Thank you for your excellent commentary [Hot Type, August 2] on the controversy I caused with my “Death be not too proud” editorial. I was very disheartened to learn that I offended the disabled community in Chicago, who reacted strongly to my opinions. It was never my intention to advocate “mercy killing” or murder in any context.
I was writing about the specific circumstances surrounding the Carol Carr arrest and my own personal experience with my sister, who did not want to suffer in the condition she was in indefinitely. I would never seek to influence or impose my thoughts and opinions on such matters on anyone living with illness or disability. I begged the Tribune to let me respond to the rebuttals, since I feel that there was a misperception that I advocated murder when, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Unlike my usual discourse in the Philadelphia Inquirer, where there is a policy of editorial back-and-forth, it is not the Tribune’s policy.
Lewis Whittington
Philadelphia