LETTER
A Conflict of Interest "Revisited": The Use of Stereotypes
Matthew Zucker, MD
15 May 1994 | Volume 120 Issue 10 | Pages 893-894
TO THE EDITOR:
You published a fictional essay [1] about lawyers, physicians, patients, and families who struggle to solve their problems. Named characters include attorneys Slattery and Prudhomme, Dr. Simpson, Allen Heath, Jennie Heath, and Mrs. Heath. Then there is attorney Isadore Lavinsky, described as "scum, a street fighter ... He'll do anything ... : perjury, bribery, witness tampering ..." The only identifiable Eastern European Jew is the scummy lawyer, Iggie Lavinsky. Why give the Jewish name to the unsavory, unethical attorney? Everyone else gets a neutral "American" name. What is the message? Do the author and the editors really mean to associate Jews with the unethical, tricky, and underhanded? Is this connection made through malice, ignorance, or merely insensitivity? Is stereotypical writing now to be expected in future issues of Annals? Your editorial judgment in publishing this piece is suspect and disappointing.
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Author and Article Information
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North Miami Beach, FL 33169
1. LaCombe MA. A conflict of interest. Ann Intern Med. 1993; 119:623-6.
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