What Would You Do?

[tednlou2]

I was about to delete the ABC News show, "What Would You Do?" tonight from my TIVO.  I thought I don't have the time to watch every show on the DVR.  However, I decided to watch it.  If you've never seen it or heard of it, they use actors and hidden cameras to play out various senarios to see how people will respond.  

On this episode, one of their segments/senarios focused on a young man with HIV ordering food at a diner.  The actor has HIV in real life.  They had other actors who would move away from him or say awful things to him in order to see how real customers would react.  They also had the HIV poz man play the role of a server to see how that changed the reactions.  

It was sad to see how some customers reacted.  But, there were several who came to his defense and offered compassion.  This was emotional for me.  What was most striking were the statistics done through polling of the percentage of Americans who still believe HIV can be transmitted from casual contact.  However, I wasn't surprised by that, really.

I couldn't get a direct link to the video.  You can use this link and then find the video around the middle of the page entitled, "You Have AIDS?"

Modified:  I think they've broken the story up, because right next to this video is a 2nd video.

http://abcnews.go.com/whatwouldyoudo

[surf18]

I hate to say it but I was ignorant as hell about this thing before dx.
I just figured if I ignored it I wouldn't get it.
But really there was so much I didn't know. I can easily see how a typical mr or mrs not exposed to the risks would not know the skinny on this. Just another reason to zip my lips. I'm not in the mood to play educator to the judgers.

[Hellraiser]

I can't watch this show.  I actually tried to watch the video and had to cut it off a couple of minutes in.  I'm sure it would not have brought me much hope about how most of the world views us.

[wolfter]

I really enjoy this show.  Until this situation hits close to home, it's difficult for most people to understand the dynamics.  I won't fault them for not being educated, because for most, they didn't need to be.  I use my own family as a gauge for judging public opinion.  They were so supportive of my situation but had concerns for their own safety until they became educated. 

[GSOgymrat]

Thanks for posting that, Ted. Perhaps I am jaded but I was pleasantly surprised by most people's reactions.

[ds4146]

This might help for some of us who have less time or patience to search:

http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/video/aids-waiter-discrimination-diner-witness-health-wwyd-12953945

My only thought is if I hear one more person say "carries the virus" I will scream. Like I would have a hand bag or grocery bag with this shit in it!

[denb45]

This might help for some of us who have less time or patience to search:

http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/video/aids-waiter-discrimination-diner-witness-health-wwyd-12953945

My only thought is if I hear one more person say "carries the virus" I will scream. Like I would have a hand bag or grocery bag with this shit in it!

Well, all I can say is WOW, in my 20 yrs. I've actually seen this before, but that was back in 1990 and people just weren't as educated as they seem to be now-a-days , it made me kinda sad to watch it tho 

[drewm]

I really enjoy this show.  Until this situation hits close to home, it's difficult for most people to understand the dynamics.  I won't fault them for not being educated, because for most, they didn't need to be.  I use my own family as a gauge for judging public opinion.  They were so supportive of my situation but had concerns for their own safety until they became educated. 

How true this has been for me. My family was fairly well educated before my dx but have taken the time to become much better educated on this virus. My friends have been supportive and have actually asked questions as to what the lab numbers mean, treatment and so on. I have encountered some ignorance which I have used as an opportunity to educate. I don't know that it always works, but I try.

[leatherman]

well, that was pretty interesting. Although I'm not surprised that fewer people wanted to stand up to the male actor than the female. Also not being scientific, there's no way to know how many people just wouldn't have intervened into any confrontation whatsoever.

I won't fault them for not being educated, because for most, they didn't need to be.

I make this point frequently, and just recently made it here discussing what legislators should and shouldn't know about HIV and ADAP. Most people really don't know much about diseases that don't impact them or their immediate family. I'll be the first to admit that there are so many diseases - that I and my family and friends don't have - that I know nothing about. While anyone having unprotected sex ought to know some of the facts, at least about transmission, because there are relatively so few HIV infected in America it's really not surprising that few people understand much about HIV.

[tednlou2]

This might help for some of us who have less time or patience to search:

http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/video/aids-waiter-discrimination-diner-witness-health-wwyd-12953945

My only thought is if I hear one more person say "carries the virus" I will scream. Like I would have a hand bag or grocery bag with this shit in it!

Thanks for the direct link.  I looked for one, but didn't see it. 

I guess it may still be understandable that many still have fear.  There are still so many uneducated in the medical community.  It is one thing to be afraid, but another to be so cruel.  I hope there aren't too many like the man who refused to shake the actor's hand.  I would have to watch it again, but I don't think they told the man the actor had HIV in real life--unless it was cut out.  Other than that man, I was happy to see how most reacted. 

It may be interesting if the show revisted this in the future--changing the location to somewhere in a rural area.