Dear Gov. Ron DeSantis:

I do not know your level of education or life experience, so forgive me if I seem obtuse.  I am not sure how to explain this to you, but I will do my best to be gentle.  You live in Florida right?  There is a large Latinx community in Florida right?  Oh sorry, you probably don’t know that word.  How about Hispanic? Does the work?  Cuban!  Yes. You know that one because there are lots of Cuban voters in Miami.  So, people from Cuba are Latinx, or Hispanic.  We refer to the people from the different countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America as Latinx for shorthand.  I am sure you understand that Cubans are human beings, right?  … Right…?  That is why they can vote for you, because they are human beings and American citizens.

There is another country called Venezuela, whose people are also considered Latinx.  Have you heard of it?  No?  Ok, fair enough, they are not a major voting block in Florida.  So, interesting fact about Venezuelans:  like Cubans they too are human beings.  Just like you and me!  I know their skin is darker than yours and they speak Spanish, but trust me they are just as human as you and I.

I wonder if knowing that Venezuelans are also human beings (like you) would impact how you handle migrants entering Florida?  I must assume, that it would change your policies and practices.  Afterall, human beings are not cattle.  Human beings are not political pawns that can be moved around or shipped off to another state. 

I assume you did not know they were humans.  I know I am making a lot of assumptions in this letter, but I tried to think of a reason why you would load two planes full of humans and fly them off to Martha’s Vineyard and dump them there. The only thing I could come up with is that you were unaware that Venezuelans were human beings, like you.  I mean… It feels like I am giving you the benefit of the doubt here!  There is no way you shipped off two planes of Venezuelans (human beings) and treated them like cattle or amazon packages!  Right?  This is the United States!  We treat all humans with basic dignity!  … Right…? 

So anyway, now that you know, I would suggest adjusting your policies toward migrants (whether legal or illegal) to ensure that they are treated with basic dignity and respect.  You are the elected Governor of the great state of Florida!  Surely, you did not intend to use two planes full of human beings as political pawns and entirely disregard their dignity. 

I know what you are thinking – How could I have ever made such a mistake?  Don’t worry, it is a mistake your colleagues in the Republican Party make all the time.  They have probably had a bad influence on you, like they have had on the whole country.  But that’s in the past, now you know Venezuelans are humans, like you.  You can begin to make amends!  Americans love a great redemptions story.

….. Oh wait…Shit….. I just read in the mainstream media that you absolutely knew that Venezuelans were human beings, like you.  It seems you also knew exactly what you were doing when you loaded them onto planes and dumped them like garbage.  Your whole idea was to treat them as less then human to make a political point. 

Well don’t I have egg on my face!  You can disregard this letter, as you disregarded their human dignity. Obviously, extending the benefit of the doubt to you was not warranted.

Best,
John