I characterize myself as conservative, and always have. I have definite views on taxes, abortion, and social programs. And until recently I had the same views on AIDS. But I recently saw the AIDS activist Michael Johnson to a presentaion on AIDS and it changed my views on this forever. I had characterized it as a "gay" disease, a prostitute's disease. I was wrong. I learned more from this man than from any other source I had ever seen or heard.

AIDS affects everyone. If your partner says they have been tested and are negative it may not be true. I'm not saying they're lieing, I'm saying the test may have been wrong. This is because it can take up to one YEAR, yes one whole year before AIDS can show up on a test. The new miracle drugs that are so often touted as a cure only stall it, and if one dosage is missed, the virus can mutate into a drug resistant strain. One in every three new HIV cases is drug-resistant.

This si not a political message, it is a human one. Get the word out, and I encourage you to research more into the topic. What you find can blow your misconceptions out of the water.

www.aegis.com is a good start.

this is becoming (already is) a very efficent population control weapon....

the thing i cant get over is the oversea's stastics regarding this genocide, very disturbing...

1/4 and 20000 a year orphaned, this makes other issues pale in comparison...

Its sad. I have friends who have lost parents because of it. Im praying for a cure and that no neo-nazi group will stand in the way of a cure. This virus is continually evolving so finding a cure is going to be difficult.

I used to think that it was almost a weapon of god, wiping out drug users, deviants, and those overseas who were dieing before they even contracted AIDS. It's incredible how wrong I was. I ingnored the problem, and now I hope to deny ignorance of this epidemic.

good guy dreamstone i respect the fact that your opinions are dynamic and that you have the humility to admit you were wrong

These aren't just words..use them. AIDS is getting bad-yes but it was intended to leave a devastating mark on mankind..so don't let it! I've done my fair share of study on it..and I'm no innocent, by far..but I've learned and I teach to those who are willing to listen and make use of the above words. Keep it clean..keep love sacred and remain STD/HIV negative

Monogamy is the only consistent answer to this problem. However, we all have skeletons in our closet, and with AIDS, that skeleton could kill you and your spouse both. Those in their teens and twenties, the most sexually active age groups, won't realize they have the disease until they're staring death in the face. Chastity until marriage, monogamy forever afterwards. Good Virtues that many should, (and don't) follow.

I know I haven't

Originally posted by magestica
These aren't just words..use them. AIDS is getting bad-yes but it was intended to leave a devastating mark on mankind..so don't let it! I've done my fair share of study on it..and I'm no innocent, by far..but I've learned and I teach to those who are willing to listen and make use of the above words. Keep it clean..keep love sacred and remain STD/HIV negative

The problem is that AIDS is contagious enough that even this practice isn't 100% effective...It doesn't actually take *sexual intercourse to spread it* because some people find themselves in weird circumstances & wind up exchanging bodily fluids with others by accident; It's *not* just a sexual disease...

It was mentioned above that it might take up to a year to show up on tests...But it could also take up to 5 years to fully incubate & start degrading the health of the victim. From that point, it's a sentence of slow death by sicknesses that you can no longer avoid or fight off.


[Edited on 8-11-2003 by MidnightDStroyer]

Absolutely! Couldn't agree with your commentary more I was simply going by the flow of the thread by my reply. Definately AIDS/HIV is not just limited to sexual encounters, however, that is the highest cause of the spread of the disease. And it would take some 'serious' fluid exchanging to get it..like maybe drinking someone elses bodily fluids or blood-now who in their right mind does that?

This is a scarey thought too..the field that I'm currently in is now implementing great deals of information/course on HIV/AIDS and I work mostly with people who are above the age of 50. So what this is telling *me* is that sometime in the very near future there are going to be more cases of elderly people in nursing/assisted living homes that will have this disease or be HIV+. This is frightening because thus far it's practically unheard of

Originally posted by Dreamstone
I used to think that it was almost a weapon of god, wiping out drug users, deviants, and those overseas who were dieing before they even contracted AIDS. It's incredible how wrong I was. I ingnored the problem, and now I hope to deny ignorance of this epidemic.

