U.S. Blacks, if a Nation, Would Rank High on AIDS
You know, it amazes me that in a country like ours, the epidemic can have such a stranglehold on an entire community, although I suppose it shouldn't. We are after all the same country that spends millions of dollars on abstinence only education that has been proven NOT to work, we can barely bring ourselves to discuss the gender inequities that exist in every community that lead to the victimization and exploitation of women, we will not confront homophobia, despite the fact that it helps fuel the epidemic, poverty is solely a matter of personal responsibility and the rest of us have no need to think about it and we still have blind spots when it comes to the widespread and systemic racism that exists today.
The prevalence of HIV infection in several communities is affected by and affects all of the above and you cannot separate one from the other. The solutions are never simple, as we would like them to be. They instead require every one of us to not only look deeply into ourselves for how we contribute to these problems but it also requires us to call others out when they evidence thoughts or actions that contribute to the problem and that, dear readers, is fucking difficult! I have no easy answers for you on how to go about this. All I can say is that we need to take action ASAP or before you know it, it will indeed be knocking on your door, if it hasn't already.
Technorati Tags: HIV, AIDS, racism, sexism, homophobia, poverty, african americans, US
If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in the world in the number of people living with the AIDS virus...
You know, it amazes me that in a country like ours, the epidemic can have such a stranglehold on an entire community, although I suppose it shouldn't. We are after all the same country that spends millions of dollars on abstinence only education that has been proven NOT to work, we can barely bring ourselves to discuss the gender inequities that exist in every community that lead to the victimization and exploitation of women, we will not confront homophobia, despite the fact that it helps fuel the epidemic, poverty is solely a matter of personal responsibility and the rest of us have no need to think about it and we still have blind spots when it comes to the widespread and systemic racism that exists today.
The prevalence of HIV infection in several communities is affected by and affects all of the above and you cannot separate one from the other. The solutions are never simple, as we would like them to be. They instead require every one of us to not only look deeply into ourselves for how we contribute to these problems but it also requires us to call others out when they evidence thoughts or actions that contribute to the problem and that, dear readers, is fucking difficult! I have no easy answers for you on how to go about this. All I can say is that we need to take action ASAP or before you know it, it will indeed be knocking on your door, if it hasn't already.
Technorati Tags: HIV, AIDS, racism, sexism, homophobia, poverty, african americans, US
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