I’m a Marlins fan. I make no apologies for that | Opinion
Team loyalty
As an avid Miami Marlins fan, I make no apologies. Yes, they are bad. However, I am a member of a small, intimate group of fans.
The Marlins always gets second billing. There is a certain solace in knowing that one is rooting for the downtrodden, the unloved stepchild of South Florida sports. Every win becomes a huge milestone to feed off, as there are so few.
While I watch all the other sports teams, I will always keep an eye on my forgotten friends, the Miami Marlins.
Dale Greenberg,
Hollywood
Talk it through
Last week, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Columbia University and spoke with some Jewish students. This situation will not be settled with a one-side-only conversation. From the start of the Israel-Hamas war, all sides should have been in discussions.
Differences in viewpoints are normal and should be acknowledged, but we must talk to each other, without name-calling or hurling hurtful words. A college campus must be a place for peaceful discussion, tolerance and learning for all. It’s essential for our future.
Marsha Broad,
Miami
Dems prospects
I agree wholeheartedly with Philip Levine’s April 30 op-ed, “Dade Democrats rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic.” Republicans have been very successful in raising the fear of socialism or communism against the Democratic Party, no matter how absurd the comparison.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Cuban President Raul Castro (and his successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel) are so much closer to Donald Trump in anti-democratic tendencies, machismo and crudeness than any Democratic candidate.
The Miami-Dade Democratic Party is only interested in raising money. And money alone won’t cut it, as Levine stated.
Democrats will have a hard time selling the abortion and recreational marijuana amendments among Latino communities (and others) and need an overall, positive, forward-looking message in a county plagued by a high cost of living and lack of good public transportation, among other important issues.
Many of us are ready to serve. We are waiting for a good strategy and enthusiastic leadership.
Patricia Dressler,
Aventura
Role models
Reading the April 30 Miami Herald headline, “Gisele cried during a traffic stop in Miami. Now, someone’s complaining to cops,” I initially assumed the concern was that the driver, fashion model Gisele Bundchen, received preferential treatment due to her celebrity status. To my surprise, it was the mayor of Surfside who lodged a complaint, citing a lack of empathy from the officer.
As a retired police officer, and a liberal-leaning one, I can attest that the officer likely fulfilled his duty to protect, serve and maintain law and order. He stopped an erratic driver and demonstrated professionalism, empathy and compassion.
Perhaps it’s time for the mayor to focus on his own duties. Policing is challenging enough without pandering behavior from those in positions of authority.
Mayree Morin Fernandez,
South Miami
Dark days
Almost all of my 90 years of life, I knew of antisemitism, but what I am witnessing now in America is heart-wrenching. It is as if this anti-Israel movement has succeeded in drawing out all the dormant antisemites among us plus some professional agitators.
Some argue that to be anti-Israel is not to be anti-Jewish. Israel is the one Jewish state among more than 50 Muslim nations in the world. Forgive my disbelief that this is just against Israel’s war with Hamas.
I am amazed at the calls for supporting Hamas on college campuses, the words of encouragement from some tenured professors and the lack of protection for Jewish students. And when I see all those banners and tents, I wonder who is paying for them.
Even the police, when finally called, cannot completely control the crowd and when arrests are made, protesters are quickly released to return as heroes. Sooner rather than later, folks will be physically hurt and then the National Guard will be called. How sad for all of us.
Roger Shatanof,
Coral Gables
Isle of discontent
Reading Miami Herald reporter Linda Robertson’s April 28 story, “Angry Grove Isle residents sue city, saying Miami broke its laws to let condo rise,” was a joy, only because she is a truly skilled and professional journalist. However, it was simultaneously revolting.
We live on the mainland, some 800 yards directly across from the new building. It’s not only that our beautiful nights will never be the same, nor the roof-top party venues with noise that will carry across the water, or even the added traffic and congestion on South Bayshore Drive. As abutting neighbors, we should have received notice of the proposed project, not read about it in the newspaper after the fact.
As president of my condo association, long ago I reached out to developer Eduardo Avila to try to mitigate the dust dirtying our balconies daily, to no avail. He simply did not care. Worse yet, now we find out, thanks to Robertson’s reporting, that the process was flawed and potentially illegal.
I guess we must continue to live with loud construction noise and dusty balconies and windows for many more years, thanks to a project that should never have started.
Elena V. Carpenter,
Coconut Grove
Missed opportunity
Why didn’t university students around the world protest Hamas’ attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023?
Valeria Mastelli,
Key Biscayne
Pay no attention
In 2021, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature enacted a law requiring an annual ideological survey of the state’s university and college faculty, staff, employees and students. The 2022 results were statistically invalid due to low response. The 2023 survey was suspended, then deferred to 2024 “to allow students to form an opinion.”
Now, the survey claims it is “objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid.” Created by Florida’s Board of Education and Board of Governors, the survey lacks objectivity and non-partisanship, and statistical validity can only be determined after responses are tabulated.
Respondents are asked for their political party affiliation and use terms such as “conservative” and “liberal” without defining either. Several questions include choosing between two extremes on topics like free speech and diversity, such as whether speech itself is violence or whether all speech is allowed. Neither option is correct. Words themselves are not violent, but the right of free speech ends when words call for violence, such as inciting a violent attack on the nation’s Capitol building.
The survey is clearly attempting to gather and then manipulate data to advance DeSantis’ agenda. The best survey response is to not respond.
Maxine Long,
Coral Gables
Reckoning is due
Allowing protesters, encampments and agitators on our college campuses is totally unacceptable.
Why didn’t university presidents carry out immediate and strict consequences?
The fear of imposing consequences on bad behaviors is rampant not only on our college campuses but also throughout our elementary, middle and high schools. Breaking school rules and giving students too many chances without instantly applying consequences leads to unsafe and chaotic learning environments.
School administrators often fear the wrath of parents. And kids whose parents allow bad behaviors at home without consequences continue their unacceptable behaviors in class. No wonder teachers are leaving in droves.
Mayade Ersoff,
Palmetto Bay
Student activism
The April 30 letter, “Wrong targets,” called those who speak against the pro-Gaza protesters “hypocritical” without raising the student activism during the Vietnam War. There is no hypocrisy here.
Vietnam protesters were against a war being fought by our own country over which our leaders had total control to escalate, deescalate or end. Some of the most powerful voices leading the protests were those of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
The Biden administration is trying its best to influence the conflict but has limited control. I have read no clear statement on what today’s student activists hope or expect to achieve. Israel is our ally, however misguided by Netanyahu’s regime, while the civilian Palestinians are a vital humanitarian concern.
This complicated situation is festering with hate from both sides. Our country does not need to import hate. We have enough of our own.
Joanne Miles,
Hollywood
