[FXP Editor's Note: This post is part of our "Best of FXP" series highlighting the best posts during our first year in existence. We chose to re-post this today in honor of Women and Girl's AIDS Day today. This piece was originally published on August 3rd, 2009]
I’ll be honest. Just hearing people discuss HIV/AIDS scares me.
There are more than 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Eazy-E, one of the original hard core gangsta rappers fell victim to it. Magic Johnson, one of the greatest hoopers to ever grace the earth (and a LAKER at that) is living with it. It hits even the toughest and the most graceful. Its real… and yet it isn’t. I don’t actually know anyone living with HIV/AIDS. I don’t know anyone that has died from it.
And that’s what scares me.
21% of people living with HIV don’t know it. How they came up with that number, if those people haven’t been tested, baffles me. Yet I’ll trust the statistics, and I’ll try to avoid becoming one. I know its a real disease. No cure. Its not like the Sexually Transmitted Infections that people aren’t afraid to discuss (at least people I know), because you can’t just go take some antibiotics and be done with it. Its something that will literally take you out the game. The fact that I don’t know anybody living with it scares me, because of the high number of people that DON’T KNOW. I figure…somebody HAS to have it. Its like when you’re sitting in your first college course, and the professor tells you to look to your left and your right, and one of those people won’t be there when you graduate. I knew it may not be those people in particular, but I got the point. And it proved to be true. The numbers don’t lie. People have HIV/AIDS. And people also don’t know they have HIV/AIDS.
And that’s what scares me.
It is hitting our community hard too. As a black man, I KNOW we don’t discuss it in our inner circles. We’ll discuss the curable things. We’ll joke about not getting “burned”. HIV/AIDS is taboo though. We don’t even mention it by name. Too scary of a thought…being mortal (you know us young brothas are tough). We’ll talk about sex in a minute though. Actually…alot. No details necessarily…just the pursuit. In our society, Sex Rules. Sex Sells. Sex is on My Mind (classic, but I digress). Sex is prevalent in everything that we do. Even in casual conversation, there is often a sexual undertone. Chris Rock said it best: every time a man is being nice to you, he’s offering you d***. Hate to be blunt, but hey, often single (and committed) men have sex on their minds when dealing with the opposite sex (and same, in some cases). Sex happens, its a fact. And its often casual. There often isn’t any talk of STI history or HIV tests occuring prior to that sex either. In fact, often its after a night at the club. So with all the casual sex going on, and the lack of knowledge about who actually has HIV/AIDS, I’m sure its getting spread. Do I actually know? No, I don’t. But unfortunately when I’m with my boys…other young, successful, ambitious, culturally conscious, people who are going to make a difference in our world…and I look to my left, and to my right…one of us may not be here.
And that scares me more than anything.
Article by Sean Walton Jr.
Sean Walton Jr. is the 25 year old Founder and Editor-In-Chief of theFreshXpress.com. Hailing from Ohio, he is an attorney at The Cochran Firm, practicing in the areas of civil rights, personal injury, and criminal defense. His social commentary and knowledge base centers around the role and perception of African Americans in popular culture, law, and politics. His commentary has been featured by Tavis Smiley and spotlighted by Dr. Cornel West. A proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and heavily involved in community organizations, Sean seeks to provide a fresh perspective on Young Black America. Visit him at http://seanwaltonjr.com/.
Sean has written 17 article(s) for us.
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This was a great post. It's the truth that people don't hesitate to talk about sex, have it, encourage others to do it but no one wants to talk about the reality of it. AIDS is a reality and it is because of fear that people don't talk about it. We have heard the joke "I would just rather not know. Just let me be walking down the street and fall dead". Unfortunately AIDS is being spread. And anytime people die from it people are still very shocked like they didn't know people still got AIDS. But transmission rates are higher than ever with the some of highest concentrations being in the black community. So while I hear many speaking of doing things in preparation for their future.i.e. Education etc. Shouldn't be getting tested and then taking the necessary cautionary steps to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS be part of that? As a community we need to quit burying our heads in the sand and wishing it will go away. We all need to address it head on by getting tested. While abstinence is the best protection, knowing your partners sexual history and whether they have been tested is needed too. People use the word "hook-up" to describe having sex with random partners as if it's no big deal, but that one night can lead to life effects effects. Wake up people. Thank you so much for writing this frank article.
Whats even scarier is the fact they have found a new strand of the disease that isn't detectable by standard HIV tests. But wow. People, wrap it up and get tested. It is imperative to do so.
This article is the truth. NO ONE talks about HIV/AIDS. Growing up, I thought it was a white gay man's disease, so I was shocked a couple of years ago when they found that black women make up most of the new cases, like whattheheck??? And I've never thought about how, statistically, it seems inevitable that someone I know either has or is going to have AIDS. ***shudder at the thought*** This article is really good though. Probably the realest thing I've read in a while….oh and being "burned" even if there is a cure, is no joke. Gross. Lol.
I personally think it’s way more than 21%. People just don’t go get tested. I can understand the feat, because the first time I went, I was scared out of mind, especially knowing that had been with over 100 women at the time. But I just had to know. sometimes i feel like your sexual health should be on your id. I mean, ppl can search your criminal history and your credit score, why not the fact that you can potentially give them an std? If you get it cleared up, it can be removed.
I think it is definitely scary to get tested! Everytime they used to have those little vans on campus my heart would get palpitations and I KNEW I was in the clear lol. 21%? That's scary. Thats 1 out of 5 people!
Great post!
Thought so then, still do now.