To the Editor:

We were dismayed by “Are the Roma Primitive, or Just Poor?” (news analysis, Sunday Review, Oct. 20). The headline pretends to present two sides of a legitimate debate, when in fact the first horn of the dichotomy has no place at all in civil discussion, in Europe or America. The article makes it appear acceptable to debate as a serious issue whether Roma culture will effectively be a plague on Europe until this culture is renounced by its members through assimilation.

Can anyone imagine today speaking publicly about any other persecuted and marginalized European or American ethnicity as “primitive,” as fundamentally unfit for side-by-side existence with the majority groups? Of course not.

Overt discrimination against Roma, while technically illegal, remains widespread and widely accepted in southeastern Europe. Deprived of opportunity there, many hope for better prospects in Western Europe, only to find once they arrive, in many cases, that their status as citizens of the European Union counts for nothing. The Roma remain effectively stateless, disowned by all European governing bodies as out of place, indeed as invasive.

Nonetheless, they have a vibrant and resilient culture, with literature worth reading, films worth seeing and people worth getting to know. This much they have in common with all cultures. Your article will not help anyone to realize this.