Combating the AIDS Stigma

  In the year 1981 the world took a devastating hit as AIDS entered the horizon.

This was the year that the first case of AIDS was officially identified.

At that time very little was known about the disease. We were all in the dark, in a cave so to speak, seeing only mere shadows of a gruesome reality.

Nobody understood what this condition was or how it was spread from person to person.

Twenty-six years later and we have a much better understanding of this condition; however, many of us still remain chained within that cave of ignorance.

Since the first case was brought into the open it’s been estimated that more than a half-million US citizens have died from this disease. In fact, AIDS has grown to epidemic proportions and has traveled around the world and back again, bringing with it modified and updated versions of itself, making it even harder to cope with medically.

AIDS has become such an issue of global magnitude that more and more people are considering the idea of implementing some type of mandatory testing and disclosure procedures.

Opponents of disclosure stand strong in the core belief that as humans we are all entitled to certain fundamental and inalienable rights, such as privacy and autonomy.

Proponents directly challenge this idea, arguing that by nature of being human we are all connected to each other and therefore have certain responsibilities to one other, including disclosing pertinent medical information that may lead to the protection of others.

Most enthusiasts of disclosure trust that by identifying people with this syndrome the chances of it being passed along further will be greatly reduced, as uninfected people will be better protected if they are equipped with the knowledge of who they need to be precautious with. It is considered by many of these advocates a basic philosophical concept – giving up ones rights of autonomy and privacy to benefit the ‘greater good’.

Opponents fight back claiming that such practices will not increase the safety of others. They call attention to the reality that AIDS is relatively difficult to catch and that unless you are in the habit of having unprotected sex or sharing needles you are at an incredibly low risk of being exposed. Additionally it is suggested that disclosing such personal information would likely result in vast forms of discrimination in all areas of the infected individuals lives. It is presumed that increased suffering would be dumped upon the inflicted individuals and that no real benefits would be reaped for the rest of society.

These arguments raise a couple of pertinent questions:

Would mandatory testing and disclosure really be accomplishing a greater good?

Would the knowledge of who has AIDS really increase the safety of others?

I argue no on both accounts and go as far as to contend that such practices would drastically work against the greater good.

Due to society’s overall lack of education regarding the facts of AIDS, mandatory disclosure practices would indubitably do little more than to increase unnecessary fear and panic among the general population. Moreover, those who have AIDS would be treated markedly different and left highly vulnerable. Some would even suffer physical attacks.

The prevailing lack of understanding regarding the nature of this syndrome leads me to suppose that the time has arrived for society to step out from its dark cave of half-knowledge. For it is only in the light that we will be able to see the reality that such practices would cause much more harm than good.

How do we leave this cave of illusion? By listening to Plato and allowing reason to guide us.

It is time to stop fear (fear of AIDS and fear of those with AIDS) from leading our actions. More than ever we need to gain control over the many-headed beasts of our natures and let truth (the facts about AIDS) reign rather than misinformation and false assumptions.

It’s understandable, and even forgivable, that in the 80’s people went to dramatic extremes in an attempt to control AIDS. In fact, a group named PANIC actually proposed quarantining any HIV infected individuals. While today most would likely agree such action to be an unnecessary and unethical move, at the time it seemed to made sense. For all they knew, AIDS was transmitted as easily as the common cold.

Today there is no excuse for such ignorance, but it abides.

Current research proves that AIDS is not easily transmissible, yet many remain convinced that the virus can be contracted from casual contact, sharing a glass or from kissing. The truth is that the only high risks are swapping sexual fluids or blood (or breast milk), typically via unprotected sex or sharing needles.

Despite these hard facts AIDS still carries with it a seemingly immortal stigmatism that often leads to repugnant forms of discrimination.

I have witnessed firsthand the pain and injustice that AIDS victims must endure when the public becomes aware of their medical state.

From the time that I was 9 years old until the age of 17 my parents kept a massive secret from me: the fact that they were HIV positive. They didn’t tell anyone else either for fear of what would be thought.

As my teen years went on my Dad became increasingly ill as HIV progressed into AIDS. He couldn’t hide his sickness any longer and finally let the cat out of the bag to both myself and to the Pastor of the church that we had attended since I was 9 years old.

I remember how different life quickly became for us.

Our Pastor, uneducated as to the facts of AIDS, thought that it was his duty to tell the members of the church (to protect them from infection) of my parents ailment.

These misguided actions dramatically amplified the already present pain in my life and more so the lives of my parents. They were overbearingly judged against, ridiculed and gossiped about by the people who I would have expected it from the least.

Members of the church would smuggly comment on how my parents must have been ‘bad people’ to end up with such a ‘disgusting disease’.

The common belief was that they must deserve this punishment – why else would God let it happen?

People stopped coming over to our house for fear of ‘breathing in the virus’. If they were ‘courageous’ enough to come over they would refuse anything to drink and avoid all food as if it were the plague.

People even began assuming that I had AIDS. They theorized that if I hadn’t been born with it I would have surely caught it simply by living in the same space. I had to start giving long explanations, “Well he’s actually my step-dad, he’s not blood related but he’s the one who raised me since I was 9 so I call him Dad.” I hated giving this explanation (especially considering the low risk of HIV/AIDS being passed during birth and the near impossibility of catching it just from living together) but after losing several ‘friends’ (due to their fear of catching AIDS from me) I felt it necessary to.

What the majority fails to realize is that the knowledge of whether or not someone has AIDS doesn’t directly change anything for anyone except for that individual. That is to say that my behavior shouldn’t change if I find out that you have AIDS and vice versa.

Essentially we should assume that everyone is infected, which again shouldn’t change anything about our behaviors. It is already our responsibility to take proper precautions (such as safe sex and using clean needles if we use them – hopefully we don’t) with everyone that we encounter.

We shouldn’t only be cautious with people confirmed to have HIV/AIDS, as many people who have this virus are unaware. Furthermore, even if someone has been tested recently it is not a guarantee (due to the lag period involved with this virus) that they are negative. Precautions should always be taken.

But I digress. 

Another view to consider regarding mandatory AIDS testing and disclosure is that of an economical standpoint.

It is an exorbitantly expensive procedure, costing between $300,000 – $400,000 per case identified.

Wouldn’t it make more sense if this money were instead channeled into more useful avenues?

More beneficial to all would be to construct a better educational system (regarding this disease) beginning in grade school to establish a well-informed population instead of a fear based one.

Conclusively it is the responsibility of all educated souls to direct less informed individuals out of the cave of shadows and illusions.

As Plato related in Republic this is a very difficult task, but it must be done if we are to progress.  AIDS is a global challenge, not an individual problem. We need to join world forces, model the Buddhas way and let no action bring suffering upon another.

To quote Hume, “…the whole human race would form only one family…with as entire regard to the necessities of each individual, as if our own interests were most intimately concerned.”

For this to be done we need to stop the unwarranted fear of HIV/AIDS while simultaneously reducing the spread of this virus.

Surely mandatory testing and disclosure will not accomplish this task.

Instead we need to weave a plan that entails educating the public from a young age about the facts, encouraging voluntary testing (while ensuring that those who do turn up positive are not discriminated against) and channeling our money into more constructive approaches like global awareness and advanced medical research on how to overcome this tragedy.