universities in the mainland (including USNA, my alma mater) and had secured a full Navy ROTC scholarship to pay for them (USNA excluded as it is free).

I did not even bother applying to any university in Puerto Rico.

 

[Witin]

My $0.02:
I left Borikén 9 years ago, right out of college (University of PR Engineering School), I visit every 2 years when possible. It really pains me to go back, always looking over my shoulder for signs of trouble. It would be very difficult to go back permanently, jobs are scarce and fleeting. Some friends returned but ended up back in MA after they got laid off. The corruption and the intrusive laws are close to NJ levels.

My two sons are bilingual, I would love to have them go to college back in my Alma Mater and follow engineering like me. Our Engineering College is on par with MIT and any other universities here but at a fraction of the cost. We also have ALL of our family back there, no relatives close by in the states.

The biggest problems I think are the drug trade (PR is a jumping point between South America and the US), the corruption of the political system and the complete dependence on federal programs. Close to 1.5 million Boricuas are on welfare and living in public housing out of a 4.5 million total population. Independence is a moot point right now and the status quo is definitely not working; statehood would not fix anything either. [sad2]

 

[FeeBear]

I left as soon as I graduated from high school. I had planned it from a few years back since I had planned and achieved acceptance to several universities in the mainland (including USNA, my alma mater) and had secured a full Navy ROTC scholarship to pay for them (USNA excluded as it is free).

I did not even bother applying to any university in Puerto Rico.

I can respect that, and I think I understand your view now that I think I know a bit better. Not that it will ever happen, I hope that at least you will teach your daughter about our music and our dances.

Fee

 

[MassMark]

My wife and I were born and raised in Puerto Rico. I mention we are Boricuas just like someone born and raised in Texas says he's a Texan, regardless of where he lives. It does not mean anything more.

We, however, are Americans, first, last, and always. We do not waste time passing on the culture or language of Puerto Rico to our daughter because she doesn't need them. We do not wear our culture on our sleeve. We do not join latino clubs or associations. We do not miss the island. We do not need nor want bilingual anything. In fact, we hardly speak Spanish at home anymore.

We strongly believe, like the old school immigrants, that the old country should be left behind in all respects.

I can't truly identify with this statement, (having been born and raised in Massachusetts) - I can however remember my grandfather saying much the same thing when I was a kid. My aunts and grandmother always identified themselves as "Irish" - my mother and grandfather called themselves Americans. My grandfather actually called himself a Swamp Yankee.

My father and his family emigrated to the United States from Montreal in the 1930's. My grandfather and grandmother were proud Americans and though they stayed in touch with their families, the rarely if ever spoke French at all. becoming citizens was a huge deal for them. It wasn't about opportunity, it was about country, about home.

I think a lot of what's wrong with America today is that we've become so hypersensitive and PC about 'cultural identity', that we
make being an American, loving America and being patriotic as secondary, (or even less if at all) to cultural identity. Sure I like Saint Patrick's Day and Canadian beer, but my links to Canada and Ireland are just that. America is a shadow of the "melting pot" in my book, because people are no longer melting and just staying lumped into being Mexican, Puerto Rican, Irish, African, etc - rather than being American.

Sounds to me like Jose is an American in the truest sense....

 

[z0mbi]

Similarly, My grandparents on my mothers side came over from Italy, and my grandparents on my fathers side came down from Quebec. I sometimes refer to myself as French-Canadian or Italian depending on the context of the situation, but my true heritage culturally and literally is American. I don't speak French, or Italian, and don't identify with those cultures in the slightest.

 

[KMaurer]

I grew up among people who spoke the languages and nourished a lot of the cultural aspects of the old country (which included German, Russian, French, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and probably a few others I'm blanking on at the moment). The also all spoke English and considered themselves first and foremost Americans. I feel sorry for people who feel the need to erase every hint of their families' pasts from their lives; believe me that you children or grandchildren won't be thankful for it. The simple fact is that being an American means accepting the best parts of your original culture, as well as the best parts of the native cultures of other Americans. Maybe that's easier for me to see, since I'm a mongrel. I nurture the good bits of predominantly German-American and Mexican American cultures in which I grew up, as well as the Scotch, Irish, Russian and Dutch that I can claim as well. That's what real Americans are: Germans and Mexicans, Scots and Poles, Irish and Japanese, Russians and Portuguese who recognize where they come from and choose to be Americans.

