To the Editor:

For all the erudite analysis of S.U.V. ownership — cultural, anthropological, sociological and medical — one perspective is missing (news article, Feb. 8): Anti-S.U.V.-ism is scapegoating.

People scapegoat S.U.V.'s and their owners for the same reason people always scapegoat things and people. Scapegoating is a way to expel evil and raise self-esteem. S.U.V.'s and their owners are simply the latest Jonahs thrown to Leviathan.

JEFFREY A. SCHALER
Silver Spring, Md., Feb. 8, 2003