S-E-X

Who am I to talk to you about sex?! No one really. What gives me the right to even approach you with such a topic? the "right"?--I'm not sure I've acquired that. Then what sort of entitlement, maybe even interest, do I possess to come to you with this? Oh well, that's an easy one, if my generation is affected, I'm affected.

Sex is not a bad thing, as are most things in life, but being UNeducated about it, is-- as it is for most things (food, friends, carbon footprints*just wanted to throw that in there* :) etc.). Sex, whether it connects you to someone, gets you off, empowers you, (____fill in blank___), releases endorphins (derived from our pleasure principle) and it feels amazing! This is why I don't knock it. As humans we are hedonistic calculus, always looking to maximize our pleasure over pain, yet we are unaware that on the outskirts of this sexual portrait there is disease; some which can kill. As much as I love words I can grow to hate semantics. We are at a point in our lives where "chronic illness" has come to describe AIDS, and that to me is a double edge sword. The virus is not a bit over 20 years old. It had come to our attention about 25 years ago, as it af/infected us, but test tubes dating longer have been found to be positive in labs in Africa. Thus we've been toe-to-toe with this pandemic for quite some time. The issue is that yes, medication, treatment, and management has sorted out its initial tweaks--like death, but the disease continues to infect one too many. I will no longer stand by as people choose ignorance; ignorance is not an excuse and it will never be. Just because you think it's not happening doesn't mean it's not. You are not omnipresent and thus cannot gauge the magnitude of such an issue. It is all around you, it touches you, you breathe it and it exists!!

The virus is now a chronic illness! Kudos, right? The double-edge sword sticks and it fucking hurts my entire body. We've come to a point in our fight against AIDS where we can contain it. Where people are no longer dying. Where people live HIV+ and live well. This is a cause for celebration as this has been a treacherous battle, but is it?! This disease is not like cancer, where its etiology is a mystery, this virus is 100% preventable (let me repeat: ONE HUNDRED PERCENT PREVENTABLE). The Red Campaign has been working for quite some time to eradicate AIDS, but does that mean that with this eradication the numbers of seropositive people decreases or does it simply mean that people will no longer die from infecting, opportunistic diseases due to the acquiring of HIV?

I am not saying that I cannot appreciate the wonders that this can mean. I am not one of those people who finds faults with everything, but I am concerned because I believe that if you change the meanings of things you think differently and thus if you change "death from illness" to "chronic illness" people may begin to think that it is OK to be infected. Do not misunderstand and think that it is not OK to be infected and that those who have been, shouldn't come to terms because it is not OK; what I am saying is that if people can place HIV/AIDS on the same continuum as diabetes (an innately developed illness that can kill, but doesn't if taken care of) then the fear component is removed, the bit of caution one takes vanishes, and a "well, I wont die" or "she wont die from it" mentality can develop and I fear that that will be catastrophic!

Why do I emphasize this particular virus and not chlamydia, crabs, gonorrhea, all too preventable as well; or maybe syphilis that's preventable, but can kill too if untreated? Because AIDS/HIV has higher rates mortality (although these numbers have drastically dropped with the introduction of AZT, and the versions of medication that followed), because this particular one hits too close to home and I'm angry that it does. Harlem should be thriving and its dying. My generation should be innovative, spontaneous, radical, vivacious, and this, this impedes the maximization of such qualities.

As an eligible Mental Health and Wellness provider, I will not say that I am disappointed. Firstly, I do not believe I have the right to cast such negatively heavy sentiments over a person with with its usage. Secondly, an individual's psychological structuring cannot, will not, allow him or her to rationally come to terms with such a concept. It is not that we are unable to, it is possibly the doing of a coping mechanism--these protect you. The psycho-social components that should be taken into account are far to complex to even begin to think that education can resolve it. I am a prime example: with the abundance of knowledge I've attained have I had unprotected sex, even once? YES. Had I known my partner's status? NO. Have we even discussed condom usage or any preventative measure? NO. Had it crossed my mind right then and there that there was a probability for infection? NO...Am I an advocate for the virus' eradication? YES, hands down.

Still, I will not get tired of posting the fact that "knowledge is power". I will not let people down by becoming ignorant. Intelligence is not a fad, its a quality worth investing in, only IT can set you free and propel you into the unknown to then allow you to reemerge triumphantly. Do not allow things to touch home before they are worthy of your attention, as I did, find that which you are passionate about before it is a problem so that you are always part of the solution. :)