D.C. and Puerto Rico Compared

[@iammrbeat]

Which has a better path to statehood? Puerto Rico or D.C.?

[@Liamshavingfun]

Neither one because congress can't agree on this issue

[@jopiaspieder1184]

None should go for statehood

[@blakekaveny]

I would say Puerto Rico it has open bipartisan support congress needs to stop dragging its feet

[@hamzamehmood2484]

Compare Ontario and Quebec

[@Rantasalmi47]

Puerto rico

[@joelito0611]

As a Puerto Rican I have to say I really liked this video. In my opinion DC is going to become a state first because we are really divided in what’s status we prefer. The minimum wage here is $8.50 not $8.20. Also a Fun Fact the Montreal Expos now know as the Washington Nationals played a couple of home games in San Juan and even considered moving here permanently. Anyways great video Mr Beat 💪🏻

[@iammrbeat]

TIL you were from Puerto Rico! Thanks for the correction and for sharing all that. 😊

[@mauve2791]

How is this from 4 days ago?

[@Nickledumb62]

@@mauve2791 wth you’re right

[@C0rruptionSilence]

probably a supproter

[@joelito0611]

@@mauve2791 I am a Patreon supporter

[@alittlepuertoricanboy1993]

Fun fact: Puerto Rico was originally named "San Juan Bautista" when Spanish colonization began. The name was eventually changed to "Puerto Rico", since it became a merchant and military port for the Spanish Empire, and the capital was called "San Juan". Also, more than 50% of ALL Puerto Ricans have Taino ancestry of some degree, but we're still overwhelmingly more Spanish or African in ancestry.

[@justinarzola4584]

I call it "Boricua" as that's what the natives called it.

[@alittlepuertoricanboy1993]

@@justinarzola4584 Nah, son. The people are "boricua", the island is "Borinquen".

[@justinarzola4584]

@@alittlepuertoricanboy1993 oh thanks for the fact, I see some Ricans use boricua interchangeably with both the people and island.

[@projectc.j.j3310]

@@justinarzola4584 that’s weird

[@Dangic23]

@@justinarzola4584 Incorrect. Island is referred to as Puerto Rico, Boriquén, Borinquen. The people are referred to as PuertoRicans, Boricuas.

[@sambolino44]

My trips to Washington DC as a child will never be forgotten. I think all school-age children in America should go there at least once. The National Gallery, the Air and Space Museum, and the rest of the Smithsonian were highlights, along with the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. I have also spent time in Puerto Rico, namely San Juan, Vieques, and Culebra, and I wish I could go back; it's stunningly beautiful.

[@jayandree4361]

Lived in dc my whole life, went to those places as adults 💀

[@spektree8448]

idk the way you describe dc makes it sounds boring ash

[@iammrbeat]

I have yet to go to Puerto Rico (it was probably obvious in this video), but I've been to DC three times. I strongly agree with you. Also, I look forward to visiting Puerto Rico someday. It's certainly on my bucket list.

[@cody4916]

DC is ghetto and full of crime, Puerto Rico is a corrupt slum and also full of crime. Neither of them are particularly desirable

[@sambolino44]

@@iammrbeat I think of DC kind of like the hajj: every American should go at least once in their life. My wife (now ex) and I went to Vieques, and then Culebra to get away from the maddening crowds, and only spent a few days in San Juan passing through, but we did visit the fort. The scuba diving was okay (we were from the Pacific Northwest), but the snorkeling was some of the best I've seen anywhere; just fantastic! That was back when I drank, and another highlight was finding a tiny bar in SJ on a side street where people played chess, and there were wandering minstrels.

[@bradleynoneofyourbizz5341]

The fact that the 580,000 people in Wyoming get two votes in the US Senate whereas the 700,000 living in DC get zero is just insane.

[@ghostsniperable353]

That's their fault that they moved to a neutral federal district.

[@justinus8608]

Or the 3,000,000 people here in Puerto Rico.

[@kevintyson1947]

@@ghostsniperable353 Yeah its my fault I was born and raised here in DC and have my entire life rooted here

[@ghostsniperable353]

@@kevintyson1947 that sucks

[@damianortega470]

@@ghostsniperable353 We should disenfranchise the people where you live and say, "that sucks"

[@yarielrobles9003]

To add to the information about Puerto Rico's education: although only about a quarter of our population has a bachelor's or higher, it's important to note why that is. Puerto Ricans that have any form of university education and/or proficiency in the English language are dramatically more likely to leave for the mainland, which exacerbates the already crippling diaspora of our population. Because of this, it's very difficult to gather the large support required to improve our education system to be on par with the mainland. In almost any other place on earth, education is an investment in the future, in Puerto Rico, it's an investment in the diaspora that so many hate. Most Puerto Ricans will say they want better education, but anyone without children will at best drag their feet in doing anything about it. This is why Spanish is still so dominant even after being part of the us for over a century, the English speakers leave at disproportionate rates, so the spanish speakers will always be dominant. This has gotten to the point where we are severely lacking in certain medical specialists, sometimes having less doctors of a particular field than we have fingers in a hand. I myself have plans to move to Pennsylvania, and the vast majority of my English speaking friends have expressed interest in either leaving for the mainland or to a new country entirely.

[@yarielrobles9003]

Sidenote: this is also why support for statehood is only about 50%, people who want statehood are more likely to leave to a place where they have the democratic privileges they have been denied here.

[@inovakovsky]

@@yarielrobles9003 I read that those referendums on statehood tend to have abysmal voter turnout (less than 50%) while a significant amount of pro-statehood people primarily agree with statehood out of pragmatism (thinking the US government is more likely to give statehood than independence).

[@optimusprime4443]

Absolutely right, I have been living in the mainland since 2013 and I haven't looked back ever since, it is true that the statehood support is indeed dropping because too many are leaving to the mainland and that will definitely continue to drop year by year. It is true that the education is also a big part on why many in PR aren't going to University and that's because most of them finish high school and then moves to the states.

[@TheWaynester101]

@@optimusprime4443 half my class went to university in the states

[@cgamboa73]

@@yarielrobles9003 statehood has never had more than 47% approval. never. last two referendums you can say it won, but what was the participation. there's a reason why they leave the ela out of the peblicito. also, we don't speak English because we're Spanish speaking people. there were a couple of attempts to change that, but they fail. one of them they made mandatory all classes in English from elementary to high school. but it has to be reversed because kids stop going to school. you can read it in the book war against all puertorricans, great book by the way.

[@angel_epv]

Puerto Rico is a gem indeed 😊 Thank you for (yet another) amazing, comprehensive, and soundly researched video; and thank you for keeping Puerto Rico among your channel's topics. I feel appreciated and seen.

[@iammrbeat]

I appreciate the kind words and your support!

[@playtpusthief1322]

@@iammrbeat Can u give me 1000000$ pls MrBeast

[@playtpusthief1322]

Robux*

[@mr_yeetsyeet8281]

@@playtpusthief1322 is he mrbeast

[@teego7875]

I'm glad you mentioned that we are split on statehood, most americans assume that support for statehood is as popular as it is in DC, when in reality it's a super polarizing issue.

[@iammrbeat]

Mos def! It's definitely a myth up here.

