Imagine one of your best friends was tested for HIV, and the test comes back positive.
Your friend has HIV and will have it the rest of his or her life.
As a friend, you would be there to support him no matter what, right?
You would help that person through all the pain and suffering he encounters, not to mention the embarrassment that seems to come from telling people you have HIV, because that’s what friends do for each other, right?
Now imagine this: A stranger you have no ties to is diagnosed with HIV.
Regardless of what kind of person he or she is, this person somehow contracted the virus.
While you may not know the person and may not feel strongly about showing him or her support, he or she is still a human being.
Regardless of someone’s habits or life choices, no one deserves contracting a lifelong disease any more than your friend does.
Think about Ryan White.
In 1984, at the age of 13, White was diagnosed with HIV because of an infected blood transfusion he received for his hemophilia.
Did he deserve to get HIV? I hope most of us would say, “no.”
So then why do most of us place blame and a social stigma on HIV-infected people?
If a friend had HIV, we wouldn’t be afraid he or she was trying to transmit it to us.
This friend would need to actively try to give you the virus for you to contract it.
We now know after years of research we can’t simply “catch” the disease simply by having a conversation with an infected individual.
So why do we feel afraid of just talking to a stranger with HIV?
Society and the media can often make us fear HIV-infected people.
We still treat these people with disrespect and contempt – as if HIV-infected people don’t have enough burdens to deal with.
Next time you meet someone with HIV or hear something about the disease, remember — it could be any of your friends.
Remember that you don’t know exactly how that person got HIV and you shouldn’t assume how they did.
HIV doesn’t discriminate. Neither should you.
