Aids problem in Atlanta
 

Hey sorhors and sisterfriends,

What is going on in Atlanta? My friend just told me that there's a state of emergency due to so many people spreading the hiv virus. I guess if you ever want to date some anyone from this state you should have a questionaire that reads: are you gay or bi-sexual, if so can you please take an portable hiv test on the spot. What is this world coming to.


Sisterly,



Tinese

:eek: :confused: :rolleyes:

Hey Sistergreeks!

This is exactly what I was going to say is the main contributor to the problem: Atlanta is the MECCA of the down-low brother! I've heard way too many personal accounts from friends in the area. Also IMO it has to do with the apathetic attitudes of most people towards these things. People start getting tested getting concerned (for all STD's) AFTER there is a scare/ symptoms. We need be more proactive. Once the diagnosis is there for many STDs what's done is done. For example, I was speaking with a close male friend of mine (and I normally ask whatever is on my mind). He was telling me that a young lady (lady is used loosely) he has been dating for all of 3 months might be pregnant by him. He stated "I thought she was on the pill" angrily. I asked him if they had talked about this and she lied or if he was just assuming. Guess which was his answer! i also told him that there are TWO parties responsible for meeting their birth control needs - what about a condom? He basically told me to be real: "you know how it is in the heat of the moment sometime", "I trust her (she doesn't have anything etc." I was shocked! This is a highly educated, well groomed, practicing Christian man. What many consider to be that "good man" that is so hard to find. But that statement says it all. We assume too many things based on a person's exterior, socioeconomic status etc. The bottom line is you don't know how much you can trust someone until you have proof; get tested, talk about the results, ASK IF THEY ARE ON THE PILL / HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT DIFFERENT METHODS OF PROTECTION INCLUDING CONDOMS!

I agree with you what you've said sistergreek. What's even worse is that for every three men at least two will have the virus. I'm getting this information from someone in the medical field. At this point what can be done to stop the spread of hiv, especially when people aren't divulging their hiv status?


Tinese

Why is lady used loosely?

Not because of this situation but a plethora of things my friend shared with me about her.:o

Can somebody with more patience and tact than me please address this?

Focus on the Real Risk Factor
 

Ok, while having sex with a gay or bisexual man is a hot button issue right now in the way that you contract HIV, the real problem is having sex with a man. Now having "protected" sex with a condom does DECREASE the odds of contracting the virus, but it does not eliminate it. So in having sex we must identify the real risk factor. Women must realize that we CONTRACT HIV FROM A MAN. As much as we like to think that we are "both in this together" we are not, the man is the vector that transmits the virus-- the odds of you passing it to a man are SLIM TO NONE remember that!!! So every time you see a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or otherwise man with a child, realize that that child could have been HIV/AIDS. Be wise, be chaste and be willing to wait. Didnt mean to rhyme, but it seemed right on time (ok, that one was deliberate:) )

Thank you.

In addition, HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through IV drug use, and the current "data" available about how black women contract HIV does not address this fact.

SOME people are so quick to jump to the "faggot gave me AIDS" ministry of victimhood, that very few people realize that IV drug abuse is real...how many functioning addicts have we all known?

Yes Sir, drug use is a dirty little secret. The interesting part is how few women realize the POWER that they have in NOT contracting the virus. It does NOT fall from the sky, it is NOT TB so you have to worry about the guy coughing next to you. Know who you CHOOSE to lay with and overall CHOOSE who/what enters your body how/when and why!

This is so true. I myself hadn't realized how frequent a practice this actually is. I was watching an episode of "Intervention" this weekend about a girl addicted to meth. Just as I was thinking "why the hell is she shooting up, knowing the many risks" she said something similar noting that she was "more likely to get AIDS this way" than with her promiscuous ways. The real issue here seems to just be a genral sense of apathy towards things that require much more intense concern. IMO, of course.

The first step is people learning their status. There are free tests, low cost tests, anonymous tests, confidential tests, and oral tests that take 20 minutes. There's no excuse nowadays to not get tested every 6 months.

Please people, go get tested! And then start practicing safe sex EVERY TIME.

Then that doesn't say much about him.

yanno, I was so focused on the loosely called lady comment that I zoned out onthe rest. Good thing, because I would not have answered it with patience or tact.

Nor does it address the fact that a Gay man may have contracted HIV from IV drug use rather than sex.


Whew, two of my buttons pushed in one thread--a woman denigrating another woman she does not even know, because of what a man told her, and the streotype that AIDS is a Gay man's disease.