[@danielquintini]

The polarized issue is beeing a state or remain the same as now. The independent option has not received more then 15% of votes, in fact except the 2020 election every 4 years the PIP has to register again since does not get enough votes.

[@Jack-sq6xb]

It really isn't a polarized issue, most people want it to be a state, its just the nay sayers are *very* loud

[@teego7875]

@@Jack-sq6xb you clearly aren't puerto rican, in the first 3 referendums we voted status quo, and the most recent one was 50/50. to any puerto rican in the world you'd sound like an idiot, people legit get into fights over it.

[@adoggewokepupper]

@@Jack-sq6xb As a statehood-leaning resident of the island, I have to stop you right there. Perhaps statehood propaganda is somehow successful on local media, but when it comes to these money-draining non-binding referendums (non-binding meaning that Congress isn’t required to and _won’t_ do anything regardless of the poll’s outcome), voter turnout isn’t strong enough to have a concrete consensus. In fact, pro-independence and pro-status quo voters boycott the plebiscites since they’re very certain (and right) that the outcome wouldn’t get to anywhere, especially when it’s politically biased thanks to the pro-statehood party. That’s why you don’t see much voter support for independence or current status quo (a status I think is a mythical hot mess) in these kinds of referendums, and that’s how the 2017 referendum had an insane 97% vote for statehood, having more or less 1/5 of registered voters participating in it. 23% if I’m not wrong.

[@CaribbeanHistory]

Hello Mr. Beat, fellow historian and history teacher from PR here: A few notes: The origin of Puerto Rico is from Juan Ponce de León, our first governor and referred to just the capital city as Ciudad de Puerto Rico because Columbus had named the entire island San Juan. They switched the names in the early 19th century. 60% of people here can trace their ancestors to the taino $8.50 is the minimum If you work in certain agencies and work groups, you do have to pay federal taxes Puerto Rico’s traffic is horrible especially on routes 30, 22, 52 and 26 (which all coincidently are in the metro area). Once a 45 min drive from work to home took me 3hr 30min one time If you ever visit the island, I can gladly give you a tour, especially in the Old San Juan area

[@jayandree4361]

Boy give me that tour, I’m tryna hit PR

[@Angiie884]

Hello, I am also a Puerto Rican, I wonder where you got the 60% Taino number. I do know we inherited some origin from them but I thought we had a far higher amount of Spanish blood (plus the African roots from the slave era)

[@iammrbeat]

Thank you so freaking much. I might take you up on that offer one day. :)

[@CaribbeanHistory]

@@Angiie884 I read about it for the first time in a newspaper article about 15 years ago then I saw It again more recently but I cannot remember where. If I find it I will gladly share. What you Say is true, Spanish ancestry is way higher

[@lmartinez3633]

That is a misconception that we do not pay federal taxes…

[@pikespice]

When you mentioned it would take 3 hours to drive across Puerto Rico, I immediately went "DC would be about the same".

[@roserahaman3418]

Are you referring to the traffic?

[@FredoRockwell]

Personally, I'm in favour of both DC and PR getting statehood if they want it. I can't honestly think of a valid reason to deny it. Sure, it would upset the balance of power in the Senate, but deciding who gets to be a state based on trying to keep the Senate balanced seems like a totally cynical way to do politics. Great video!

[@EnigmaticLucas]

I feel like Puerto Rico would be purple if it were a state. The GOP could probably win things there by appealing to Hispanic social conservatism.

[@johanrunfeldt7174]

"Deciding who gets to be a state based on trying to keep Senate balanced." Where did I hear that before?

[@SomasAcademy]

I reckon DC and all the inhabited territories should have statehood - PR, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. That or independence - no taxation without representation after all, doesn't seem right for them to be parts of the country without being equal parts of it!

[@trey5747]

@@SomasAcademy right

[@nuckyduk15]

@@SomasAcademy You do realize they don't pay FICA or Federal Income tax right?

[@SayuriSRC]

Dang, what a great comparison video! As a Puerto Rican and former decade-plus long resident of DC, this made me so happy to see! It's my personal hope that DC especially will become a state one day.

[@iammrbeat]

Holy crap. I guess I made this video for you. :)

[@MyOwnBossPR]

Nice. I’m from DC and live in PR. Accurate video for the most part. I would personally like neither one of them to become a state

[@evielhernandez8160]

Thanks for talking about Puerto Rico. A clarification, we only have the American citizenship. Puerto Rican citizenship doesn’t really exist for practical purposes, it is rather a certification issued by the Puerto Rico Department of State to whoever requests it. That identifies the person as coming from and residing in Puerto Rico. But most of us only have american citizenship. For everything else, excellent video Mr. Beat. Greetings from Puerto Rico.

[@itzawildgamer4119]

You should compare Puerto Rico and Hawaii that would be very interesting

[@VMan29397]

Hawaii is what will happens if Puerto Rico becomes a state

[@elintocable0072]

​@VMan29397 Yup English,americans, and the usa culture overtake local Hawaiian 😢.

[@genuscorvid]

@@elintocable0072 Hawaiians unfortunately got overtaken by foreigners before the US annexed it. They sold their islands to American and British plantation owners who needed labour which they then imported from Asia, thus resulting in Asian Americans being the largest group on Hawaii. This process only sped up once the USA annexed it after said foreign planation owners couped the Hawaiian monarchy.

[@thatrandomnoob8611]

My Great Grandma was born in Puerto Rico on March 2, 1917, the day the residents gained citizenship. She is likely one of the first babies born being given citizenship on birth. I have much pride in my Puerto Rican Heritage and have 1% of native Puerto Rican in my blood. I often go back and forth on statehood but due to the economy being so linked to the mainland that statehood would benefit the island

[@stikupartist3698]

Wow that's low. I have 19% indigenous Puerto rican dna. Are you mostly caucasian?

[@oTroubles]

@@stikupartist3698 Yeah 1% is insanely low, this persons grandma must’ve only been in PR for an extremely short time from Spain or something

[@stikupartist3698]

@Jose Ortiz cool. Mines says I'm 41% European and 40% African with the remaining amount indigenous.

[@kelvinhernandez1976]

Statehood would not benefit the island maybe for economics yes but it would destroy us in the process because we don’t have the qualifications to become a state especially our culture is in danger

[@VMan29397]

no to statehood. Borinquen llama a sus hijos a la libertad - Ramón Emeterio Betances

[@tenzy6807]

From a DC native for those interested: We have our own culture. We have local music, food, sports teams, festivals, and all manner of local attractions aside from the national mall. We are a distinct entity from both Virginia and Maryland. In fact, we have something of a rivalry with the two states and none of the three would take kindly with being lumped together. Also, the whole "federal district should be seperate stuff" doesn't work. A good chunk of DC residents either aren't federal employees or work more on the advocacy and nonprofit side of things. Lots of the important federal people live in Virginia's suburbs and commute in. We pay taxes (more federal taxes per capita than any state and more federal taxes overall than 21 states), have our own local laws and government, and would really just like to have the rights we should in a democratic country. It's quite scary knowing your whole government can be overthrown if feds we can't vote for want to. The new boarders required to seperate the actual federal district within DC from the proposed state (residential neighborhoods) has been drawn out. The only reason we're still not a state is because we'd vote super democratic and half the country isn't ok with that. Also, we'd be the only majority black state which I think is pretty sweet! There are 700,000 people living in DC without equal rights, this isn't a political debate but an ethics one.