I am glad that you have changed your attitude on the subject.
I cannot stress enough the need for AIDS education and prevention.
HIV infection is running rampant and there seems to be no ending to the spread of this horrible epidemic. Women especially are becoming increasingly affected by HIV. According to the CDC women account for approximately 50% of the 38.6 million adults infected with HIV.

Originally posted by MsRedBeauty
I am glad that you have changed your attitude on the subject.
I cannot stress enough the need for AIDS education and prevention.
HIV infection is running rampant and there seems to be no ending to the spread of this horrible epidemic. Women especially are becoming increasingly affected by HIV. According to the CDC women account for approximately 50% of the 38.6 million adults infected with HIV.

There are people running around in the world who either don't know they have it, don't care to know or pay attention to signs they have, know they have it and refuse medical treatment/intervention and know they have it and spread it just to infect everyone else

So statistically speaking, the numbers are most likely higher for women and even higher then that for men!!

It is sickening that a person who is infected with the AIDS virus would go and have sex with someone and not tell them that they were infected.

Originally posted by MsRedBeauty
It is sickening that a person who is infected with the AIDS virus would go and have sex with someone and not tell them that they were infected.

And not only that..but these people can look otherwise and seem otherwise, very healthy and caring etc..but it does happen unfortunately..God what a warped society we live amongst..who would have ever imagined such things??? We fight wars and battles nearly everday when we make impulsive decisions on our sex life/partners alone.

Denial, irresponsible behavior, and ignorance of this disease may eventually wipe out the human race.

I am curious to know if those who choose to knowingly infect others with the AIDS virus are afraid of or ashamed of being stigmatized as an AIDS patient?

Originally posted by MsRedBeauty
I am curious to know if those who choose to knowingly infect others with the AIDS virus are afraid of or ashamed of being stigmatized as an AIDS patient?

Fortunately, for myself, I cannot answer that/those questions. I read alot of sick things people do just to keep me informed and aware, instead of blind. And I still don't understand some of the things people do..I most likely never will either. I honestly don't think there is an ultimate reasoning behind certain decisions people make when *deciding* someone else future for them. It's simple, it just shouldn't be done at all..if someone knows they are sick, with ANY disease that could infect someone else(besides conspiracy insanity/paranioa) then they should abstain from involving that person(s) in their personal hell. I've not personally known anyone to openly *sleep* with another when they are aware they are HIV+, but I have known/met a guy who slept with a woman who had herpes and she later informed him he would as well. This was bad enough, and the woman seemed to have no regard whatsoever for this mans future.

So really noone should *trust* anyone sexually unless there is some form of a sincere/mature agreement between the parties involved..and even then there is no guarantee.

OK I'm done..I could rattle on all day about this sort of thing. Someone close to me was HIV+ and they've since passed and thus is one of the reasons I myself have kept up with all the research on it. I become a full fledged lecturer when discussing anything contagious

Originally posted by magestica
So what this is telling *me* is that sometime in the very near future there are going to be more cases of elderly people in nursing/assisted living homes that will have this disease or be HIV+. This is frightening because thus far it's practically unheard of

That's the same problem that exists with *every* contagious disease...The longer it's allowed to float around in the general public, the less that it can be controlled by those who introduce it to the population (Whether accidently or intentionally) in the first place!

In the case of *intentional* introduction to the public, the ones who *do* it in the first place think they'll be able to control it...And that's the illusion that causes such suffering in humanity: Those who *think* they can control *any* form of life to the extent that it wouldn't come back & bite *them* eventually...

Africa is by far the worst hit. Some 40-45% of Botswana's adult population is HIV+ (and they are a small population, under 1 million). Zimbabwe is around 35-40%, and South Africa is sitting on 20-25%.

These are conservative figures, based on 2002 UNAIDS estimates. I've worked as a medic, and I've seen full-blown AIDS cases. It's not pretty.

its always good that before u form an idea in your head to do some reading about the subject, like in this case aids. To be honest i find it kind of stupid that there are still people that believe that aids is solely a homosexual disease, not to offend anybody.....