‘Dignity Act’ is a little, too late after Miami congresswoman’s recent votes | Opinion

A bit late, no?

The so-called “Dignity Act” being pushed by my Congresswoman Maria E. Salazar, is too little, too late. She showed little concern for the dignity of the millions of people who will lose their healthcare based upon her vote for President Trump’s Big Ugly Bill, or for the dignity of the children, some of whom live in her district, who will go hungry because she and other Republicans cut the Food Stamp program, or for the dignity of imprisoned immigrants in Alligator Alcatraz, most of whom have never committed a crime and now live in cages, sharing three toilets with 29 others, all cowering in fear of alligators.

I visited Salazar’s office last week to make an appointment to see her. I was told that she does not meet with constituents and to send an email.

Salazar’s “Dignity Act” leaves this constituent indignant. She is a part of the problem and getting her out of Congress is part of the solution.

Marvin Dunn,

Palmetto Bay

It’s a start

I’m not going to let ideological differences with my U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar get in the way of a good old fashioned pragmatic solution to the immigration debacle.

Miami is immigrant strong and immigrant proud. What we’re doing to working families is heartless, no matter our neighbors’ national backstories.

We should be more welcoming. Her proposed legislation is a start.

Max Jaramillo,

Miami

Being human

About three years ago, The Our Fund Foundation approached me to spearhead a new project in the trans community. According to its CEO David Jobin, I was the “most perfect person,” as I am straight, married, white, mature (aka “old”) and most importantly, a trusted, longtime LGBT ally. I also have a hard time saying “No” to David.

My first assignment was to become more familiar with the trans nonprofit CEOs in Broward and Miami-Dade and then facilitate a group discussion about the needs and challenges of their work. I attended a Town Hall panel discussion at ArtServe. Admittedly, I was feeling way out of my comfort zone, especially when I realized one of the presenters was someone with whom I had worked previously, never knowing or thinking he was a trans man. It was truly an epiphany.

Since then, very willingly, five leaders have convened for frank discussions and continue to exchange ideas with me to address their strengths and weaknesses. They have all given me the opportunity to not only learn about their personal and professional challenges but also an opportunity for me to openly self-reflect.

As I become more educated, familiar and comfortable, I realize there is still much to learn, especially with being an effective ally. I have learned about pronouns, bathrooms and sports. I continue to listen to the proposed legislation, news about hate crimes, homelessness and discrimination in the workplace. I can speak to gender affirming care, violence against Black transgender women and barriers to proper healthcare and ongoing social stigma.

Ultimately, I do not walk in the shoes of my trans friends, so what I can do is walk beside them and speak from my heart about humanity — human beings’ love, affection, compassion and concern for others. When given a choice between being right and being kind, a person with humanity chooses to be kind.

A straight ally is a person who supports equal civil rights, gender equality and LGBTQ+ social movements. He/She/They advocates for the equal treatment of a community other than their own and chooses humanity above all else. I am not sure what impact a straight ally will inevitably have, but I do know I will stay the course.

Will you join me?

Shelley Goren,

Fort Lauderdale

Potential discomfort

Re: the Miami Herald’s July 1 editorial, “The joke’s on us as DeSantis, Trump make light of deporting people.” Our leaders’ comments are despicable, disgusting and not at all funny.

More appropriately, “the Boys” (Trump, DeSantis and Uthmeier) should spend a couple of days and nights in the middle of the Everglades under the blazing sun, summer thunderstorms and contending with pythons, bufo toads, alligators and larger-than-life mosquitoes.

Perhaps a taste of that will give them an iota of empathy and compassion for the unwanted predicament in which immigrants unjustifiably find themselves.

Marc A. Kuperman,

Miami

How insensitive

President Trump is imposing a 50% tariff on goods imported from Brazil because, among other issues, Brazil is prosecuting former president Jair Bolsonaro for his failed coup attempt following his loss in the 2022 presidential election. Trump claims the prosecution is a “witch hunt” of the former right wing authoritarian ruler.

Sound familiar?

Meanwhile, Brazilian soybean farmers are gleefully selling their crops to China in record numbers at the expense of American farmers, who lost their largest export market during the first Trump administration’s tariff fiasco.

Once again, Trump’s vengeful, impulsive tariffs have satiated his fragile ego at the expense of American workers.

Christopher Ryan,

Wilton Manors

Comfort food

The federal government recently held a big press conference for National Ice Cream Day (observed on July 20), with officials praising ice cream like it’s a health food. No one mentioned how the saturated fat and sugar fit into Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” plan.

Instead, they celebrated removing oil-based dyes from food. Maybe the food dye lobby isn’t as generous with campaign contributions as dairy.

As a concerned citizen, I think about the cows — gentle mothers whose babies are taken so we can have their milk turned into ice cream and other dairy products. However, we don’t need to choose between enjoying ice cream and being kind to animals. There are countless plant-based ice cream options that are better for our health, better for the planet and — best of all — don’t harm animals.

Owen Abram,

Miami

Parents beware

Florida’s education leaders, from the governor on down, are crowing about the latest results of the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking test. According to the July 9 Miami Herald article by Clara-Sophia Daly, for the sixth straight year, virtually all Miami-Dade County Schools received grades of A, B, or C.

That sounds great, until you realize that a school needs only an average score in the 60th percentile to boast about its grade. Even more troubling is that Florida’s average eighth grade reading and math scores are now literally off the charts — in the wrong direction.

Richard Freedland,

Palmetto Bay

Same difference

The July 17 Miami Herald front page article, “Vanished: Amnesty International accuses Maduro of using disappearances as a weapon,” could have been written about ICE arbitrarily arresting and disappearing people on U.S. streets.

Monica Harvey,

Miami Shores

Wise proposal

Kudos to U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar for her new proposed “Dignity Act.” Her simple and terrific solution was so easily explained. Interesting that all previous U.S. House and Senate “ideas” never accomplished anything.

As Salazar said, this is a simple and Solomonic solution to a 40-year problem.

Guillermo A. Martinez,

Coral Gables

Swinging, missing

I am a moderator of a 20-25 person sports discussion group sponsored by Osher Lifelong Learning and the University of Miami. We frequently discuss the woes of Miami Marlins attendance.

In an effort to get information directly from the source, we contacted the Marlins’ director of ticket sales. Two weeks went by and we never got a response. We have decided the Marlins don’t care.

If the Marlins don’t want to be the worst in attendance in Major League Baseball, maybe they could engage their few remaining fans.

Art Young,

West Kendall