KIE: Friedland, a physician, explores what he believes are the three reasons why there has been a lack of compassion toward AIDS patients. He identifies fear of transmission, views of the social worth of individuals (particularly homosexuals and drug users), and the nature of plagues in our minds and history as the underlying causes for the lack of compassion in our treatment of persons with AIDS. Friedland responds to this problem by suggesting ways in which a compassionate response to the AIDS epidemic might be developed at the societal, professional, and personal levels.