A few months back someone very special to me asked me to
participate in the “Atlanta AIDS Walk” that she was helping to organize. I had a visceral reaction to her
request. She read my facial expression
as a NO, and said “Well, if you won’t participate, will you donate $100 to us?”
To which I hesitated and then replied somewhat dismissively, “Let me think
about it.” Keep in mind that this is her
primary charity for which she is very passionate. A “spirited” conversation ensued. I won’t share the conversation verbatim but I
will let you know what my thoughts yielded.
At the time of the conversation I had no problem with AIDS
Charities. I was never involved in one,
but never shunned one either. I guess I
was neutral. I’d hear about these events
and they would just seem so far away, like make believe. I was never forced to deconstruct them as an
idea until my girl put it right in my lap.
As it happens, I was able to achieve clarity, and this is how my
thoughts lined up.
Have you ever given blood? If you have, you know that you
are asked more questions than your typical Standardized Aptitude Test. The screening process is rigorous to insure
against things like the HIV virus being transmitted through blood
transfusions. The process has become so
successful that it’s actually newsworthy when a transfusion transmission
occurs.
I said that to say, in 2014 innocents are no longer directly
affected by HIV in America. Virtually
the only way to acquire HIV in 2014 is to share a needle (preventable), engage
in unprotected sex (preventable), or be the child of an HIV carrier
(unfortunate but preventable). At Its
very core HIV/AIDS in a Sexually Transmitted Disease. Not unlike Herpes, and I don’t see anyone
organizing a walk or collecting donations for “the Herps.”
Hyperbole abounds as people call HIV/AIDS an epidemic/pandemic.
I guess if one only looked at the totals, how that 75 million people worldwide
have been infected; that conclusion would seem apropos. But can a disease that is 100% preventable be
given plague status? Can we justify the
ungodly amount of money that goes into researching a disease that is predicated
on poor decision making? AIDS could be
cured in the next 50-75 years if any one of the following suggestions were implemented.
KILL EVERYONE THAT HAS HIV
I know this one is ridiculous, but it highlights the fact
that this disease should be thought about differently than real diseases. For
instance, if you killed everyone that has cancer would cancer not exist? No.
CASTRATE EVERYONE THAT HAS HIV
Talk about using a sledge hammer on a tack. This would get the job done but it’s a bit inhumane.
QUARANTINE EVERYONE THAT HAS HIV
Create a town called “AIDS IDAHO” or “AIDS WYOMING” and send
all HIV cases there to live. Effective,
but probably encroaches on some civil liberties.
MARK EVERYONE THAT HAS HIV
Tattoo a skull and crossbones right above the genitals so
people know exactly what they are getting into.
Hey Now!!! Again, probably a civil liberties issue.
HIV CARRIERS STOP HAVING SEX
Effective, but improbable.
HIV CARRIERS STOP HAVING UNPROTECTED SEX
Easily accomplished, effective, necessary, and unfortunately
improbable.
Listen there are a limited amount of resources in the
world. At some point those resources
should be prioritized. If you were running an ER and two serious gun-shot wounds
came through the door. One
self-inflicted from an attempted suicide; the other a innocent bystander…. All
things being equal….. Who would you treat first? Who should you treat first?
Who deserves to be treated first? At
some point the phrase “by no fault of his own” needs to carry some weight in
this upside down crazy world we live in.
