I was listening to a re-run of Law and Order on TNT. The defendant's lawyer was trying to get a racist murderer off on the novel grounds that racism is a mental illness, and the defendant should get treatment, not jail time and execution. This lawyer was examining the prosecution's psychiatrist, who denied that racism was a mental illness. The dialogue went something like this:
Lawyer: "Why won't psychiatrists reclassify racism as a mental illness?"
Psychiatrist: "Because there is no scientific evidence indicating that we should do so."
Lawyer: "But there was no scientific evidence indicating that homosexuality wasn't a mental illness, yet you reclassified that! Why?"
Psychiatrist: "True; that was a reaction to a changing social environment and consensus."
I thought that was a interesting exchange to go out from a mass-media popular program.
Very interesting exchange....I am surprised that TNT broadcast that. Thanks for the post.
"I thought that was a interesting exchange to go out from a mass-media popular program."
Obviously somebody screwed up.