Did anyone see the ABC special: "AIDS in Black America"?
Here's the link on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...+black+america (if the link doesn't work, search under "AIDS in Black America")
It's split up into 6 very powerful segments.
If you haven't watched this, please do and share your comments.
I'm a medical student and randomly happened to see this the night before I met a Black patient who came for an HIV/AIDS follow-up blood test/counseling. She'd had unprotected sex with her boyfriend, who turned out to be bisexual. She found out he had HIV only by chance (he never told her). This woman is young and is the sole parent of a child. When I asked her why she didn't use condoms with this man (he'd behaved aberrantly for years) she looked at me and said, "I was so tired of being lonely." Basically, she *willed* her relationship to be monogamous, and ignored the glaring signs that her boyfriend was engaging in high-risk behaviors. So she didn't protect herself.
According to this special and the public health data, this is not rare. This case has been stuck in my mind and I've gotten angrier and sadder the more I've thought about it.
Otherwise saying this is a shame, what are the cultural, personal and social steps we all need to take to keep this disease from continuing to ravage the Black community (esp. Black women)?
Threaded Mode
