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Yes, I AM Supporting You!
Hello My Fellow Members...
QUESTION: What are some of your suggestions as to what could be done in order to improve the current battle with our HIV/AIDS STIGMA?
Don't You Dare Give Up... Don't You Dare Give In...
BECAUSE It IS ALL Within YOU to WIN!!!
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Here's a better idea.... Why don't you just tell us yours....
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accurate education with up to date pertinent information, eliminates Stigma. Education is the only successful means of combating stigma, because stigma is Fear that is expressed on different levels of manifestation*
Good Luck & God Bless*
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QUESTION: What are some of your suggestions as to what could be done in order to improve the current battle with our HIV/AIDS STIGMA?
Euthanize the ignorant. There are already too many people on the planet.
Truthfully, I have not personally dealt with much HIV stigma except in dating and I stopped dating long ago. I am openly gay and poz and more people have had trouble accepting me as gay than as HIV+. I know this isn't the case for many others and I feel lucky not to have to deal with someone else's irrational fear. I wish all of us with HIV could experience the support and understanding I seem lucky enough to encounter.
Boo
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Education definitely can go a long way. One problem I see is getting over people's personal prejudices. HIV can be tied to sex and drugs and about the sex part, people tend to have the most problem with gay sex. Those facts alone make it a battle. You see it all the time--people saying 'it's their own fault, they were promiscuous/shared needles/insert scenario here' or dividing between those who are 'guilty' and those who are 'innocent victims'. MSMs are still erroneously thought of those being the ones who have the disease--some are afraid of gay men, because they assume that gay=HIV. Plus, MSMs were unfortunately the first cases the USA knew about so some people will always blame them. People hate homosexuality enough, they see HIV as God's retribution.
Education can help--you tend to see less people think that they will get HIV from drinking from a water bottle an HIV positive person has used. But I will always be baffled on how we can reduce the other part of stigma, especially since the right wing evangelical groups have a lot of power now and have some responsibility in moving the country backwards in those aspects.
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Yes, I AM Supporting You!
Hey Ray...
In this scenario, (2) two minds on the same thought is better than (1) one mind's thought. Its called hearing others voices. (No Pun Intended). I DO have my opinons on this very topic as I wish to hear the opinons of others on this topic. So, what is YOUR opinion on this topic Ray?
Hey AIDS2HIV...
DITTO. Also, thank you for taking your time out to share your views on this topic. It has been well received and noted.
Hey Boo...
Absolutely. Also, thank you for taking your time out to share your views on this topic. It has been well received and noted.
Hey Kimberley...
Indeed your suggestions are on point as well as valid. Thank you for taking your time out to share your views on this topic. It has been well received and noted.
Don't You Dare Give Up... Don't You Dare Give In...
BECAUSE It IS ALL Within YOU to WIN!!!
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Yes, I AM Supporting You!
Hey Kimberley...
I also wanted to point out (2) two other things with what you have taken your time out to share with this topic.
1. The Gay STIGMA --- it is up for each of these entities that exist in this World today to REALIZE that each man an woman has their own free will and their own free choice. NO ONE is in the position to Judge what an individual has chosen for their sexual preference.
Keep this in mind: In every town, city, state, providence, country, and continents in this World there are Gay and Lesbian men and Women. That should say something for itself. It is a preference out our own free will and choice that we have in this life. No one can force us to be what we are not.
In fact, there are married men who choose to have MSM and they do not classify or put a label on themselves as being Gay. They hide from who they truly are, they live in denial and say that they are straight. Let's wake up here.
2. The Gay Disease: It is through the efforts of the media and other organizations that have painted this distorted picture about HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS HAS NO RESPECT OF PERSON. Anyone is susceptible to becoming infected by the HIV virus. The World needs to wake up and REALIZE this.
Somehow the HIV virus was evolved into its own. It is up to the scientists to discover what this cause was in order to effectively create an effective means in order to eliminate the very rooted structure of this virus. (I apologize, that is another subject in itself).
Feedback?
Don't You Dare Give Up... Don't You Dare Give In...
BECAUSE It IS ALL Within YOU to WIN!!!
