The Neutrality Trap. Bernard S. Mayer

vision for the future. I think such a movement will do more to create constructive conversations and break through polarization than anything else we can do.

      What about you? How does your Puerto Rican self make sense of what is happening in the United States?

      Jackie: One of the sad advantages of being from a colony is that we have seen and experienced firsthand the many ways that oppression manifests itself. Therefore, my Puerto Rican self is not surprised by what is happening in the United States. However it does give me hope that more and more people in the United States may be willing to start engaging in conversations that they would not have imagined having five years ago. In my opinion, racism is not the root cause of what is currently happening in the United States; rather it is the US imperialist mindset that has fueled racism and White supremacy. As a Puerto Rican, I am hopeful that as conversations about dismantling racism continue to take place, more people in the United States will start grappling with the harsh reality that they are an empire and as such, they continue to own colonies and deprive people of democracy. Maybe the conversations in the United States can advance a self‐determination process for Puerto Rico, all the other US colonies, and for Indigenous nations.