So much strife has built up in the last few weeks in America that people who were once allies are now enemies. Friends with similar opinions now have their individual biases exposed as a result of the constant feuding that has been going on.
Now, I'm not saying these are issues that we need to sweep under the rug or dismiss because they're items of contention. What I am asking for, though, is an armistice. A battle cry from me to you asking for us to stop the bickering, stop the fighting,and stop the assumptions.
One thing that was said to me recently rang so true, was that I don't know other people's lives. It's true: I don't know your life and your struggles. And you don't know mine. What I do know, however, is that we have one planet to share together. One small world and that's it.
I've decided to lay down my torch and pitchfork, put down my verbal guns, and walk away as unscathed as I possibly can.
Instead I've picked up a new torch. I found a new reason to be angry. A cause to be really be upset over. A war that we can all fight and one that really shouldn't divide any of us.
Will you side with me, here and now--and battle together with the rest of the troops-- in an effort to stomp out a war that we have been winning and losing for 30+ years?
AIDS
When I was a teenager, that word and those bloody initials used to stand for a punishment by death for older gay men in gay Meccas--something that had happened to them in the 80s as a result of their promiscuity. People in the Midwest were immune to this big city disease, or so I also foolishly thought. This ignorant and bigoted outlook was only personally negated for me when I lost my first friend and role model to the disease back in the early 90s.
Now, tens of my friends are living, not dying of HIV, not AIDS. 30+ million people are living with HIV around the world and nearly 36 Million people have perished of AIDS since the outbreak of the disease. AIDS continues to be the single biggest cause of death in Africa and death amongst African children between the ages of 9-19.
Since only August of 2012, the HIV transmission rates are up 132% in America. That's just two years, people, of nearly doubling the amount of transmission rates. In this country, modern scientific advancements have allowed those living with the disease to lead as normal of lives as possible. So why the onslaught of newly diagnosed people?
I attribute this to two things:
First, the fact that we have conquered the disease and have made so many advancements that it is no worse of a diagnosis than diabetes due to how little the medicines allow the disease to affect your life. This has lead to a complacency amongst out people thinking that there is no further need to irradiate an illness that "no longer kills".
Second, the stigma. Despite the fact that we watched 30+ years of this fucked up illness killing people, yet now people are living lives fully, despite the fact that ALL scientific research points out the FACT that those living with an undetectable viral load CANNOT TRANSFER the virus to anyone, and despite that fact this info and breakthrough was and is being poured out into news sources around the world, there is still so much stigma against the disease and those living with it.
Most of this is based upon ignorance.
Yesterday, in fact, I had a friend deny that the scientific research presented from thousands of agencies is not 100% correct and that those who are undetectable can transfer the disease from one person to the other. Or that living with the disease requires a cocktail of medications that have fiercely unwanted side effects. Neither of these are true. This is my point. Until we start the discussion we cannot end the stigma. Stigma is what keeps people in the closet, keeps those from receiving proper treatment, and therefore keeps the disease spreading out of fear of what it means to be branded by society as "unclean".
You may ask: what can you do to help? How can I make a difference in a world filled with so many problems?
Actually there's a lot you can do.
First, go get tested!!! I cannot stress enough how important it is to know your status and to know where you stand. If for no other reason so that you don't infect anybody else if you are positive. So that the disease and the virus ends with you. Ends with me. Because again, once you get treatment, you cannot pass a disease on to somebody else. In fact, researchers suggest that if everyone who tested positive for the HIV virus was put on meds and became undetectable, then there would be no AIDS in 10 years.
Second, and this is just as important as the first rule, is start talking about it. Have conversations with your friends: have you been tested? What's your viral load? How long is it been since your last test? Your positive – how are your meds? What does it mean to be living with HIV? Only until we engage ourselves in conversation will we ever be able to really conquer this disease and end the stigma surrounding it.
But wait, there's more! So much more. If you really want to be part of the revolution that is the changing face of medicinal treatments for the disease, then donate. Not just your money because your bank and your wallet will only cover so much. Who really has enough money to be that philanthropic these days anyways? But there are plenty of ways that you don't have to spend a dime to contribute to ending this disease. Volunteer at your local AIDS healthcare center. Join a calling tree. Help volunteer with AMFAR, AHF, and other HIV and AIDS health organizations. I didn't have the money nor the willpower to feel like I would be able to raise enough money to ride in AIDS lifecycle, so instead I volunteered as a roadie. This will cost me nothing but will help so many people and will probably change me forever. Don't want to leave the house but still feeling like you want to contribute? Then tweet! Facebook! Instagram instead! Hell, even repost this blog post. From the confines of your home, being charitable has never been so easy. Think social media doesn't really work? It does. My friends' posts on social media got me to write this post in the first place.
Talking about it and communication are the single biggest tools we have in combatting this virus and disease.
Prince Harry has issued a call to arms today to honor World AIDS Day, much in the way that I'm asking you to take up arms. He is asking everyone to reveal a secret to your friends (much in the way revealing your status is often kept a secret due to the stigma) with the hashtag #FeelNoShame attached to it. This is a campaign aiming to "raise awareness of how eradicating shame and stigma can save the lives of HIV sufferers, empowering them to seek medical support and eduction about their condition, and preventing the virus from spreading." So if all you do today is reveal a secret with #FeelNoShame next to it, then you have already helped someone else out living with their secret.
(I, too, have a secret: I was addicted to OTC pain pills for 16 years of my life. Luckily through opening up about it and sharing my secret, I am no longer a victim of my own addiction. But there were years that I struggled with telling anyone. #FeelNoShame)
In a world so big with so many problems it is hard to see that one person can make a difference. But that one person may be you, and your actions could change the future for a lot of people.
Thank you for reading.
www.amfar.org www.aidslifecycle.org
www.ahf.org
