Gunshots Tell the Tale

Happy New Year!...or to better associate the phrase with the following video, Feliz Año Nuevo!


It isn't so much about the new year though. The video exemplifies a problem on the Caribbean colony of Puerto Rico. The gun shots heard in the the background are akin to a war zone. It is the ease by which so many can obtain firearms in a society where the unemployment rate hovers at just below 15%.

Why the unemployment rate? Because, it is one of a those economic figures which Conservative Governor Luis G. Fortuño has been credited with lowering via his 'radical reforms' which cut government jobs and left a working class people on hopeless unemployment lines.  Yes, the unemployment rate has shown a bit of a drop from 16.9% earlier in 2011 but as unemployment figures go, that doesn't take into account the 'discourage worker' who has lost his/her job and has given up on obtaining any employment. Conservatives are quick to point at the figures while failing to point out what the numbers truly represent. It is no wonder that the picture is painted with bright colors of Fortuño as a possible Republican Vice-Presidential candidate.  Fortuño, what are the youth to do when 30% are unemployed?

Behind the curtains, there is still a struggling society. The gunshots tell the tale of that society.