Letters

What Scares You?

I commend you for your report on phobias [SCIENCE, April 2]. I have four of them--fear of bridges, heights, clowns and crickets. Your story adequately covered the topic and the feelings of those of us who have phobias, but I was disappointed by the large pictures of the clown, the chicken and the claustrophobic person. For those of us who fear clowns or chickens, the pictures made it very difficult to read your story. JESS MOLOUGHNEY Macon, Ga.

As someone who had acrophobia, I understand how a person can be afraid of things that most others don't find threatening. I beat my acrophobia by riding on roller coasters and going to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I confronted my fears. This may not work for everybody, and it took a long time to have the guts to do it. But I decided that I wasn't going to live my whole life with my phobia. To others with phobias, I say, Don't let such fears control you. You deserve better. ADRIAN M. GONZALEZ GUERRA Monterrey, Mexico

I had my first panic attack in 1959. Within weeks, I wouldn't leave the house, and I thought I was the only person in the world with this fear. It was 10 years before I heard the term agoraphobic, and another 10 before people started talking about panic attacks. God bless the researchers who have removed the stigma of this living hell and given sufferers their life back. With the help of new techniques and drug therapies, I went back to college, and have just received a B.A. in English. Next year, I will fly across the country to hold my grandchild in my arms. Thank you, TIME, for telling people that we need not lose 30 years of our life to fears. JUDITH A. WEBB Pacific Grove, Calif.

You can't have a panic attack and feel relaxed at the same time. A rapidly effective treatment is a one-minute hypnotic relaxation procedure taught by a therapist trained in clinical hypnosis. A person standing in line at a supermarket, about to be overcome by panic, can use this method in less time than it would take to reach for and swallow a pill. Most people can be trained in one or two sessions. And there are no side effects other than the feeling of mastery. MARIAN K. SHAPIRO Lexington, Mass.

You can find out more about this approach at the website of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, www.asch.net

As a specialist in anxiety disorders, I have found it most effective to meet the parents of an anxious child and work with them first. As parents feel less threatened, they communicate a less fearful attitude, and many children do not need treatment directly. A parent who feels confident about his ability to deal with what comes up is more likely to have a child who feels the same way. This does not deny the individual temperamental differences each of us has from birth, but it is important to be aware of how parents influence their children. LILI ENDLICH Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Courage of a Commander

The words and actions of Commander Scott Waddle in the aftermath of the tragic collision between his submarine and the Japanese fishing vessel [NATION, April 2] reveal a man of great character, commitment and compassion--attributes that should be embraced by all officers of our armed forces. The Navy admirals who hold the remains of Waddle's career in their hands should perhaps consider that he has already suffered enough, and not compound this tragedy by subjecting him to a court-martial. BILL NEILY Gorham, Maine

Boeing on the Move

In your story about Boeing's decision to move out of Seattle [BUSINESS, April 2], you referred to the strike that the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace staged against Boeing as a "38-day walkout." It was 40 days. We who walked are proudly wearing pins that say 40 DAYS, SPEEA STRIKE 2000. Every day was a struggle and a triumph. Please don't short us. SUSAN BROWN Seattle

Brown has a point. Boeing and union negotiators reached a deal after 38 days, but union members did not ratify the agreement until two days later.

The Pumped-Up Prez

Re the workout routine of our physically fit President [NOTEBOOK, April 2]: You quoted Dubya's conditioning coach as saying the President's workout consists of "a lot of dumbbell work." Some jokes just write themselves, don't they? JERILYN A. DEPETE Alpharetta, Ga

A Question of Compensation

Before we start discussing reparations to African Americans who were enslaved, as Jack E. White did in his column "Don't Waste Your Breath" [DIVIDING LINE, April 2], we need to take care of a previous debt. Native Americans had an entire hemisphere stolen from them, and they suffered under a virtual "open hunting season" from the time Columbus appeared on the horizon. To repay Native Americans for our ill-gotten gains would mean we would have to give them--well, everything. JIM OSBORNE Indianapolis, Ind.

How many endeavors would not only provide financial compensation to descendants of victims but also provide a hint of closure to one of the most shameful periods in the history of our nation? It is time to clear the conscience of America. The fight for reparations is not only noble, it is necessary. TODD THEMAN POLLAKOFF Northridge, Calif.

--The issue of slave reparations got quite a few of you mad. Among the rejoinders we can print is one from a Las Vegas reader who told us that "slavery was a grave crime, but people who aren't responsible for what happened owe nothing to people it didn't happen to. It's a fact, pure and simple, that no living African American has ever been the slave of a living white American!" "Even Southerners whose families owned slaves through the Civil War owe nobody a cent," insisted a man from Atlanta. "It's not their fault their ancestors were slave owners." Looking at the issue from another angle, a Texas reader judged, "I don't imagine Southerners could collect reparations for the property the Yankees took during the war, and we shouldn't try. Since all of us, including African Americans, are better off now, let's get on with our lives and stop whipping a dead horse."

Fast Trips to Nowhere

I commend Karl Taro Greenfeld for his candid article about the similarities between his chronic use of speed and the growing problem of methamphetamine addiction in Asia [WORLD, April 2]. Had this piece been written by someone without firsthand knowledge of the dangers of drugs, it would have failed to capture the hopelessness, desperation and irony in the lives of drug users. Greenfeld's article was an example both of beautiful writing and courage. PARINA SOMNHOT Ashburn, Va.

As a former user I read with interest this painfully heartfelt account of the power of methamphetamines. Greenfeld gets it. I've had enough of people pontificating on the evils of speed in a blind spew of judgmental ignorance. Unless you've taken that hit yourself and felt the rush, then crashed hard in anguish and despair afterward, I'm not interested in your opinion on the subject. BRIDGET Q. CAIN San Diego