[@WickedMapping]

That was kind of the deal for living in DC all the way back to when it was built. You won't be represented as a state because you are home to the federal government, and being equal to other states would cause a severe imbalance of power. Plus, you have already gotten the concession of having electoral votes.

[@damianortega470]

@@WickedMapping What imbalance of power? We're taxed without representation. You know, the thing that the American Revolution evangelized?

[@WickedMapping]

@@damianortega470 You have 3 electoral votes. You have representation.

[@damianortega470]

@@WickedMapping The electoral votes that decide the Presidency don't pass laws raising revenue through taxes. Only the House of Representatives can do so. And last time I checked, DC doesn't have a voting member in Congress...

[@WickedMapping]

@@damianortega470 You're also the home of the federal government. Having the area with the government have the same control of a state is a slippery slope.

[@SiVlog1989]

I saw a Vox video from 2020 about DC residents' desire for statehood. In it, they mentioned the taxation situation in the District and showed that the licence plates of the cars in the District dust off the old rallying cry "No taxation without representation," Although the areas of the District that aren't Federal Buildings (the ~66 Square Miles surrounding the Federal Buildings and the areas owned by the Federal government) are unlikely to become a state on their own, much like Puerto Rico, the video does talk about some of the reasons why they want statehood. For example, they talk about how the Federal government overrules the local government of DC with regards to what they want to do (while DC normally gets treated like a state in many matters, like Electoral College votes etc, when Congress was passing relief packages for States during the height of the first stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, DC received the equivalent to that of a US territory, less than half that of a state and even the DC Mayor was vocally less than impressed with this). Another raw spot for them was how the National Guard cleared the streets before Donald Trump posed for a photo with a Bible in front of the Lafayette Church, such action would be illegal in every state, but not DC

[@slickrick876]

Simple solution is give residential DC to Maryland and keep downtown as the nation's capital.

[@shadyxv8165]

Didn’t know other Puerto Ricans watched MrBeat,was pleasantly surprised! Hi from Bayamon :)

[@Bizcachi]

Hi from Gurabo

[@sabirsal]

Great video. Another interesting tidbit about Puerto Rico is that the Roanoke and Jamestown expeditions stopped there before reaching the mainland. I don’t remember how long they were on the island but I believe it was around 10-14 days each.

[@bagelfrrr]

Yo Mr Beat can you make the history of baseball teams? Thatd be an interesting video.

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

I personally think we should make both states. As well as giving other over seas territories some form of representation. But if we make PR a state, I think the US Virgin Islands should join up with it

[@500mph7]

We can't make DC a state since it was written that no state can rule over all the others. That's entirely the whole point we created dc so we could make it a federal district instead of a state.

[@radarbug5390]

@Nicholas Time 🤣🤣The USA is not an empire; 1 we are not all under one ruler we vote for our president , our president doesn’t rule for life, our president isn’t called an emperor and in an empire has all its rules made by the emperor while our laws are made by 3 branches and states can also make their own laws

[@johndoe-fq7ez]

Why are you an imperialist

[@teego7875]

I disagree with this, not just cus im pro-independent, but also even if we were a state, people in the us virgin islands would most likely not want to join us because of our completely different national identity.

[@radarbug5390]

@@teego7875 but they would get more funding better trade and so much more

[@SeanA099]

I think Puerto Rico has a much better chance of becoming a state. It has a large territory and large population. It is also very unique, this justifies itself much more than DC, which could honestly be reverted to Maryland because of how integrated it is with the area. Also, Puerto Rico could be seen as a less partisan addition to congress, since neither of the major parties in PR fully align with Democrats or Republicans. It could be interesting to see

[@justinarzola4584]

I agree, DC would be a democrat controlled state while Puerto Rico would be more neutral\partisan which both parts could accept.

[@quinepstein4729]

Additionally, DC was cut out of Maryland and Virginia specifically because the founding fathers didn’t want the capital to be in a state, since they believed it would then start to favor that state more and breed corruption.

[@Dangic23]

Partisanship should never be a measure when considering extending full citizenship rights to US citizens

[@csharp3884]

@@Dangic23 DC resident largely choose to live in an area where they don’t have any representatives in Congress. It doesn’t take much to choose to live 45 minutes in another direction if they really cared about voting. On the other hand, Puerto Rico is culturally independent and it would be much more challenging for a Puerto Rican to live in an area with federal representatives since they would need to move hundred of miles off an island. I’d say yes to PR, no to DC. I really have no sympathy for DC residents lmao

[@Dangic23]

@@csharp3884 Agree. DC folks knew what they were getting into. Folks in Puerto Rico have never had a say on anything that has been implemented to them by the USA. Under Spain, Puerto Rico had more representation in Madrid than what they’ve had under US rule.

[@javierrivera8545]

Correction! "Puerto Rico's" population is puertorican, we are a people with a nationality, which is puertorican, though politically we're not recognized as a nation, we are. We are Latino, in Latin America we're recognized as a people with a country & trough out most of the world. We're one of the most that have contributed greatly to Latin America's culture, even though we're the smallest in size of all Spanish countries. In Latin America when countries are announced, you have to mention Puerto Rico. We have a national flag that is worldwide recognized & has represented PR in diverse international events, & a national anthem with a constitution, the only thing we don't have is sovereignty(powerful economic & political interests have prevented it). Only hard-core pro statehood politicians in PR & powerful forces that have undermined us as a people have polarized this issue & don't recognize it, but even US politicians with a secret loud voice acknowledge this.

[@revinhatol]

FUN FACT: Some of the earliest Spanish settlers have either whole of mixed Amazigh (Berber) ancestry from the Canary Islands.

[@WalrusMilk]

Love the vids Mr Beet. Slight Spanish note: The “í” makes kinda like an “Ee” noise, so “Taíno” is pronounced more like “Thah-Ee-noh” than “Tay-Noe” Edit: “thah” because the Spanish T is somewhere in between English’s soft and hard Ts, kind of like the soft D noise

[@zanytime]

Both pronunciations are correct according to various dictionaries.

[@ElJosher]

He is speaking english, no need for correction. He can pronounce a word the way it makes sense in english. The reason english is so shit and inconsistent is precisely because speakers are trying to pronounce “correctly” instead of actually adapting words to the language.

[@bui3415]

​@@ElJosher That's not even correct in English. It's saying Taiwan as Tay-wan

[@Alex_FRD]

Small correction, Puerto Rican citizenship mentioned in 11:41 is state residency, like the kind you'd get if you were a Floridian, Texan, New Yorker, etc. There was, however, a case of a secessionist who did surrender his American citizenship and identified as a citizen of Puerto Rico.

[@geobori]

Puerto Rico does indeed have its own citizenship although we have no passport, only a certificate which can be requested at Puerto Rico's Department of State offices in San Juan. It is recognized by Spain and can be used to expidite the process to Spanish citizenship should one choose to live there. Most other LatAm countries also enjoy this feature.

