In case you haven't heard, Puerto Rico is facing a humanitarian crisis. But you probably didn't hear about it.
As a result of Hurricane Maria, 3.5 million Puerto Ricans are without electricity. To put that into perspective, Los Angeles has 3.9 million residents. If the entire city of Los Angeles lost power, you probably would have heard about it by now and you would probably be hearing updates every hour about what was being done to fix it.
But this isn't Los Angeles, it's Puerto Rico, and they need more than just electricity.
Hospitals that should be saving lives are unable to provide care. Of the hospitals with functional generators (many of which are low on fuel), none have running water and supplies are rapidly dwindling. Without diesel fuel for generators, the hospitals lose electricity and life-saving equipment is forced to run on limited emergency backup power.
What's happening in Puerto Rico is devastating, but I'm not just sad, America, I'm pissed.
I'm angry that almost half of Americans don't realize that Puerto Ricans are also Americans. I'm frustrated that we aren't hearing more about their plight or relief efforts.
Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I can count on one hand the number of posts I saw about Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. On the other hand, I saw lots of posts about these five things.
1. Unconfirmed Kardashian and Jenner pregnancies
Because somehow the hypothetical future children of Kim, Khloe, and Kylie are more important than the 3.5 million people in Puerto Rico without shelter, electricity, and medical care.
2. Donald Trump and the NFL
Even though Trump claims his diatribe against NFL players who choose to kneel during the national anthem hasn't distracted him from relief efforts, I'm calling bullsh*t. I don't want to take away from the important issues those players are trying to bring awareness to, I just wish Trump thought the people of Puerto Rico warranted an equal amount of attention as he spouted off 20+ tweets about the NFL.
3. US Flag Code
I'll be honest, I had no idea there even was a Flag Code or what kind of stuff it covered. Then again, too many Americans had no idea Puerto Ricans fellow Americans.
4. Fixer Upper was canceled
If a dollar was donated to Hurricane Maria relief efforts every time I saw someone posting about how heartbroken they are that Chip and Joanna Gaines announced that Fixer Upper will be ending with season 5, we might actually make some progress. I love the show, but I am substantially more worried about the people who lost their homes than the couples lusting after shiplap accent walls.
5. Doughnut-delivering clowns
Don't get me wrong, clowns are terrifying. The fact that you can surprise your friends with doughnuts delivered by a clown is terrifying. But what's really terrifying is how many people in Puerto Rico have limited access to food and water.
All things considered, I'm disappointed with Americans' response to the tragedy in Puerto Rico. Social media gives us the power spread information and affect change in a positive way. I think it's time we do so.
