Letters to the Editor | Aug. 30, 2023

As we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the Rev. Al Sharpton said he wished he could show a split screen with the left side featuring the violent Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionists and the right showing the thousands of peaceful, nonviolent demonstrators who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. What an important reminder of how to bring a powerful message to Washington.

Paul L. Newman, Merion Station

America is currently experiencing a 21st-century variation on Jane Elliott’s “blue eyes/brown eyes exercise.” Say anything long and loud enough and many will subscribe to it as their personal agenda. If a lie is to be convincing, you must not “cloud” the issues with pertinent facts. Your followers will become emboldened and feel superior to all who disagree, as their main goal is to have “those others” become inferior and subservient. This scenario has happened throughout history. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat past mistakes. All countries need a leader who can actually lead for the betterment of their citizens, instead of dividing them against each other. Let our precious and delicate democracy, through our judicial checks and balances, finally process the truth and hopefully prevail through our current travails.

Ron Farbman, Philadelphia

The Inquirer reports that New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a bill that designates “Central Jersey” as an official place. Down here in South Jersey, we consider this nonsense. It is as real as Central Dakota, Central Vietnam, or Middle-earth. Doesn’t exist. “Central Jersey” sounds like the place people from North Jersey say they’re from when they don’t want to say they’re from North Jersey. I-95 splits the state in two. If you are north of that, you are in North Jersey.

Bill Bead, Westville

It’s perfectly clear that the Mütter Museum’s rich tradition of displaying a history of medical science, within both old and new contexts, will soon be lost. It’s time for the Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court to step in and protect this institution’s unique role and the opportunities it provides. The Mütter has always trumpeted the good, the bad, and yes, the very ugly and disturbing materials of 19th-century science. The Mütter is not an exhibit of art, humanities, or health — it displays a story of how medical science came to be, like no other institution.

Yes, major portions of the collection of human matter were obtained in pursuit of peculiar beliefs that we now know to have been significantly flawed, false, and harmful. Yet this history remains valuable. Understanding the falsehoods and excesses of eugenics (a significant subtheme at the museum and 19th-century science) is as critical in medicine as understanding the Confederacy is to U.S. history and politics. Their importance today should not be devalued, hidden, or varnished by misapplied cultural insights or political vogues.

The Mütter’s collections are decidedly not pleasant, but they give unique understanding within their context. This context is the medical sciences of a different time. Are Michelangelo’s dissections to be stored away because there’s no record of the cadaver’s informed consent? Of course not. But starting an understanding of today’s informed consent, or what makes bad science, or what are errors of natal development, etc., are lessons that the Mütter uniquely provides.

Dolph Druckman, Baltimore

In her recent column, Jennifer Stefano demands that Democratic mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker debate her Republican opponent, David Oh. Stefano claims that this is a way for candidates to show their “worthiness” to voters. Has she actually seen a debate by political candidates lately? Rather than either answering questions or discussing positions, these so-called debates are simply a way for the candidates to repeat their talking points regardless of the questions asked. Some candidates also present canned “zingers” where they demonstrate the wit of their speechwriters. These debates are competing campaign ads that candidates don’t pay for. Since it is obvious that no “worthiness” will be demonstrated in this kind of pseudo-debate, what is Stefano’s real motivation?

Kenneth Gorelick, Wayne

The seismic shift coming to America’s auto fleet will be electrifying. President Joe Biden’s sustainability plan requires all federal agencies to transition all light-duty vehicles to zero-emission vehicles by 2027, followed by transitioning all medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2035. The build-out of the immense network of electric vehicle charging stations required to meet demand will fall to IBEW members. Our proprietary Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) is the preferred national certification standard for training workers who will install the 500,000-station national charging network.

The EVITP was developed with the automotive, utility, and manufacturing sectors, as well as with our partners in the National Electrical Contractors Association. The training alliance oversees and develops curricula for the IBEW’s joint apprenticeship training centers and the inside wiremen training centers in the U.S. that are actively enrolling students for electric vehicle charging system training programs. The EVITP instruction covers such subjects as vehicle history, design, and structure, as well as the National Electrical Code and the applications of load calculation methods and rules. IBEW Local 98 is leading the charge. To learn more, visit www.atei98.org.

Brian Myers, apprentice training director, IBEW Local 98, Philadelphia

Tucked away at the end of the excellent editorial on safety for cyclists and pedestrians in our parks is the suggestion that speed bumps should be implemented in the FDR Oval. Speed bumps should be used way more widely than they are: on Lincoln Drive, which is treated by drivers as a speedway despite 25 mph limits; on many streets in the city, where souped-up cars and ATVs race day and night; and around all schools.

Barbara Gold, Philadelphia

The ubiquity of guns makes any traffic stop, any investigation of domestic abuse, or any attempt to apprehend a criminal a possible life-threatening event for police officers. The GOP has styled itself as the “law and order” party, and yet its representatives at both the state and federal levels stand staunchly against the kind of sensible gun control that 80% of the populace thinks reasonable. Police officers need this protection.

Today, anyone confronted by the police is at risk of gun violence because of the increased possibility that the officer is justifiably fearful of personal injury or death. Guns promote a never-ending continuous loop of violence begetting violence. The way to interrupt this loop is actually quite simple: sensibly disarm the population. I know that particular solution would be extremely difficult to accomplish in the present state of contentiousness our country finds itself in. I am soon to be 80 and have seen many things in my lifetime, but I doubt I will see this problem addressed in a meaningful way. I hope my children and grandchildren will see some solution, but even that remains deeply speculative.

P.M. Procacci, Moorestown

A recent Inquirer article addressing the rise in postpartum complications caught my attention. As a Black undergraduate student focusing on racism as a public health issue, the story impressed upon me the urgent, ongoing need for measures to stem the impact of race in maternal care. However, how certain statistics were presented may lead some to link most maternal complications among Black people with lower socioeconomic status. Even without factoring in education and income levels, Black women are still more likely than their white counterparts to have maternal complications, including death.

In November 2022, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a report that credited both socioeconomic disparities and systemic racism and discrimination as drivers of this maternal health crisis among Black women. Too often, the media links lower-income populations with social instability, perpetuating the myth that higher education and social status equate to less exposure to racism. “Weathering,” the chronic, long-term effects of racism on physical and mental health, impacts Black women at every level. More representation among health-care providers, along with more unconscious bias training, must be the priority of health-care administrators now to curb the effects of racism and weathering on Black women.

Rayna Jael Bolich, Reading

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