[@snowballeffect7812]

Yo, Mr. Beat is actually way more ripped than I initially realized..

[@marcello7781]

When I was younger I used to think Puerto Rico was an independent country and oftenly I would confuse its flag with the Cuban one.

[@justinarzola4584]

I confuse the panama flag with the Cuba flag sometimes.

[@marcello7781]

@@justinarzola4584 same, but in my case I used to confuse Panamanian flag with the Dominican one.

[@Dangic23]

Still a Colony. In fact, the oldest colony in the World. 1493-Present.

[@poorwotan]

The flags are essentially the same in design. An easy way to remember which one is which is that the star on the Cuban one is on the red field (like red communism) while Puerto Rico's is on the blue field.

[@familyandfriends3519]

@@Dangic23 Spanish colony not American

[@brodymanandts]

Robert e Lees father was one of the main voices in removing Arlington county from dc. He said that a people can not be American if they could not vote. Ironically he didn’t care about the part of dc that would be left behind not voting.

[@blayzbrooks3786]

You are wrong it wasn't about voting it was about slavery. DC was against slavery and emancipated slaves before the rest of the nation on April 16, 1862 . Arlington wanted to keep slavery anticipated DC would abolish slavery voted to go back Virginia. Stop trying to rewrite history

[@brodymanandts]

@@blayzbrooks3786 Of course it was about slavery. Also Alexandria retroceded in 1847, 15 years before dc's emancipation. I was stating the fact that Robert E Lees father was the principle architect of Arlington's retrocession. This was also one (of the many) reasons why Maryland did not separate from the union (despite being a slave state).

[@liam-man7265]

I think it would have made much more sense to compare Puerto Rico with the U.S. Virgin Islands because the territories are both external from the 48 contiguous states and are much more geographically close to each other, just my opinion.

[@reucat24]

Yes, it is absurd to compare Puerto Rico with the capital of the United States. Puerto Rico has more in common with Venezuela than with Washington D.C

[@joseasantiago30]

With Venezuela. Idk

[@joel12383]

As a Puerto Rican. The issue of statehood is just too polarizing. Dear I say as bad a Democrats Vs Republicans. Some Ricans are dieheart supporters sometimes just by birth, family passed ideology on the issue. Nowadays the issue is growing even more divisive as new generations look for a 3rd option, like independence. Definitely a generational divide too. I say, the ppl of Puerto Rico have to get SOME form of actual representation in congress while the issue is resolved. Almost all Puerto Ricans can agree the current status is just not sustainable. I encourage anyone into politics to deep dive Puerto Rican politics, super interesting.

[@JS-nu9hd]

Statehood still has a plurality among young generations in PR.

[@danic_c]

I definitely agree. Whether Puerto Rico becomes a U.S. state or an independent nation, either option is better than the current status as a territory, where they basically have no say over their own governance.

[@reucat24]

there is a 4th option that is growing: Reunification with Spain

[@kelvinhernandez1976]

@@JS-nu9hdno statehood is among very old Puerto Ricans a lot of younger Puerto Ricans want independence and some old ones too

[@VMan29397]

​@@JS-nu9hd No it isn't. If you're going by the referendums those things suffer from p*** poor turnout so they're not an accurate representation of the island's opinions

[@olekstormantovski8096]

Another great addition to the series. Here goes another attempt to get you to do Edmonton vs Calgary.

[@Mysil-bergsprekken]

Hi mrbeat! Really love your content, keep up the good work! On second hand, it would be great if you could make a video informing about Moore v. Harper, and the dangers it bears to democracy. Again, keep up the good work!

[@iammrbeat]

I will be watching that case very closely. 🧐

[@newflyer2198]

Here are a few compared episode ideas: - Milwaukee and Minneapolis - Colombia and Brazil - Thailand and the Philippines - Poland and Belarus - Zambia and Mozambique

[@sterlingherrera1792]

Why the Thailand and Philippines comparison specifically, out of curiosity? In any case, what is also interesting is contrasting Philippines from other former Spanish colonies. This is because unlike those other places, the Philippines still speaks its indigenous languages rather than Spanish (Spanish was never a widely spoken language there) and the people themselves have essentially no genetic admixture from Spain (according to the study of Larena et al 2021, only ~1% of Filipinos have the genetic signal from Europe). This is because rather than settler colonialism happening in the Philippines, the Spanish instead limited themselves to certain areas, such as Intramuros in Manila, and largely segregated themselves from the indigenous people in terms of social relations. The prevalence of Spanish surnames in the country come from two major ways: 1. religious conversion (taking a Christian name) and 2. Claveria's Decree of 1849, which forced Filipinos to adopt surnames for administrative reasons (traditionally, prior to colonialism, Filipinos did not have surnames). I think culturally, a lot ties Thailand to the Philippines, the Philippines being kind of a prototypical maritime SE Asian country, and Thailand being a protoypical mainland SE Asian country. Both have a strong and ancient history of influence from India, even down to traditional writing systems (which Thailand still uses, but in the Philippines as in Indonesia, are no longer in widespread use). Along with that, there of course is Buddhist influence in both countries, though in the Philippines the Hindu and Muslim influences are even larger (then of course Christianity from Spain and the US), Islam coming most likely via trade with what later became Indonesia, and Hinduism and Buddhism coming directly from relations with India. This topic is actually so huge haha

[@217ken]

How close are you to deciding who you're going to compare Michigan to or even comparing Upper and Lower Peninsulas?

[@bobbyferg9173]

Another difference between the two is that, in terms of percentage, DC has one of the fastest growing populations in the US while Puerto Rico has one of the fastest declining populations in the US, if not on a more worldwide scale. Puerto Rico's declining population is in large part due to immigration to the mainland US as better opportunities in the US while also being US citizens makes it an ideal choice for many Puerto Ricans. Having these wealthy and more highly educated individuals leave further worsens conditions for remaining Puerto Ricans and gives more incentive to leave, which creates a nasty cycle that is only made worse by natural disasters. If you have been there in recent times, then you can probably notice a certain barren feeling to many areas in the island as if people who should have been there disappeared

[@elliot04877]

Puerto rico also has the lowest birth rate not only in the US but in the whole American continent both North and South. That plays a larger role than emigration nowdays tbh.

[@ElJosher]

Brain drain is always a loop. This is why I hate when educated people leave their country, but it is hard to fault them when they have almost no choice but to leave. I think a lot of people don’t realize how damaging leaving one’s country is, especially if it the person is young. But i guess that is a problem for the people to resolve as well as the government. It would be great if more young people immigrated to PR.

[@Bizcachi]

"Barren" lmao have you not been stuck in traffic or been to Plaza 🤣 i think the barren is due to other things, like the bad economy and car culture

[@kelvinhernandez1976]

Yeah thanks to the USA for Puerto Rico population declining because USA use women in pr where they couldn’t get pregnant or give birth at all that why otherwise our population would grow faster then dc

[@LolaDelMarCaribe]

@@elliot04877it’s also important to note that in our culture is very common and pushed on us to only have few kids, having more than 2 kids in PR is rare and considered a big family. Most only have 1 or 2 and in this economy it makes sense

[@jrodriguez1207]

Puerto Rico does have their own professional sport teams like the Superior Basketball National (Baloncesto Superior Nacional) and the Baseball League (Liga de Béisbol Profesional - Roberto Clemente). Boxing, swimming, volleyball, tennis, are some other sports that are also famous in the island.

