Looking Out for Gays’ Souls

I am shocked by the bias and narrow-mindedness implicit in the pie graph under the heading “Contracting AIDS” in Orange County Newswatch on June 19.

Ten years into the AIDS epidemic and you report that 85% of residents were infected by “male homosexual/bisexual contact” and 3% by “high risk heterosexual contact.” Are you implying that male homosexual contact is inherently “high risk,” or that only heterosexual contact that is deviantly out of the ordinary (whatever that is) can transmit the virus?

Either viewpoint is deceiving. High-risk sexual behavior between any two people is an effective way to transmit the virus, and no one has yet to become infected while holding hands in the park or snuggling in front of the TV. As a third-year medical student, I am acutely aware of how statistics can be used to deceive. Please be careful of your use of them in the future.

MARK COOK, Huntington Beach