(5 of 5)
Police are trained to regard any encounter with any citizen as a potentially deadly one--for the officer. Cities have plaques bearing the names of police officers killed in the line of duty--a chilling testament to why the police are trained to respond in this way. I don't in any way condone the fatal shooting of African American Timothy Thomas by a white Cincinnati, Ohio, police officer, and my prayers go out to his family. But White's list of "survival tactics" should be observed by Americans of all colors in their dealings with police officers of all colors for the protection of both. WILLIAM A. NORDQUIST Columbus, Ohio
Unreal Exhibition
I must take issue with James Poniewozik's apologia for reality-TV programs and his view that they teach morality lessons [TELEVISION, April 23]. Programs like Big Brother and Survivor are not group therapy. Nor do they transmit any morals. They are an exhibition of what happens when contestants allow themselves to be showcased in an artificial environment in which they are likely to form emotional attachments while being required to inflict hurt and humiliation on one another. Rather than ask what message these shows send to their viewers, one should consider what irreparable damage they will, over time, cause to some of their participants, especially as the concept grows wilder and more out of control. BEN ALEXANDER New York City
Treating Cancer with Viruses
In your article "Smart Bombs For Targeting Deadly Tumors [THE FUTURE OF DRUGS, Jan. 15], you described the experience of cancer researcher Frank McCormick, implying that he originated the "wild" idea of fighting cancer with a virus. In reality, this is not a new idea. The United Cancer Research Institute, under the vision and perseverance of my father Dr. Laszlo K. Csatary, has been researching and publishing clinical observations on viral oncotherapy in major medical journals for more than 30 years.
He and the institute used a viral vaccine for the first time in 1968. The institute has supported viral research and has treated cancer patients with apathogenic or "friendly" viruses ever since then. How ironic that decades later, others want to be seen as the primary explorers in this field. It is important to remember that each medical innovation is built on the backs of others and that one should give credit where it is due. CHRISTINE M. CSATARY, M.D. New York City