Miami has one of the highest numbers of AIDS cases in the United States. New cases have been popping up in the thousands and it’s been this way for quite awhile. There’s even an article I found in The Miami Herald dating back to 2002 that ranks Miami at number one.
And few people are saying anything.
Turn on your TV or log on the internet. You’ll find stories on celebrity meltdowns or the War in Iraq. But people in general act as if there is a cure for AIDS and there is nothing to worry about.
Aside from a few reports that address the issue, the media rarely addresses the issue the way it did back in the 1980s and 1990s. I remember watching documentaries, news reports and made-for-TV movies when I was ten years old. Even at that age, I knew who Rock Hudson was and that Anthony Perkins, or Norman Bates as I knew him back then, was dying from the disease. In middle school, teachers showed us films on how to put a condom on and so forth.
So the threat of AIDS was very much real to me, even though I wasn’t having sex in my preteen years or sharing random needles in the streets. But because the threat was shoved down my throat so I understood the basics. And my friends knew about the disease, more or less. They knew you couldn’t get it by shaking hands or sitting on public toilets. From what I understood, when the disease first broke out in the United States, on of the common misconceptions was that AIDS is airborne and all you need to get infected is some infected person coughing in your direction.
But the talk of AIDS has subsided. I hear people talking about Avian flu than HIV, even though it is still present in Miami. I’m not sure why the media has kept quiet on the subject. Whenever reporters talk about it, they usually point towards Africa, which is facing a crisis. Maybe because compared to Africa, Miami appears to be doing fine with AIDS. Or maybe stories of HIV have grown weary with the public; people are just looking for the next disease to worry about.
That’s not to say that AIDS is completely ignored in Miami. The Miami Herald reported last month that UM and FIU received millions in grants to figure out solutions for infected people in the Hispanic community. But this bit of news was swiped under the rug in favor of other stories. If nothing is done, the numbers will continue to grow.
5 comments:
That's the 2 AM, 10 min. blog. But The writing is good and you obviously give a care, that's what matters. You touch upon the media silence.
I hate white. It burns my eyes.
Nice writing. I think now it is time to find some kind of focus as so far you have stated many facts and made clear that you think AIDS education needs to improve or perhaps be back in the spot light like it was when we were kiddies. With regards to the layout... I think AIDS education should be directed mostly to the younger crowd as, lets face it, they (or we) are the careless, ignorant ones who think nothing bad can happen to us! As such, I think your blog layout should be "hip" and "in style" to draw the attention of the younger crowd. The way your layout is right now, to me, seems boring. Minor details that can EASILY be fixed. OH! and pictures!!! You need pictures!!
I feel like I need to snort some cebolla en polvo or roll up some basil leaves after reading your page because the layout is BLAND! You, like me, are lazy. O ther than the graphics you give a good description of the current media coverage of AIDS which is almost non-existent. I wonder if the media believes that of we just forget about it then it will go away. Fix the layout here and get some more details on the AIDS epidemic in South Fla.
I think your blog has a good point-of-view. I agree, and I'm sure many other people agree that the media is doing a lazy job of covering HIV/AIDS. It is a real disease and it affects real people. But as you said, it doesn't get covered a lot.
The layout of your piece could have been a little more creative or interesting. But your words kept me in the piece.
Sup bro,
I thought I'd join the conversation since we were talking about this assignment all day.
Your posting freaked me out a bit because it rings so true.
I remember going through all those sex ed classes in high school. I was 17, hadn't been with a girl, and all the kids around me were laughing in health class. When the hot Sex Ed teacher talked about using a condom, the two linebackers sitting in the back of the room, wearing their football jerseys, laughed and slapped hands. One linebacker, Eddie, said to the other, Jeff, "Condoms, those are for fairies.” Three girls laughed and that was that.
Monica, a tall, slender cheerleader, with great legs, sat at the head of an STD awareness and prevention club. One day in class, I’m listening to Monica speak, the same girl people said used to do this and that with pretty much the whole varsity basketball team, I’m listening and I'm thinking this girl is supposed to be a major slut, but she’s talking about using condoms and dental dams for oral sex, and all that tricky, hard to maneuver stuff. I'm thinking about all the guys people say she's been with and the irony of it all. Of course that was only hearsay – but why was I listening to this person or any person for that matter?
I was going nowhere with the ladies, so maybe those football players were onto something. My own kid brother would even tell me, ‘Don’t worry so much, you can tell if a girl has something.’ or ‘You can’t get anything from one time.’
One time my bro told me about Sam, this girl he was seeing. Well, one day she knocks at his door, drunk as hell. He invites her in and up to his room.
A couple days later I ask him ‘Did you use a condom?’
‘No,’ he said, ‘but I've used one every other time I was with her, plus I pulled out. And I've known her for awhile.’
This whole tough-guy persona, locker room candor, gets tossed around, and then you start to fall into it yourself. But when do you really know? You don't. I read Monique's piece. She reported, this woman got HIV from this guy she was engaged to. What the hell? Who can you trust?
More than trust, it's the culture we live in. My Rabbi says we live in these Roman Times. Sex is everywhere. It's not a bad thing, but there's always the question going through my mind, if I’m seeing a girl, should we wait until the 4th date, or at 3 weeks in, is that the right time to take the next step. That’s a solid benchmark of trust and endearment, right?
But it’s not just the guys. Girls are much different today. They have a different mindset because they have more control over their bodies. They can get an abortion. They can use the pill. What the class should take is a survey, the class should formulate a school-wide survey, the question being: As a girl, when you have sex, do you worry more about getting pregnant or catching an STD, and as a guy, do you worry more about getting a girl pregnant or catching an STD?
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