Homosexuality is listed on page 88 among "Certain Mental Disorders", along with
Alcoholism or other Substance Use Disorder, Mental Retardation, and Factitious Disorder, among others. Glad to know we're in good company with alcoholics, druggies, liars and retards.

Yet alcoholics, druggies, liars and retards can all get married. Why not us? I'm so confused.

DEAR A.J.: The link between extreme prejudice and whether it should be considered an actual form of mental illness is a topic that's being discussed frequently among mental-health experts. Some, such as Alvin Poussaint, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, feel that such individuals are delusional and when they fear that complete strangers who happen to look or think a certain way are going to hurt them and they therefore need to protect themselves, they're clearly impaired.

Often, prejudice and bias, whether against those of a different race or religion, or against homosexuals, begin in the home or community, where they're passed down to children. You're right to be concerned about your own children being in the presence of such bigotry, but I'm sure you used this as an opportunity to teach them that this exists in our world, and that this kind of irrational hatred endangers everyone's health.

Go to 2002 archives and scroll down to the January 18th episode; it plays through streaming MP3.

Wait. No I'm not. I've lived both places.