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Somebody needs to "gift" our little invader to BUSH or CHENEY or someone in POWER to maximize the publicity it a little more. Magic was nice but we need one high up in the government!
Oh and now that i have been official flagged by the you know who's reading everything we post at you know where (actually its a secret location) I guess i may not be around much longe.... is that a black helicopter?
(http://www.geocities.com/lakewood39/012.jpg)
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Keep this in mind: In every town, city, state, providence, country, and continents in this World there are Gay and Lesbian men and Women. That should say something for itself. It is a preference out our own free will and choice that we have in this life. No one can force us to be what we are not.
In fact, there are married men who choose to have MSM and they do not classify or put a label on themselves as being Gay. They hide from who they truly are, they live in denial and say that they are straight. Let's wake up here.
WHOA TIGER...
Are you saying that being Gay is a CHOICE? Like, purchasing a Ford over a Chevy kind of choice? And as a man who IS married and has had sex with other men, I take offense to you labeling me as one who HIDES from who he is. My wife knows i like a little dick here and there. Havent done THAT in like 2 years, but would still consider it if the timing was right!
Im a little confused here....
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Yes, I AM Supporting You!
Hey ACinKC...
First, I apologize if you have taken offense here. This is in NO MEANS to single anyone out of to place a label on them. There is nothing wrong with what WE like. It is what WE desire which is a choice that WE all tend to make. There are some, not ALL that are living in denial with this. We even had a confession earlier last month from a certain individual with this very topic of discussion.
If there is an understanding, then all the better my friend. A few examples here:
1. The Car Lot: there are a number of different lines of vehicles that are available for our purchase. We choose which vehicle we like to buy.
2. The Clothing Wardrobe: there are many different lines of clothing manufacturers that design different types of clothing. When we go to the mall or shop in the catalog, we pick out what WE like....Choice.
3. The Grocery Store: when we go shopping for groceries, there are a number of different vendors whom provide products for our consumption. We choose what WE like and we buy it from the store.
4. The Brand of Drinks: there are many different brands of drinks to include alcohol and wine that are available for us to choose from. We choose what WE like out of the selections.
5. The Style of Furniture: there are many different styles to choose from in this market today in this World. We browse and look to see what we like and then we make our choice on it.
So what i am saying is, it all boils down to choice. We choose if we want to reach beyond our comfort zone in order to HELP others and to make this World a better place. We choose if we are going to take that certain trip to a certain destination. We even choose who the President will be through our voiced votes at the polls. It is ALL choice.
I DO AGREE that we need someone in the higher channels to LISTEN to us and address these very domestic and international issues that exists as a reality today in this life.
No Pun Intended. I was in no way meaning to push any buttons. What is being looked for here is to hear voiced opinions on the topic of what could be done in order to improve this STIGMA that is lurking over our heads in this life.
I do thank you for taking your time out to respond to this and give your feedback. It has been well received and noted.
Feedback?
Don't You Dare Give Up... Don't You Dare Give In...
BECAUSE It IS ALL Within YOU to WIN!!!
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I dunno Eldon,
My closest male friend is straight, we talk about everything and I can honestly say he is a true friend. However comma he often introduces as his gay friend, and sometines his gay friend with AIDS. There should be some stigma attached here but, I have disclosed my AIDS diagnosis to the press on many occassions.
I found my personal disclosure gave me credibility with the press because I lived with the resources/ or lack of, that I was writing about. My article last year on the RWCA reauthorization was almost not printed in a north bay gay publication. The press release was sent out by a county employee and the press recieved all county releases to be predictable. When I disclosed my status to the publisher, we co-wrote a front page article.
For me, 10 years in the media came back and people were interested in what I had to say. I have also began to realize that I was a person they could put on display. Every page that was written for my web site was sent to staff, before the designer and approved. I have many compliments on the progress of the site and many more reasons they (staff) would not support the site. Whose million bucks was I trying to save? Certainly wasn't mine.
I recently completed ethics training as required by California law. The site was written as an advocacy arm of the Sonoma County Commission on AIDS. I am the legal owner and was the only person working on this project for over a year. With over 60,000 unique viewers in one year, I still failed to save the funding for the who knows how many years.
