An old problem
- Share via
Re “Scam Probe Tries to Link Women to More Deaths,” May 20
Even this 23-year-old cringes at the use of the term “elderly” to describe the 70-something women in your article. The concept of “old age” is changing, and the corresponding lexicon should as well. With 80-year-olds running marathons and 74-year-olds leading major corporations, “elderly” more often describes a frail body or fragile mind.
For future articles, I suggest you think carefully when using the word “elderly” out of sensitivity to the evolving definitions of age for all readers, not just those old enough to collect Social Security.
DIANN BENTI
College Park, Md.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
The latest effort is coming from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. They just announced a $3 million program in conjunction with some nonprofits groups to test and clean the soil at homes still standing in the areas impacted by the Eaton Fire.
California once bet big on offshore wind to help power its clean-energy future, but the Trump administration is now paying developers billions to walk away from their projects. As California’s remaining offshore-wind leases hang in the balance, the state is fighting back in court.
The Hillside Strangler murders terrorized Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The killers were a pair of sadistic cousins. One confessed. The other was set to stand trial—until L.A. prosecutors flinched.
