CRUISING for SEX - View Single Post

ButchMascGuy · #14 3rd December 2004, 10:32 AM

In the United States, if you believe the data the CDC recently published and reported is statistically accurate, there are approximately 950 thousand Americans infected with the HIV. Of these, 280 thousand Americans don't know they are infected. Each year since 1994, when new HIV infections peaked at 40 thousand, the number of new HIV has remained level. Of course, this estimate of 40 thousand new HIV infections since 1994 is averaged over time.

What is statistically significant about the nearly 1 million who now have the HIV is just over a quarter of these people don't know they are infected. What is particularly significant about this quarter of a million people is that we cannot know how they acquired the HIV -- either sexually transmitted or intravenous drug use or both.

If we only considered those people who don't know they are HIV positive, just over a quarter of a million people, we could sharply focus our attention and marshall our resources to reduce the number of new HIV infections from the currently level of 40 thousand to 20 thousand -- a fifty percent reduction in new HIV infections each year. But, what about the nearly three quarters of a million people who do know they are HIV positive?

I would like to believe that those people who do know they are HIV positive are either sexually celibate or not intravenous drug users who share needles or they are practicing safe sex 100 percent of the time without failure. Because these people do know they are HIV positive, they share the greater personal responsibility for not transmitting the HIV to other people. The "other people" -- those who are not HIV positive -- also share a part of the personal responsibility in preventing the spreading of the HIV.

I too would like to believe that these people, the "other ones" who are not HIV positive, are serious about preventing the spreading of the HIV. These people need to understand that it only takes just ONE "unprotected" episode of sex or the sharing of a needle with someone who is HIV positive to join the ranks of those who are infected with the HIV.

What these same people also need to know is that it doesn't matter whether they self-identify as either gay, bisexual or straight. The HIV is an equal opportunity infection and doesn't discriminate on the basis of a person's sexual identity, gender or age. Lastly, these "other people" need to know that self-deception about the risks of HIV infection is a close ally of self-denial -- both of which contribute to the number of new HIV infections each year.

Of course, all of this discussion is meaningless if we are not serious about making a difference in fighting the spread of HIV. Somehow or some way, we've got to connect the dots and aspire to a greater calling in our personal lives that transcends self-interest and which serves the greater interests of mankind. I guess that is just wishful thinking on my part.