It was considered a mental illness until 1972, if I remember correctly.

But it was accepted, and even promoted, in ancient times.

This isn't a fair comparison.

It's more like taking a group of people who give formal medical care to those who are ill. Some of them are fairly called doctors, but others have some characteristic that is not completely in vogue. It doesn't even matter specifically what they are. Maybe these people believe in a hands-off approach to healing, or practice holistic medicine, or prefer the use of herbs to prescriptions. In any case, although they do the same thing, it's argued that they aren't as effective, or else aren't "real" doctors, so the term shouldn't be applied to them. So we decide to call them medicine men instead.

But who's going to go to a medicine man when a doctor is available? The term itself is limiting and divisive. In fact, the term makes average people think about the medicine man group differently than the doctor group. It doesn't essentially matter if the two groups are equally effective in reality because of the way they will be perceived.

So perhaps the two terms are meant to be equal, but medicine men (being different) are distrusted a bit. Maybe it starts by people being more apt to lodge complaints... after all, a doctor certainly must know what he's doing, and maybe a medicine man doesn't. So maybe the next step is that the government puts in place regular inspections of medicine man practices that they don't have for doctors... after all, doctors aren't getting all these complaints. One thing leads to another, and pretty soon what was supposed to be two terms for the same thing become two very different terms for two very different things.

When you have real people and real situations, terms are not just terms anymore.

I know homosexuality has been around as long as alcohol, but it's never been -legal- until very recently basically anywhere in the world.

You aren't really going to argue this an allopathy (MD) vs homeopathy (others and DOs) discussion are you? Medical Doctors (American) are trained to diagnose and prescribe medications that is supported by verifiable clinical data and experimental backing. I would be skeptical of any homeopathic 'remedy' without rigorous FDA stage 0-4 clinical trials.

Do American trained DO's have a point by studying the 'healthy' state of the body rather than a intense focus on pathogenesis?
Sure. In America MD's and DO's are considered separate but equal, given their training.

And Maylea if the clinical results SAY there are more complaints for one group than another it should be looked into. I believe social stigma will eventually be exonerated by hard data.

*cough* Egyptians domesticated yeast and made beer. I'm pretty sure homosexuality has been going on longer. I'm not sure we have any written documents to date it though.

Oh and Ancient Greece/Rome?

This thread is a nuke with a big red shiny detonator button, and everyone posting is dancing on top of the button trying not to set it off. Why wouldn't it be mentioned?

as long = as long or longer, I really have no information on the first recorded instances of homosexuality (especially given its existence in other animals) and it doesn't actually matter. Less Xenthosing of irrelevant factoids!

as long = as long or longer, I really have no information on the first recorded instances of homosexuality (especially given its existence in other animals) and it doesn't actually matter. Less Xenthosing of irrelevant factoids!

But you enjoy using that tactic so much. Like right here in this quote.

That's the opposite of what I was doing!

@Kaalak: I don't drink beer anyway, deal with it yourself

This thread is a nuke with a big red shiny detonator button, and everyone posting is dancing on top of the button trying not to set it off. Why wouldn't it be mentioned?

This thread is a nuke with a big red shiny detonator button, and everyone posting is dancing on top of the button trying not to set it off. Why wouldn't it be mentioned?

It probably is likely that the future will be better on equality in that sense and likely various world religions will excise their various complaints from their canon over time, but I wouldn't count on people being scared of homosexuals or stuck in the past a "fringe group" - at least not at the moment.

Oh and Ancient Greece/Rome?

Do you suggest we also bring back the concubine, and the harem?

@xavius: get off your high horse.

*Pushes the button*

I don't know why you aren't pushing for a complete seperation of state and church. I sure wish Austria would do. Turkey did, and it's an islamic country.

In this thread, you come off as a complete religious nut and slightly homophic, Dag.