The New York Times recently printed an article about Delray Beach, Florida, and its high concentration of recovering alcoholics. They make it sound weird by seeking comments from gadfly Stanton Peele. I suppose it could be a little weird, but isn't it a nearly universal instinct to surround oneself with people with similar identities? Is the high concentration of LGBT people in Ferndale a sign of pathology?
I've never been there, but I'm pretty confident that Peele is engaging in his usual hyperbole and misrepresentation with his statement about these people "cutting [themselves] off from the outside world." Many of these people were probably cut off from the outside world in their addiction and are rejoining the rest of the world with the support of a community and environment that affirms and celebrates their recovery.
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