[@SomasAcademy]

I like how when Mr. Beat lifts the glass of Athletic Greens to take a sip it immediately cuts so we can't see his reaction to tasting it.

[@valmid5069]

*Great video analysis Mr. Beat!*

[@kobblestone]

Mr Beat should do a video on his 10 favourite founding fathers or ranking every founding father!

[@seanworle]

I think it would make sense for Puerto Rico to become a state, though that should only happen if a majority of the people living there want that. D.C. on the other hand doesn't really make so much sense as a state. Rather, I think it might make sense to re-negotiate the borders, and maybe even reduce D.C. down to something like just the area surrounding the National Mall, as well as the area from the mall over to Lafayette Square to include the White House. Then the rest of what was D.C. could just be absorbed into Virginia or Maryland (or some to each).

[@charliegantt3744]

The problem with figuring out who’s in support is the fact that most of the people who don’t support statehood don’t get to have a say in the polls. Most of the time the polls are done overnight in PNP hotbeds in the city and rural areas of PR don’t get to really voice their opinions. Also it’s likely that statehood would only speed up the already scary gentrification process and price PR natives off the island.

[@andrejs4984]

I doubt people in DC want to be reabsorbed into nearby states, I think it can reasonably be its own state; sort of a city state, and it wouldn’t be bad idea to create a city state out of NYC. Germany has city states in its federation, so it is not sth unprecedented. Also 53 stars are easy to put on a flag in a similar aesthetically pleasing way the current flag has

[@silvanvanderhorst7366]

@@andrejs4984 I've heard similar plans about Chicago or LA becoming their own states. Though I think the people living in those cities have no problem being part of New York State, Illinois and California. However, I could imagine that conservatives in NY and IL might prefer those big cities to be out of their state. Because making those three cities states would have huge political implications. First of all, just like DC, those states would become Democratic strongholds with Democrats winning every federal election in those state. Democrats would get 6 free new seats in the Senate that would never change parties. But also for the states those cities left there will be huge implications. Now, California is so liberal that I think it will remain a strong Democratic state, even without LA in it. But New York and Illinois are for a large part rural and are largely pulled to the left by their massive liberal cities, NYC and Chicago. WIth those cities gone, both states could now become competitive in federal elections. However, even with IL and NY becoming more competitive, it would be hard for Republicans to overcome the advantage the Democrats will have with their 6 strong Democratic Senate seats. In the House, very little would change. The districts that cover these cities and where those cities' representatives come from will largely remain the same and will continue to be a part of those city states. Though redistricting will probably be necessary in some cases. Especially with Illinois' districts that reach from Chicago city deep into the state's rural areas. Also, about the beginning of your comment. Indeed, most DC citizens want full statehood. They don't want to become a part of Maryland, but also more importantly: the government of Maryland has already made it clear that it doesn't want DC to become part of their state.

[@andrejs4984]

@@silvanvanderhorst7366 their situation might not be as problematic as DC or PR, but as far as NY goes, I think a proposal to split the state of New York is reasonable. If you started from the scratch and redrew administrative boundaries, no sane cartographer would suggest New York in the shape it is today.

[@CortexNewsService]

@@silvanvanderhorst7366 there's still talk of making Chicago a state, mostly from conservative people outside it. And for the reasons you said. But it gets really complicated at ground level. The state's population can be grouped into Chicago, the suburbs and downstate (everything else). Most suggestions to break of Chicago also include Cook County. That's five million people right there. Downstate, which is about 90 percent of the land area, is 3 million. The wild card are the collar counties with 4 million. In statewide elections, the collars and suburban Cook decide elections. They outweigh both the city and downstate. And they generate most of the economic activity. But only because they're so close to Chicago and its status of a port of entry. Finally, the suburbs get back 80 cents of every dollar they send to the state government back. Chicago gets about a dollar. Downstate gets 1.75. I have yet to see any proposal that takes the suburbs into account. If they follow Chicago out to form a new state, what's left of Illinois becomes one of the poorest states. If they stay with Illinois, they and their increasingly liberal voters will still out weigh the rest of the state, leaving the politics the same. And as a liberal downstate, I need that counter balance of Chicago to have any kind of voice... even if Chicago does forget liberals are down here too.

[@alejlucci5365]

Hello Mr. Beat! I love your content and was very excited to see my country discussed in this video. Keep up the good work as always!

[@Bizcachi]

Why didn't you mention the anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, Citizens Victory Party ⭐️✔️? It had way more turnout than the independence party and almost won the San Juan mayoral seat.

[@VMan29397]

Probly forgot

[@gregbits6109]

I have been watching your channel like a Netflix show, and befire I even get halfway thru- another great season! 😂

[@juanesoto1392]

Watching videos like this makes me wish one day I’ll see one about Venezuela. I know it’s not necessarily usa history but the similarities in culture are quite interesting specially with so many Venezuelans living here now. I love ur videos please think about it!!

[@shannonlynne1558]

Good video. Taino here is pronounced Tah-ee’-no. I have lived in PR for the past 5 years. It’s not for sissies but it is a place to grow and refine your values. Family is everything, the air in my mountain neighborhood is often saturated with the scent of food cooking, and very few are motivated by 💰. I don’t miss watching people spinning their wheels bragging about how over scheduled they are. My neighbors have shown me how to share and chill. It’s been a refreshing experience for this type A girl. 😍

[@Alt-yj7nq]

No statehood for Puerto Rico comparing DC to Puerto Rico is just silly but still understand why you made this video though statehood for Puerto Rico is just political theater idk why people still think statehood has any chance of happening DC statehood is much more realistic than PR and even than we are so different from the rest of the US we should just be our own country or free association.

[@blakekaveny]

But what if they want statehood

[@reucat24]

Reunification of Puerto Rico with Spain, that is the best option

[@benjhaisch]

This video peaked at 0:49 with that epic cameo and I’ll stand by this no matter how good the rest of this video is.

[@pauldudley8837]

Excellent video and really in-depth comparisons. I liked it a lot. But I couldn't help but think in the back of my mind how the US Congress is guilty of the financial condition of Puerto Rico today. Too much to go into but worthwhile researching.

[@EliF-ge5bu]

You mean Puerto Rico didn't borrow mindlessly and plundered their own treasury?

[@Dangic23]

Colonialism is always a disadvantageous status to the Colony, hence 1776. Puerto Rico is currently utilized as a Tax Heaven for corporations, exactly like the Cayman Islands is used by the UK.

[@palyo0]

@@EliF-ge5bu You really think the US government didn't know about this? They let the corrupt government borrow knowing the consequences. Both the US and PR are guilty of Puerto Rico finances.

[@EliF-ge5bu]

@@palyo0 the Federal government will not and cannot tell the government of Puerto Rico not to borrow excessively, just like it cannot tell any of the states how to manage their own finances. Instead of blaming the federal government for the corruption of the government of Puerto Rico which is entrenched in every level, why don’t you own up to it? Besides are you telling us that Puerto Rican’s can’t manage to have a decent government without the guidance of the Federal government?

