Anger and gratitude after senseless killing of Miami-Dade deputy | Opinion

Fallen officer

Deep sadness envelops me today, but with it also comes sharp anger. I am incensed and beyond fed up learning about attacks on law enforcement officers in this country; in our community.

Miami-Dade County Deputy Devin Jaramillo was gunned down in the line of duty protecting and serving a community he loved. His deranged killer would have been better served to rot in a cage for the rest of his pathetic and miserable life rather than to take the coward’s way out, which he did.

I am not interested nor care to entertain whatever mental issues this killer may have had. I’m tired of mental health being used as a crutch for despicable acts. Most with such issues do not hurt anyone. Enough.

A grateful citizenry, who slept more soundly at night and were more secure in the day because of Jaramillo (and brave officers like him), now have a wound to their souls, to their psyche, which will pain them no end. Wounds like this may ultimately heal, but will leave an ugly scar; that is undeniable.

J.A. Shedd, an author and professor, said “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” Yet, the men and women of America’s law enforcement leave the harbor each tour of duty, often to turbulent and unforgiving waters.

A man left for work on a Friday morning with plans for a future and family he loves, all while keeping his community safe. This officer never returned; we are all worse for it now.

A community, regardless of how supportive it is, can never show enough gratitude for such acts. We will never be able to acknowledge the sacrifice, look him in the eyes and say “Thank you.” That remains haunting.

David Magnusson,

Miami Police assistant chief (ret.),

Coral Gables

Migration story

From the discovery of America to today’s Latin American exodus, human movement has been the great fertilizer of civilizations. Like bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, the wind and water, migrants carry with them knowledge, experiences and energies that enrich the unknown land, contributing labor, expertise and new perspectives that drive the development of receiving societies.

The conquest of the Americas — beyond its historical complexities — also represented a vast process of human, cultural and technological exchange that profoundly transformed indigenous peoples. From that encounter emerged a new world, a fusion that, over time, gave rise to more complex, mixed societies, open to innovation. In that interaction, many of today’s flourishing seeds of progress on both continents were planted by men and women who crossed the seas driven by hope, faith and the civilizing impulse.

To dismiss the work of immigrants today — as some narrow-minded people do — is to ignore the very history of humanity. To expect migrants to apologize for contributing to a nation’s growth is as absurd as asking bees to apologize for pollinating flowers.

Adolfo Pastran,

Miami

Democrats caved

Frederick Douglass warned that “power concedes nothing without a demand.” Senate Democrats proved that truth this week when they folded on a procedural vote to reopen the government without securing guarantees for the healthcare subsidies millions rely on. They did not bargain. They backed down.

People were hurting during the shutdown. Federal workers missed paychecks. Small businesses were stressed. Families were anxious. No one ignores that suffering. This fight, however, was righteous. It was about whether working Americans could afford to stay healthy. That cause deserved resolve, not retreat.

The president said he could wait out Senate Democrats — and he did. He walked away with the same deal he offered at the start. By giving in, Democrats showed the administration exactly where their pain threshold is. Once power knows that, it uses it forever.

When I was a kid in the 1980s, I played a game called Killer Man with my neighbors, cousins and friends. We were set loose with only two rules: do not track dirt into the house and be home before the streetlights turn on. The game had one ball, no teams and no real rules. Whoever held the ball got tackled by everyone else until someone else grabbed it. It was rough and chaotic, you survived by refusing to stay down.

The president is playing Killer Man. He treats politics like a full-contact contest where pain is leverage and endurance is victory. Senate Democrats are playing flag football. You cannot win a contact fight with a rulebook meant for a picnic.

Douglass wrote that “the limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” The administration now knows the limit, knows exactly when Senate Democrats will tap out. Some will call reopening the government responsible, but stability without justice is surrender.

The people Senate Democrats represent cannot tap out of their struggles. They skip medicine, work sick and live with fear. They endure. Their leaders should have, too.

Oliver G. Gilbert, III,

commissioner,

Miami-Dade County

Tunnel vision?

María Corina Machado, politician, activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, lives in hiding in Venezuela, avoiding the clutches of Nicolás Maduro, the person who succeeded last year in doing to his country what Donald Trump openly tried to do in the U.S. in 2020 – he stole an election.

Her daily life is a direct result of the same dictatorial mindset that drives Trump. She is, among other things, prosecutor, judge and executioner of her own people. Yet, she praises Trump. On every scale, he’s an authoritarian, the very sort she’s working so hard to nullify in her country.

Christopher Cooke-Yarborough,

South Miami

SNAP decisions

Six companies are the major contributors to the construction of the White House ballroom.

How much have they contributed to food banks while SNAP benefits are delayed?

Art Young,

West Kendall

Fools and money

Would you give a generous sum to a college where the trustees are known to squander the college’s holdings on astronomical gifts to politicians and hoteliers?

Alumni and wealthy donors alike are not so foolish with their money. If the Trustees of Miami Dade College succeed in their mission to give away land worth $67 million, philanthropy toward the college will be dead for the foreseeable future.

Philip K. Stoddard,

South Miami

POTUS triptych

There may be a multitude of characteristics one should possess for government service.

However, to serve as President of the United States, three characteristics are preeminent: knowledge, wisdom and truth.

Marshall L. Sober,

Aventura

Laws of emotion

Florida State Rep. Hillary Cassel is sponsoring a “No Sharia Act,” to supposedly protect Americans from the imposition of foreign laws. Cassel is well versed in laws, like the law of diminishing returns, which she clearly heeds as she wastes time with yet another GOP distraction meant to gin up the MAGA base.

The law of averages dictates this very outcome. Repeating the same actions over and over, on average, will produce the same result: MAGA rage.

Cassel will find the Law of Universal Gravitation applicable, in that whatever she throws up in the air must come down, as her career trajectory no doubt will eventually lead. In the meantime, the law of the jungle supersedes the law of the land in GOP circles.

Let’s see if Democrats can use the Law of Inertia following their string of successes in the recent elections.

Alex Jimenez,

Winter Park