Thugs know nothing about the real Puerto Rico...

By Roberto Santiago

When video images of the Central Park wilding showed some of those young men wearing the Puerto Rican flag, I wanted to throw a brick through my television screen.

The ignorance that followed The National Puerto Rican Parade resulted in the sexual molestation of innocent women, undermined a festive occasion and made an entire race of Spanish-speaking Caribbean people look bad.

Prominent Puerto Ricans from Fernando Ferrer to Geraldo Rivera felt compelled to remind skeptics and bigots alike that such sexually violent behavior -after a cultural event where the Puerto Rican flag held such prominence had nothing to do with the Puerto Rican culture.

And they are right, but there is one point Puerto Rican leaders failed to underscore. Those young men who shamelessly wore the Puerto Rican flag wouldn't know the Puerto Rican culture if it hit them in the head. Rather, they represent mindless pride. Young men who loudly wear and wave the flag but have no idea what it represents.

Sometimes you have a young boricua men tell me that they are proud to be Puerto Rican , I ask them why. They reply with a blank stare followed by a shrug.

These young men may know the rap lyrics of Big Pun but are clueless when it comes to the verse of Julia de Burgos, Puerto Ricans greatest poet.

They may have heard that Puerto Ricans are one-third Taino Indian ( the native people of Puerto Rico), but are unaware that many of the island's top leaders were women.

They probably have walked by the Puerto Rican Theatre, but they likely never went inside (or knew that it was founded and run by a Puerto Rican women). And they would not be able to recognize Rep.Nydia Velazquez or political activist Lolita Lebron if they were wearing name tags.

It is impossible to embrace Puerto Rican culture without embracing women's history.

And it is impossible to embrace women's history without having some basic esteem, respect and dignity for women.

True Puerto Rican culture is found in books, museums, crafts and theater.

As Puerto Rican pride becomes synonymous with flag displays on car hoods or salsa music blasting from apartments windows, who cares what happens to our poets and our artists?

Apparently none of these young people will, if we fail to lift and educate these young minds that we claim we love, but in truth, we smugly ignore.

This story was written by Roberto Santiago, a Daily News staff writer and is also the editor of the book called " Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings."