Monday, November 30, 2009

HIV/AIDS AND MY PEOPLE.

Who’s fault is it? It’s their fault- them! They are the ones who went sleeping around with random people and failed to take the simplest precaution of using a condom. That’s plain stupid and ignorant, it’s their fault!!




To begin with, they KNOW. They know it MAY have been stupid, they go through a lot of trauma by themselves and they don’t need anyone else to add to their psychological burden. It does not necessarily make them stupid or ignorant and the rest of us are more or less like them by virtue of being human. We make mistakes, we all tell lies, how can one redeem himself and claim he’s a saint? Tell me, are you saint?



It really does not help to point fingers, it’s my fault or it’s his fault, you think it would make the virus go if at all it wasn’t the fault of a HIV/AIDS patient that he/she has it? Time has come to fight in the right battle, kill in the right war, recruit in the right army and to march in the right direction to deter the human race from entirely being pervaded by this virus.



I’ve seen it first hand, it was right in my backyard. My mother’s sister was infected with AIDS and I didn’t need to be told, I called that woman my aunt. She was my family. She got so sick, she got so thin. No, she lost all meat because all that was left were bones, she looked like sticks. To look a little normal she had to wear more clothes. I wondered how she walked. When I looked into her eyes, she looked ashamed. I was just a little boy, some things I just couldn’t ask. She died, you see? She left two baby girls, the little one is sick too. She got infected during birth, you see how it doesn’t matter who you blame?



Most of my friends are jack rabbits, it’s a fact and I can’t hide it. Listen, it’s not perfectly safe but at least have a rubber on when you get to humping. That’s how real the threat is, you see? Sometimes we tend to forget, or we choose to forget until something tragic happens close to where we are standing. Or a little later when it happens to us. Then we scream “NOT AIDS!!”, and we wonder how it happened. Not a single person is immune, it could happen to me just as it could it happen to you.



People with the virus are an obvious target for stigmatization. It may not mean much to you as to why they should or should not be stigmatized until it happens to someone you immensely love. Then all over sudden it will become so senseless, you find yourself asking questions like; why do people do this? Infected people are not deprived of brains, they are not handicapped. They won’t unexpectedly just drop dead due to their condition. As far as I am concerned they do not fall under any special group of people. Not unless they themselves put themselves in that box, and even then it would be a hoax!



My High School English teacher is a heroine. She taught me English literature too, the Lord knows I did enjoy her lessons because when she spoke I’d wish she never stopped. She had these interesting stories that had beautiful endings. She had more to share with us than what was written in the books. You see, she is positive. I mean HIV positive. I heard the rumours then, but I didn’t pay attention to them. But my teacher Mrs. Nindo is a heroine, I saw her on TV talking about HIV/AIDS. The stigma she went through, the fact that she’s still here is proof enough of the amount of courage she possesses. My teacher is a good woman, and a very great one. I am very proud of her.

8 Educated Opinions Yet:

Misstarii said...

Theres this documentary i watched yesterday õn citizen. One of the women said most infected people die coz of the stigma. We are either infected or affected somehow.

Misstarii said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wyndago said...

I watched that documentary too, Tricia. One of those women was my high school english teacher, she was the best!
But wasn't that documentary on NTV? Thats where i watched it on.
There's still much to be done in the fight against the spread of HIV.

Mama said...

First and foremost I notice we changed the url which is not so cool when you don't inform us my dear, I notice I had the Sanctum on my Reader but none of the recent posts are featured there!

Secondly, I am not one to meddle in people's bedroom affairs as long as they are two consenting adults but by God Wyndago, people need to take precautions until they know they are 100% in the clear. There is no difference between someone who takes a gun and shoots someone and another who infects a child with the disease, that is my skewed opinion.

If it was your kid would you want it to have 16 years of miserable life? Always sick and unhealthy?

Wyndago said...

Mama, am sorry for not informing you about the url change.
To answer you, if it were my kid i wouldn't want it infected with Aids, but who would want that? Bad things happen to innocent people.. sometimes it may seem like we could help it but then if we could help it everytime it wouldn't be life and we wouldn't be human. As much as you wouldn't want it to happen to you, God forbid, it can happen to you or me. Maybe am wrong about all this but the point is: lets stop the blaming and concentrate in right-ing wrongs and work towards making sure things don't go wrong. But then, things will always go wrong. That's life.

wyndago said...

Hi Sharon,
Your email info(at)disease(dot)com must have a fault. Tried to email you but it wouldn't go through.

Colouredinsepia said...

An article jus came out recently in one of the dailies stating that sexually active girls take more precaution to prevent pregnancy than AIDS. Thats how skewed peoples attitudes are..its sad really that in a world where we are fighting soo many wars an irresponsibility (my opinion) caused disease also has to be one of those battles...*sigh*
good looking out though..hope many people start to have smart sex after reading this (if they must:) )

Wyndago said...

People forget so fast. The lesser people talk about it or see it, the more they forget. Unfortunately that does not make HIV/AIDS less real.
But i tend to disagree that it's an 'irresponsibility' disease. If it is so, then so are most diseases. Cholera- wash your hands always. Malaria- sleep under a net if you have to sleep. Liver problems- stop drinking! ...and so on, you see? In short, its not always a patient's fault that they have AIDS. That is how stigmatization begins. When you begin looking at patients with contempt.

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