I think I created (or allowed the creation of) my own stigma issue. I know what I want on my tombstone... "IT WASN'T EASY BEING ME, I DID IT WELL" ;D. Have the best day
Michael
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1. The Gay STIGMA --- it is up for each of these entities that exist in this World today to REALIZE that each man an woman has their own free will and their own free choice. NO ONE is in the position to Judge what an individual has chosen for their sexual preference.
Eldon, I don't see how you can rephrase this without stating sexual preference is a choice individuals make. For me it was no more a choice than the color of my eyes. It is an inherent, intrinsic trait.
Boo
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Yes, I AM Supporting You!
Hey Boo...
Thank you for your added suggestion to the topic that is being discussed. It has been well received and noted. I DO agree in what you have said there is NO disagreement in that. Thanks for that clarification.
Hey Michael...
It is GOOD to hear back from you with your feedback. It has been well received and it has been noted.
What I wanted to do was to address what Kim had mentioned in her post above concerning other issues that exist just as well under the shadow of STIGMA.
She had mentioned the following:
1. Education with the association of HIV/AIDS
2. Working on a solution in order to resolve personal prejudices in this society.
3. The issue of entities which have a problem with MSM
4. The issue of the false reality that MSM's are the only ones that are infected with HIV/AIDS.
5. No one is in the position to judge an individual's sexual preference. It is the individual's choice.
6. The frontline of this battle is definitely Education.
Those who are in power are forgetting the very roots of all of this in this life. "Love one another regardless of the circumstances."
If someone is down in the gutter, homeless or about to fall off of that cliff, then don't just stand there and watch them die, get out of your comfort zone and reach out your hand to HELP them climb back up to safety where you are at.
That is how is could be. One thing is said by an official and then it is the opposite of what they said that they were going to do. It creates a whole lot of unnecessary confusion. Keep it simple. HELP one another when they are in the need of HELP. Period.
In your case as well as Zephie's case, your disclosures to the Media and other entities made a profound difference in the communities being discussed as there is power in a personal testimony. Lived it and experienced it.
The main STIGMA is associated as a HIV/AIDS society as a whole. In this scenario, it does not matter if you are Gay, Bi-Sexual, Straight, Lesbian or Transexual. The media is using this in an unproductive manner. The main focus could be to Educate the population at large concerning the reality of HIV/AIDS in an effort to HELP other to overcome their inner fears and their inner anxieties.
Feedback?
Don't You Dare Give Up... Don't You Dare Give In...
BECAUSE It IS ALL Within YOU to WIN!!!
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Education definitely can go a long way. One problem I see is getting over people's personal prejudices. HIV can be tied to sex and drugs and about the sex part, people tend to have the most problem with gay sex. Those facts alone make it a battle. You see it all the time--people saying 'it's their own fault, they were promiscuous/shared needles/insert scenario here' or dividing between those who are 'guilty' and those who are 'innocent victims'. MSMs are still erroneously thought of those being the ones who have the disease--some are afraid of gay men, because they assume that gay=HIV. Plus, MSMs were unfortunately the first cases the USA knew about so some people will always blame them. People hate homosexuality enough, they see HIV as God's retribution.
Education can help--you tend to see less people think that they will get HIV from drinking from a water bottle an HIV positive person has used. But I will always be baffled on how we can reduce the other part of stigma, especially since the right wing evangelical groups have a lot of power now and have some responsibility in moving the country backwards in those aspects.
For the record. Feedback?
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Polls keep showing that a majority of people are uninformed about HIV transmission. I would say use impactful commercials and marketing efforts in order to break up that lack of education. Schools could be a source for this but don't forget that not all children go to public schools anymore, many are in private or are home schooled in the south for example.
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Yes, I AM Supporting You!
Hey Esquare...
Thank you for taking your time out to share your views on this topic. They have been well received and noted. I agree that a medium needs to be established in order to get the message out there to the younger population that are in private schools and institutions.
Feedback Anyone?
Don't You Dare Give Up... Don't You Dare Give In...
BECAUSE It IS ALL Within YOU to WIN!!!