I carry Puerto Rican pride in my heart. The “joke” about the trash island struck a deep chord.

Ferdinand Avila-Medina is a college administrator and educator with a long career helping students achieve academic success. He has resided in central Ohio for over 16 years.

This was intended as a joke.

“There is a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean. It’s called Puerto Rico,” the comedian said at Donald Trump’s political rally at Madison Square Garden.

And the crowd laughed, oblivious or indifferent to the many insults contained in this “joke.” For those of us with Puerto Rican roots, who value both the island and the mainland we now call home, these words cut deep.

They sting, but at the same time they illuminate something deeply disturbing.

Racial prejudice still plays an important role in American politics

This joke It’s not just about Puerto Rico; this is another thread in a long and ugly pattern. A model where people are reduced to a label or an insult, where darker skin tones, different languages, and different cultures are seen as flaws rather than the gifts that they are.

As a Puerto Rican who left the island more than two decades ago, I carry Puerto Rican pride in my heart. Throughout my life here in the US, I have built strong friendships with people who look and think differently.

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Diversity is still one of America’s strengths, but we live in a political moment where people like us—those who may speak with an accent, whose skin tone may be a little darker—are called and treated as ” parasites”, “criminals”, “poison.”

And we’ve heard these labels from people who claim to support Christian values, which makes the irony even more bitter. At some point, the Christian principle of “love your neighbor” began to be applied selectively.

I wonder who finds humor in belittling an entire nation as a floating island of garbage?

Of course not Jesus. This joke brought laughter to people who might otherwise speak with pride about freedom, unity and faith. But when it comes to fellow citizens who look or sound a little different, empathy and love for “your neighbor” evaporates.

Puerto Ricans are not foreigners

As part of our colonial history, Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens for over a century.

We pay taxes and contribute in every way we can – through military service, taxes, culture and innovation. We don’t deserve to be belittled or called derogatory names any more than anyone else.

And yet this history of dehumanization persists, sometimes unnoticeably, sometimes not. Because calling Puerto Ricans trash at a political rally is not an isolated incident.

It is part of a larger culture that tolerates casual hatred, cloaked in “humor,” cloaked in “free speech,” and then justified by a twisted version of “patriotism.”

So, if we’re going to talk about patriotism, about values, let’s talk about what upholding them actually means. True patriotism does not humiliate its people. He does not laugh at others and does not allow hate speech to slip unchecked. He demands respect and insists on the dignity of everyone – without exception or reservation.

More: Trump-supporting comedian opens rally by calling Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage’

Yes, this is a moment to feel anger, but it is also a call to action. We can decide to be better people and call these “jokes” for what they are: pure hate. And we can remind those who laugh along with these “jokes” of the true meaning of the values ​​they claim to cherish. Because love, respect and integrity are not just words to be used in a place of worship or when it is convenient. These are principles to live by every day.

Ferdinand Avila-Medina is a college administrator and educator with a decades-long career helping students achieve academic success. He has resided in central Ohio for over 16 years.

This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: Opinion: Puerto Rico’s trash island ‘joke’ is hateful. Not patriotic