Editor:
In response to the article “Racial Reparations as a Way to Improve Health” (EMN. 2023; 45[3]:14; https://bit.ly/41yfUpk), shouldn't we also consider the Latino population? They suffer from most of the same societal misfortunes as Blacks. Using the same argument, shouldn't Latinos be in the conversation for equity compensation?
And as the Latinos near 50 percent of the population, how will we pay for this short of becoming a socialist state, or is that what this is really all about? Could this be a new form of racism in sheep's clothing to enable a new social order of control?
Maybe the real discussion should be dealing with solutions for poverty, which crosses all ethnic backgrounds. What do we do about the high costs of health care? Is that a discussion that we are afraid to have? Pushing for reparations is a cop out because the expense of reparations is going to push poverty onto a larger scale.
Peter Penico, MD
Bradenton, FL