Ken

 

[Tiktock]

My grandparents escaped Germany and smuggled my dada and his brothers out in the trunk of a car. Once they arrived in the USA, there was only one rule at home: "We are now americans, and will speak and act american...theres a reason we left germany and though we miss it, we would rather be here"

People who live here and love their homeland more than here can go back to those beloved lands....otherwise they need to start loving the country that is giving so freely of its benefits.

 

[FeeBear]

My grandparents escaped Germany and smuggled my dada and his brothers out in the trunk of a car. Once they arrived in the USA, there was only one rule at home: "We are now americans, and will speak and act american...theres a reason we left germany and though we miss it, we would rather be here"

People who live here and love their homeland more than here can go back to those beloved lands....otherwise they need to start loving the country that is giving so freely of its benefits.

You are taking things to an extreme. Your culture and your Government are 2 different things. Your grandparents probably escaped Nazi Germany, not your german culture. The Nazi were part of Germany (now part of its history) but Germany isn't all Nazi. Do I understand your grandparents trying to fit in and try and hide some of the stigma of being German at the time? Yes, I undertsand that. I would ask you this, if your Grandparents were to be immigrants now (Not having to escape) do you think they would have raised your dad a bit differently? Do you think he might have learnt to speak German as well as English?

America is a mixture of different cultures, like Ken stated earlier it is what part of each culture we like to make our own. I celebrate St Patrick day, yet I am not Irish, I celebrate 5 de Mayo yet I am not Mexican, I celebrate Ocktober Fest yet I am not German . We are a melting pot not an incinerator, we take a piece from everywhere we have been or come from.

Fee

Remembering our past or celebrating where we come from doesn't mean we don't love our country. What it means is that we live in a country where we celebrate our freedom and celebrate our diversity.

 

[Jose]

I feel sorry for people who feel the need to erase every hint of their families' pasts from their lives; believe me that you children or grandchildren won't be thankful for it.

You got that wrong.

My daughter is constantly reminded of her family's past. What she isn't bombarded with is the constant indoctrination of latino pride this and Boricua pride that. She is learning to be an American, not a Puerto Rican born in the mainland United States. There is a HUGE difference.

In fact, I am starting to curtail her exposure to PBS kids due to an inordinate amount of latino indoctrination being fed to her through the boob tube.

Handy Manny, Dora the Explorer, and Shana Banana (how f***ing insulting....) are all full of such subtle indoctrination and will not be allowed in my home.

Oh, and please don't feel sorry for me. I am doing just fine going my way.

 

[Jose]

And for the record, being fluent in Spanish has not been useful in my personal or professional life at all. Teaching it to my daughter is mostly a waste when she can be spending that time on more useful things like mathematics or English.

 

[FeeBear]

And for the record, being fluent in Spanish has not been useful in my personal or professional life at all. Teaching it to my daughter is mostly a waste when she can be spending that time on more useful things like mathematics or English.

Hey Jose,

I still have family overseas that don't speak English and I am sure that you also have relatives, granted older, that are probably not bilingual. Nobody is tell you how to raise your child, at least I am not. If you want you daughter not to speak a word of Spanish, that is your call and your right.
Now I know you are Navy Grad, I don't know what field you work in, but for me a Electrical Engineer, fluency in Spanish has land me chance to go to Spain to work, Argentina, PR, Mexico, Chile as well. I personal love to travel.
That being said, I like to read in Spanish. I like to listen to Spanish music, just like I like to listen to celtic music. We have a ton of great spanish writers, that I would think your family would enjoy Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Arturo Perez Reverte or would you rather confine her to Shakespeare only because it is in English? Hell even our great American Authors were in love with our culture, ever heard of Hemingway?

Fee