[@palyo0]

@@EliF-ge5bu The federal government can do whatever they please with its territories thats the difference between a state and a colony.

[@Dr.Schlitz]

I’ve lived in DC for 25 years. For people who’ve never lived here - it’s hard for you to understand how offensive the status quo is. We pay federal income taxes but have no representation in Congress. It is literally “taxation without representation.” How would you like it if some Congressman from a very far away part of the country could rewrite your LOCAL laws? You wouldn’t. For example, your state probably taxes income earned in your state by nonresidents. This makes sense - those people are driving on your roads, using your infrastructure, and so on. Well, Congress prohibits DC from taxing income earned in DC by nonresidents. They only do this in DC - nowhere else. This results in higher income taxes for DC residents. DC should be a state simply as a matter of justice. Every American citizen should have equal rights and you shouldn’t have to move from your home to get equal treatment. Depriving DC citizens of equal treatment for political reasons is unfair and un-American, especially when you consider that the sparsely populated Dakota Territories were made into 2 states instead of 1 as a political power play. The current statehood proposal would retain the federal district, but shrink it to the core area from the Supreme Court to the White House. The remainder would become a state. So the federal government would remain in a separate district, not in a state. And no, we don’t want to be part of Maryland. DC has been separate from MD longer than West Virginia has been separate from Virginia and longer than most states have existed as states.

[@scoobydoobers23]

They aren't super connected culturally but I think of PR becomes a state, the US Virgin Islands should come with them. Give them local autonomy but make them part of the *state" of Puerto Rico. All Americans should have the rights of Americans.

[@walkergreen9768]

What if we added them with Guam and northern marina islands to create a US Overseas Territory Representative

[@nahueldiaz7572]

or why not just give them statehood seperately?

[@scoobydoobers23]

@@nahueldiaz7572 It wouldn't make sense to give a state of 100,000 people two senators and a Congressional Rep. Too much power for 100k people. And the islands are pretty damn close so it would make sense administratively.

[@nahueldiaz7572]

@@scoobydoobers23 I mean its been done before, Nevada was a state with less than 100,000 people before 1940, and it had 2 senators

[@scoobydoobers23]

@@nahueldiaz7572 It became a state in 1864, most western states had small populations then. I'm not hugely invested in this topic, I just think there would be a lot of resistance to the US Virgin Islands becoming their own state with their size/population/economy.

[@samwill7259]

Something they have in common is they should have both becomes states long before any of us were born. It's absurd that people from both of these places have to follow a government they don't get to a say in and I DEFY anyone to justify the status of either location in good faith

[@teego7875]

With you say this with a complete disregard of what we wanted historically, only very recently have the majority voted for statehood, all of the older referendums were wins for status-quo, if anything we should be independent as back in the 30s all the political parties here supported it.

[@WickedMapping]

DC was intended as a plot of land not hostage to a state. Philadelphia and a few other cities used to be our capital and it came at the issue of a state having influence over the government by hosting it. That's why DC is separate and is not a state. The only reason the Democrats want it as a state is because they would gain two permanent senators and a house member as well as influence over the government by controlling its HQ. Also, DC already has 3 electoral votes. To say it has no say in the government is false. DC is filling the role is always has and always should; a seperate entity intended for use by the government. It was the people who originally lived there's choice to live in an area they knew they wouldn't gain all the rights of a state. To move there and demand the entire entity be upended is absurd. I rest my case.

[@reucat24]

Puerto Rico's best option is to Reunify with Spain

[@evanarroyo1384]

This is the first time I as a Puerto Rican has ever gotten any non-negative representation in a very good while

[@ERNESTORUIZ-hq4qg]

I'm proud to be a puerto rican living in the United States and I'm also very proud to be part of United States citizen

[@darellarocho5729]

Before I even watch the video, just wanted to say that I love watching your videos and I'm Puerto Rican! YO SOY BORICUA, PA' QUE TU LO SEPA! Haha, love your videos man. And hopefully PR gets to be the 51st State, we've voted for it too many times, man. Edit: Watched the video! Loved it! And yes, hopefully D.C. gets Statehood as well!

[@VMan29397]

Statehood is dead

[@MrChupacabradude]

Hey Mr.Beat I want to point put we do have some minor profesional basketball teams and baseball teams. The basketball league is called BSN (Baloncesto Superior Nacional) which translates to National Superior Basketball and as of tomorow we are actually in the finals of the season.

[@loworochi]

I think Puerto Rico should either be a state or an independent country. I think Washington DC should be the way it is just have representation in both houses/ be allowed to vote in federal elections

[@PakBallandSami]

once again a great compression video mr.beat

[@oniran]

Great video! I’ve been to both places and love Puerto Rico! I think both should be made into states regardless of political leanings and its long overdue. Both have contributed so much to this country and the people there should not be treated as second class citizens. They have served in our military and contributed much to our economy and rich history. To think that anyone would want to prevent US citizens from both places from having the same representation as states with lesser populations (2 in DC's case and 20 in Puerto Rico's) seems crazy! I know Puerto Rico may be split on statehood but I believe if the majority want it then that’s how it should be as that’s what happens in a democracy and they could really benefit financially from it as well. Also, I’m wondering what the true motive is for arguments that DC should be added back to Maryland when most other states were formed from a larger state/territory throughout US history including much earlier than 1776. With that logic there should be way less states to begin with.

[@VMan29397]

No statehood for puerto rico independence only

[@TheManny717]

Shoutout to the kids who made their cameo appearances during their dad’s ad presentation!

[@g_men2121]

Im up for both becoming states. Hopefully I see the day one of these fine places join in the statehood club. We really need new members

[@andyjay729]

That or retrocession of the non-federal government areas of DC to Maryland.

[@TrashMammal2002]

@@andyjay729 the People of DC wouldn't like that

[@WickedMapping]

@@TrashMammal2002 Why? Maryland is a solid Democrat state as well. Or is this just about getting two more free Democratic senators?

[@TrashMammal2002]

@@WickedMapping It wouldn't be democratic for the people of DC that they would be thrown to Maryland, they've been living in DC for all their lives, if they want statehood, then so be it, No one complained when a state admitted to the Union, And the reason why Dakota was split was to have more Republican Senators in the Senate

[@WickedMapping]

@@TrashMammal2002 DC was intended as a Federal District. The land of the Dakotas was intended as states. Also, where is your evidence that Dakota was split to gain more Republican Senators? This happened all the way back in the 1800s.

[@oriverasoto]

Puerto Ricans were given US citizenship in 1917. And there is no such thing as a Puerto Rican citizenship.

[@jennifersalt3194]

Yay! Finally a video that includes a US territory-I’ve been waiting for one. As far as statehood goes, I think we should hold referendums and let the ppl decide. If the majority of Puerto Ricans want citizenship, then the rest of us need to accept that, but we shouldn’t force statehood on a territory if the majority of its people *don’t* want statehood. As far as DC goes, if the majority of residents want citizenship, Congress should go along with that, and a referendum would clarify the position. Democracy!

[@tonytech5520]

Puerto Ricans already have US citizenship, the problem is the lack of representation in Congress and sovereignty of the territory.

