On the Soapbox with Mark

Yeah, I'm just as angry as Mark. My beef has to do more with the current AIDS pandemic. Believe it or not, whether it's touched your life or not, it is an increasing pandemic. Maybe in developed countries where we have medicines more readily available it isn't as noticeable. In developed countries it's more of an HIV epidemic rather than AIDS, but make no mistake - AIDS is still lurking.

The rate of infection is increasing at alarming rates. In America, over 300,000 (Center for Disease Control) people have died from AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. But because of the newer drugs we don't see AIDS deaths as often. Because of this, people have become complacent. They don't understand what it is to live with AIDS or HIV for that matter. They think that if you get HIV you just take some pills and everything is fine and dandy. They don't understand what it is to live with HIV. Because they can't see the effects physically or as drastically as days gone by, they don't understand the consequences.

As weird as it may seem, I consider myself to be fortunate to have seen what AIDS can do face to face. It is something I will never forget. I don't see HIV as an infection to just live with. When I think of myself possibly being positive, I immediately get images of friends who've wasted away and died. I'm not saying that I think that of my many friends with HIV - not at all. It's just the image I apply to myself that helps me stay negative. Unfortunately, the statistics show more and more that kids who've grown up without seeing those images are becoming infected.

What's more appalling are the worldwide statistics. In 2006 alone, 2.9 million people died of AIDS. Since 1981, worldwide, over 25 million people have died of AIDS. For a little perspective, that's more than the population of Texas. So, AIDS is still very prevalent even though we are fortunate enough not to see it on a regular basis like we once did. But again, it seems that that is biting us on the ass now.

It's a Catch-22. We've improved the lives of HIV+ people through medications (in developed countries - seems we don't like to share too much.) The rate of infection and death slowed dramatically in the 1990's. Because of the improvement in drugs and the ability of people to live with HIV without contracting AIDS as commonly, there is a generation that has grown up without seeing what it can do. They are limited to pictures of people dying in third world countries. It doesn't affect them they way it would if they had friends and family wasting away.

I don't know what we can do about it. Education doesn't mean shit without examples they can see with their own eyes. Maybe it takes a new generation getting sick and and getting humiliated by protesters on the street to stand up and do something about it. I hope that isn't the case, but that's where the evidence is leading right now.