Wednesday, February 07, 2007
IGNO(RED): Blacks and AIDS/HIV
(I hate my blindspots.)
Today is National Black AIDS/HIV Awareness Day. Learning of this yesterday, here's what I became aware of :
- Eight years ago, the statistics were terrifying: 9,526 African-Americans dead of AIDS in 1997, the latest year for which figures were then available. At 13 percent of the nation's population, blacks accounted for 36 percent of its AIDS cases.
- Eight years later, the silence is still loud and the numbers are worse. Blacks now account for nearly half of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses and contract AIDS at a rate 10 times that of whites. Sixty-four percent of all American women living with HIV/AIDS are black. AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women 25 to 34.
So I looked to understand why things haven't changed.
Here's what I'm thinking:
Here's what I'm thinking:
- There is nothing sexy or cool about AIDS/HIV
- It's sad to talk or think about
- The problem seems much larger than any Gap (Red) campaign
- People don't want to alter their sex lives & habits
- Only rich people can afford to survive it
- There's nothing in the social environment that encourages responsibility
- Pop culture, R&B, Rap, movies, music videos, church, sports, porn (soft & hard-core), fashion, beauty, Maxim magazine, King magazine, any pop culture magazine, etc.
- It's heard all the time and without any direct experience, you become callous and desensitized
- Other people have it, not me
- We choose to not talk about it
Then I looked at things that were being done today. Everyone's heard of Project (Red), right? If not, click here for background. Apple has a red iPod, Motorola created a red Razor cell phone, and The Gap made t-shirts and parkas. Now I understand the intention behind it, so don't think I'm dissing what the cause is about. But I was really turned off as I reviewed the campaign.
Apparently, this is what it takes to get our attention:
They make it cool.
and sexy...
But tell me,
what the hell is cool and sexy about AIDS and HIV?!?!
Using sex to advertise a disease that is mobilized by sex just seems "off".
Then I read this article:
(click here)
Get responsible.
Get tested.
Get informed.
Get real.
(Most of us can't afford not to.)
But tell me,
what the hell is cool and sexy about AIDS and HIV?!?!
Using sex to advertise a disease that is mobilized by sex just seems "off".
Then I read this article:
(click here)
"...when a black person dies of AIDS, many times, regardless of the person's gender, behavior or sexual orientation, friends and family members say other illnesses caused the death."
Huh??!?!?For the affected demographic, sexual freedom and expression is practiced without much regard for consequence. It seems as if moral guidance doesn't hold much weight next to instant gratification. Pretending to be invincible to something that's quietly looming around you on a daily basis does nothing but make you right becauseDeath makes everyone invincible.
Get responsible.
Get tested.
Get informed.
Get real.
(Most of us can't afford not to.)