[@mikelyman3297]

Mr. Beat, are you working out? Looking pumped in this video!

[@Teag_Brohman15]

both would make amazing states also Guam and American Samoa

[@VMan29397]

No boriquen calls its children to freedom

[@jodiecarlson6955]

Mr. Beat, did you notice your little photo bomber in the background?? At 0:50

[@wandanieves3338]

Great video! Verify the part of the puertorican citizenship since all citizenship we have had is american. We call ourselves puertoricans but I do not believe there is a puertorican citizenship per se. Also, fun fact is that the ONLY rain forest of the USA is located in Puerto Rico. It's know as "El Yunque".

[@poorwotan]

Yup, there is a PR citizenship document even (since 2007). The local State Department issues those but, of course, it's just cosmetic as there is no international recognition for that...

[@johnshafer7214]

Great video Mr Beat. Getting ready for the school year.

[@manuelgrothe608]

Washington DC and Baltimore are brother metro cities in Maryland

[@andreasgrothe9940]

you are right

[@kicker3536]

I like how much the Puerto Rico independence Party Flag resembles the Swedish flag

[@VMan29397]

That's because the independence party favors implementing the nordic model If Puerto Rico were to gain independence

[@pedroluisvelez3756]

Stop having Puerto Rico has a Colony and give the people of Puerto Rico what they deserve the state 51 or the independent.

[@reucat24]

Reunification of Puerto Rico with Spain, that is the best option

[@jouaienttoi]

Mr. Beat I think a video on the different voting methods in a democracy (or elective dictatorship/monarchy) would be useful to have. Especially since voting alternatives to Winner-Takes-All can allow for disruption of the two-party system.

[@iammrbeat]

Great suggestion!

[@inovakovsky]

2:40 Keep in mind, Mr. Beat, that those recent referendums tend to have have abysmal turnout rates (less than 50%). A significant number of statehood supporters regard statehood as more pragmatic rather than their ideal position.

[@blakekaveny]

Itcould also be that they knew nothing would come of it. Why vote on something when you know nothing is gonna come of it

[@gabrielborges9438]

As a Puerto Rican, I feel that many consider statehood as the “less bad” option rather than the best option if that makes any sense

[@inovakovsky]

@@gabrielborges9438 To Americans "less bad" makes total sense because that is the mindset of most voters in the US. "Lesser evilism" is called. Is it that complete independence is very uncertain, even if the US was willing to accept it, i.e. risk of being subject to IMF loans or maintain dual citizenship with the US.

[@gabrielborges9438]

@@inovakovsky It’s because realistically, Puerto Rico’s economy is not strong enough to support itself without aid from the U.S. Federal Government, if we were to achieve it, it would have to be a very long, gradual process so that we can be a somewhat functional country

[@inovakovsky]

@@gabrielborges9438 Besides, I think that Puerto Rico being on the verge of bankruptcy could prevent statehood since states are constitutionally required to meet their budgets, hence why the US government did seem to respond to those referendums, in which 52% is almost a landslide as plebiscites tend by super close.

[@adrianrivera5934]

Which puerto rican citizenship you are talking about? We only have the U.S citizenship.. That’s it…

[@teego7875]

As a puerto rican, i myself support independence, though i'm a minority, there's alot of benefits to it, no longer having the jones act, having full self determination, also statehood would hurt our manufacturing industry since they'd have to pay federal corporate tax.

[@johnbradley7294]

honestly independence or statehood are both great options for Puerto Rico and I would be happy with either outcome. Just think the current status quo is kinda untenable.

[@tsdulyn9]

But if we become a state we get to use the dollar and are part of the world's most powerful and richest nation.

[@teego7875]

@@tsdulyn9 El Salvador, Panama, and Ecuador also have the dollar

[@tsdulyn9]

@@teego7875 My point is they aren't able to make desicions that affect the value of that dollar.

[@thisisnotmyname8766]

I am Puerto Rican as well, but I support statehood. We have too much ties to the US (Example 5 million Puerto Ricans living in the US while only 3.2 million in the island) Unfortunately, the party that promotes statehood in PR is massively corrupt and it remains to be seen if we will truly solve our colonial status.

[@Mr-Chris]

Born in DC to Puerto Rican Parents. Grew up in DC area and my Puerto Rican father was a (MPD) DC cop.

[@qxdso]

As a Puerto Rican I don’t wanna become a state because I’m scared that we would lose our culture and everything we have due to being a state. I would like Puerto Rico to be independent like DR and Cuba !

[@jeanblue3562]

Bro STF no es como si fuera q hoy PR es estado y ya no puedes comer alcapurrias o bailar salsa o bomba ignorante

[@optimusprime4443]

Read the book of "America's Last Fortress" while it does expose many differences and how badly the island has been treated by the US it can easily give you a good picture on why independence is a really bad idea and it would be worst than Haiti when I comes down to the economy. Puerto Rico can't survive on it's own unfortunately is as simple as that. I keep telling this a lot to my friends who support independence, don't let our pride of being Puerto Ricans to hide us from the reality on what independence will actually do, that thing of losing our culture is nothing but a weapon used by pro independence people to convinced more of the population that statehood will eliminate our culture, I'm here to tell you that's simply not true. Look at Hawaii for example, they have been state since the late 50's and their culture still lives to this very day.

[@reucat24]

Puerto Rico's best option is to Reunify with Spain. Cuba and Dominican Republic are colonies of the US, there is no real independence in the Caribbean, either US controls them (like Dominican Republic) or US starts a war against them (Cuba)

[@VMan29397]

​​@@optimusprime4443thats nonsenical fear mongering. Puerto rico doesnt have 122 years of debt. Statehood is easily 10000000000x worse. Hawaiians are a minority on their own homeland. Statehood doesnt solve the jones act. Statehood would overdrive gentrification on the Archipelago. Statehood would water down our culture like hawaii. I also wouldnt be surprised if we end up a minority on our own homeland with higher poverty rates than the gringos

[@VMan29397]

​@@optimusprime4443 That's a lie. Many hawaiians are on the record that their culture has been incredibly watered down since becoming a state. Hawaiians are minority in their ancestral homeland yet they have a higher poverty rate than those non-native Hawaii

[@havehope646]

Great wonderful video as always

[@guts1258]

¡Puerto Rico libre y soberano! 🇵🇷 Statehood is subjugation to the US hegemony.

[@VMan29397]

Boriken calls its children to freedom

[@alexisrios9759]

In a funny note: Holiday season in PR is longer than in the USA. Puerto Rican holiday season ends in January 6th. with Three King's Day.

[@charliegantt3744]

Puerto Rico should not become a state, it’s its own nation with a distinctly non-American heritage and society. Also becoming a state would lead to massive gentrification and an exodus of PR natives from the island due to cost of living increases.

[@iammrbeat]

You bring up some good concerns that I hadn't thought deeply about.

[@zombiekilldemon]

We would become like the native Hawaiians if we become a state. The poorest demographic in our own home land and our culture reduced to tourist theme.

[@charliegantt3744]

@@iammrbeat Awesome to see the engagement, love your videos, sir!

