A few weeks ago, while driving into school, my daughter and I got into a little debate about the planet Pluto.

My daughter insisted that Pluto was not, in fact, a planet and I assured her that it was, and that I could prove it. When I spied my wife smirking from the passenger seat, I knew something was up. Little did I know the two had watched the morning news and heard all about Pluto's sad and unexpected demotion.

Already on the outskirts of the solar system, Pluto has now been completely marginalized and is an official second-class citizen of our planetary realm. It seems a bunch of scientists got together and voted it out of the system a la "American Idol." The tough part is that Pluto made it this far.

It seems that the world has become a popularity contest that favors the bold and the beautiful. You see, Pluto was nixed because of its diminutive size and its inability to dominate its portion of space. Pluto was just not tough enough and may have suffered from AGS: Al Gore Syndrome. This is ironic considering that the scientists that voted on its planetary status were likely doormats for the football team.

I do not want to stereotype, but my guess is that while the football team donned shoulder pads and helmets, these guys inserted pocket protectors and slipped on Coke-bottle glasses. The reality is that most men are not built like Arnold Schwarzenegger and most women aren't pool-cue-thin like Heidi Klum.

Interestingly, there is a good chance that many of these scientists may be walking twigs like Klum, but that only illustrates the problem.

They, of the enormous cranium and twig-like arms, should appreciate diversity and if nothing else, stand up for the little guy. This was their chance to stick it to the man!

How am I going to explain this to my daughter? I keep telling her that if she puts her mind to it, she can achieve anything. She does not need to be the beauty queen or the star athlete, she just needs to be herself. Tell that to Pluto!

No, if you are not big or pretty (never both at the same time), you are part of an underprivileged class.

Even more distressing than the result of the vote is the vote itself. We truly have become the cult of personality. If it is true, Pluto did not in fact meet the newly established criteria for planethood, why did we need a vote? I mean, we had criteria, right? I guess a fact becomes a fact when it is agreed upon. It is almost as if we, as a people, will not believe something unless 51 percent agree.

Again, how do I explain this to my daughter:

"Yes honey, I know that you got every answer on your test correct, but the class voted and decided that you should fail."

Pluto is eccentric. It has huge temperature swings, odd equators and a schizoid orbit. While it has been referred to as the ninth planet, it is sometimes closer to the sun than the eighth planet, Neptune.

In many ways, it is like some of my favorite folks, a bit odd, a smidgen erratic, nonconforming and altogether lovable. Not just for what it is, but in many ways, for what it is not.

I do not care what the scientists say, Pluto still counts in my solar system regardless of the vote. I for one, love the oddball, be it planet or loved one.

Michael DeMattos is a faculty member of the University of Hawai'i School of Social Work. He lives in Kane'ohe with his wife, daughter and two dogs.