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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Scott Arthur writes:
> Here in the UK it was used as a stick to club gay men too
> a few years ago. Typically being gay = AIDS and AIDS = gay. I can remember
> sympathetic news items for infected haemophiliacs, and other recipients of
> blood products, whist gay men were largely treated like they had died from a
> different disease - one they perhaps deserved.
Let's review for a sec, here... when my uncle Gary got it back in 1984, there
was a good argument that it wasn't his fault. People at that time didn't know
how to go about preventing it. Now, they do.
Haemopheliacs are at the mercy of a clean blood supply. Other than being born
without the disease, or having their genetic material edited in situ to fix
the problem (Both good ideas which currently aren't likely to happen due to
lots of ludditism in governments), there isn't much they can do to avoid
tainted blood, is there?
But if someone gets the disease through unsafe sex, of whatever kind, wouldn't
you agree there is some culpability there? It's reallyt *HARD* to transmit
this virus. It's a risk they choose to take. We KNOW how not to get it. Don't
bareback. Gary and his partner in 1984 didn't know that and they died horrible
deaths because of it. I went to his funeral so I have a LITTLE familiarity
with the pain it brings to the gay community. Gary's corner of it, anyway...
1st avenue and 74th st, Manhattan. But that's irrelevant.
However to say now that we should be doing research on a disease that
ultimately is preventable by behaviour modification while neglecting research
on diseases that currently aren't... that allows responsibility shirking,
don't you agree? (if you posit that the government should be in the business
of funding ANY disease research, which of course I reject, you should at least
allocate the money to the most important ones....)
I'll give credit to ActUP for improving things at the FDA. Sort of. Certain
drugs get fast tracked because of what disease they are for, others take
forever. Better yet would be to abolish the FDA altogether and go with strict
liability on the part of drug manufacturers and doctors.
Less seriously:
I think we should start a campaign for doing research into how to survive
jumping or falling off 1000 foot cliffs! After all, it's not FAIR that doing
so tends to kill people and I feel it's interfering with my right to choose
whether to take precautions near cliff edges or not. Why should I have to
suffer the consequences of walking too close to the edge? Society as a whole
should, not me in particular. Right? If not, why not? What is the difference
between unsafe sex and unsafe cliff edge walking?
++Lar
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Why is AIDS such a big deal?
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| (...) You are making the assumption that everyone knows that it is unsafe and that everyone knows how to have safe sex. Two major misconceptions. I'll give you an example: Catholic schools do not teach sex education. Yes you can make the arguement (...) (25 years ago, 2-May-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Why is AIDS such a big deal?
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| (...) Before I make any points, lemme say where I'm coming from. I'm gay, my partner has AIDS. "Don't bareback" is not enough. My SO and I are _extremely_ careful and follow every safe sex guideline you can think of... and in 8 years we've been (...) (25 years ago, 3-May-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Why is AIDS such a big deal?
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| Larry Pieniazek wrote: <snip> (...) Breaking only for a few words, but you are now making misteaks (first in the history?)..:-) Just think about the tremendous numbers of people who have the virus right now. I can't think of any kind of education (...) (25 years ago, 3-May-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Why is AIDS such a big deal?
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| (...) AIDS (...) research (...) Reagan (...) amount (...) things (...) Well said Ed. AIDS is an entity which has changed they way we all live, that is why it was an issue. Here in the UK it was used as a stick to club gay men too a few years ago. (...) (25 years ago, 2-May-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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