[@reucat24]

Reunification of Puerto Rico with Spain, that is the best option

[@rumourfrey7129]

PR here with a couple of things to say about the video. Taíno is pronounced ta-ee-no. And personally, and with a lot of reason, independence for Puerto Rico makes more sense. You should’ve mentioned that PR is a colony, since we can’t actually trade with any other nation other than the US, and the products the US sells are expensive (not mentioning the cost of shipping as well, which we also pay obvs). Due to this, many merchants have left PR for better quality of life, but that is caused by the US benefiting from this exchange. The US won a war against Spain which was already in the works to allow PR to be independent, but due to our position in the Caribbean and fertile land, the US conquered PR and took over the colonization that Spain had on PR. Today, PR is being controlled economically by the Board nicknamed “Promesa” which was made back in 2016, and not even the governor can go over any decisions the board make. Id like to add that the current governor just has so many scandals and its not even close compared to other years. both the pnp party and the ppd party you mentioned have always been corrupt, but thats not surprising. It would’ve been nice if you mentioned what Lolita Lebron and what she and other Puerto Rican men did in DC. I think youd be interested. all in all, not a bad video, but context and history are ever important because they are ever present.

[@godocs11]

I think the question should be, If the local constituents vote that they want to become states, why should they be rejected? I know why Republicans don't want them to be states but I can't think of any legitimate reason to keep them from statehood.

[@Civil_Maniac]

I don’t see much opposition to Puerto Rico, but DC is a whole other topic. DC is in the constitution and most republicans feels it is a highly partisan issue. I don’t see democrats supporting DC statehood if it voted republican. I think the biggest concerns about Puerto Rico is the distance and cultural differences (catholic Spanish speaking majority instead of Protestant English speaking majority)

[@kevinmoynihan5118]

@@Civil_Maniac The hold up on Puerto Rican statehood is absolutely based on race, language, and culture. What Puerto Ricans fear about statehood leading to such close margins is a loss of national and cultural identity. On paper our Constitution and federal system is pretty well set up to have a nation within a nation type situation where states can have there own cultural differences and official languages, but Republicans will absolutely try and make language and culture an issue. They don’t want a majority Latino state and they certainly don’t want a Spanish first state even though there is no federal official language requirement. The way I see it is that the only difference between commonwealth status and statehood is representation, but some members of Congress are making representation dependent on conforming to their WASP view of what America is.

[@Dangic23]

US Constitution prohibits self determination, circa 1901. This applies to all Unincorporated territories. So any votes done in the territories are completely meaningless.

[@kevinmoynihan5118]

@@Dangic23 The Constitution doesn’t prohibit self determination, but Congress would have to be the ones to set up the referendum and define it as binding.

[@godocs11]

@@Dangic23 I realize that you can't just vote yourself into statehood. I mentioned voting because I think a territory should only become a state if that's what the people of said territory want.

[@perceivedvelocity9914]

A lot of people from Puerto Rico have a college education. Those people tend to work in the States and send money home to their families. That's kinda of the opposite of DC. A lot of college educated people work in DC and live outside of it. Hence the terrible traffic.

[@abrahamlincoln937]

I think that the US should grant Puerto Rico its independence as a way to reverse American imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The US gave Philippines its independence in 1946, so the US should do the same with Puerto Rico.

[@blakekaveny]

But what if they don’t want independence

[@retched]

@@blakekaveny Then admit them, but don't do it the way that Hawaii became a state.

[@blakekaveny]

@@retched That true don’t it that way

[@andyjay729]

@@retched Why not?

[@retched]

@@andyjay729 The way how Hawai'i was borderline illegal and caused a great deal of resentment between the citizens at the time toward the US. If PR wants to become a state, then it should be CLEAR that Puerto Rico as a nation wants to join.

[@angelecintron]

Democracy matters, Puerto Rico should be a state as per it's own self determination.

[@DanTheMan-rr3yg]

More videos on Puerto Rico!

[@iammrbeat]

Heck yeah

[@adoggewokepupper]

@@iammrbeat Definitely, Mr. Beat! You would become a hero to Puerto Ricans by pouring Americans with real, critical history and aspects of Puerto Rico, like the history of the local political parties or the so-called Commonwealth or free associated state status quo (which I personally think is a deceiving way to name an unincorporated territory that deprives US citizenship due to the lack of right to vote for president or receiving benefits like SSI) and how has it affected the island since its installment in 1952.

[@joseacobe7919]

Mr Beat... Puerto Rico has only one citizenship, USA, not two.

[@interstatehighwayfan_645]

Visiting D.C was amazing but Visiting Puerto Rico was better I wish I could live there I support statehood for both

[@ghostsniperable353]

Then you support civil war.

[@blakekaveny]

@@ghostsniperable353 How Exactly is supporting statehood for both supporting civil war

[@interstatehighwayfan_645]

@@ghostsniperable353 huh?

[@ghostsniperable353]

@@blakekaveny because we know D.C would be a blue state with 2 democrat senators and 1 or 2 democrat representatives. Puerto Rico would have 1 dem and 1 GOP senator maybe. This would cause a imbalance and go against what the Founders wanted.

[@blakekaveny]

@@ghostsniperable353 I can understand that but at the same time having no representation is also against what the founders wanted.

[@papajohn3599]

Mr. Beat, you should do a video on how you make your videos. I know it's only PowerPoint but I think it would be very interesting.

[@PakBallandSami]

“Seeing the society that the Cuban people were attempting to build inspired me to believe it was possible to arrange a nation’s priorities to meet the needs of the majority of its people instead of just those of its corporations and super rich.” ― Iris Morales,

[@notsoaveragejoe7275]

Can you do a video about similarities and differences of Vietnam and Cambodia?

[@benplayzgames4368]

I thought dc was gonna become a state last year the house voted and passed it but didn’t go to the senate yet for some reason either way I would love to see a 51st state like dc Guam or purto Rico I asked my grandpa does he remember when Alaska and Hawaii became stated he said yes he still remember Eisenhower signing it into law thanks mrbeat also can you do a video of every president home state and birth state

[@LuisCastro-hy9st]

In my humble opinion as puertorrican, PUERTO RICO should be part of the United States, not as a commonwealth like we are now, but as the fifty-first state of the United States.

[@VMan29397]

No we need independence

[@mai_komagata]

the way to avoid crazy 51 star proposals is to go to 52 :D

[@leandrofranca5943]

We can make suggestion on VS? Becuase i think it's your best content

[@Alelusan]

Puerto Rico Libre!

[@rodrjaime]

Puerto Rican citizenship does not exist only the American

[@cbwavy]

Do Guam and American Samoa!

[@GodsJoke21]

As a Puerto Rican, I rather see my home become independent than it become a state. I would prefer it stay as is honestly. As long as we don't pay federal income tax, I am ok with not voting for the president and most people I know couldn't really care less. Also spending more money on students won't make education better. I was poor, came from public school and managed to get a bachelor's in electrical engineering. Most my class mates didn't make it to college because they didn't really care much for school, and a lot of the many other that did make it to college dropped out since they weren't really sure what they wanted to do and ended up wasting time. Puerto Ricans don't need a bachelor's to be successful in life and I am glad a lot of my people don't even bother with college because it is really not necessary unless you want to go into a STEM field.