I educate about HIV everyday and in every way, and still it’s some who say, “It doesn’t take all of that and people are going to do what they want to do. You can’t save the world!" Yep, you are right, people are going to be people and no one can change them, but we can educate them and provoke change in them. It’s dangerous when a person thinks they know everything and especially when they say, “I can do what I want to do because I am not bothering nobody. It’s my Life, my body, and my future”. Wrong!
It's been a while since I heard anyone mention HIV or say the words, "I got tested today." What is happening to us as a people? Better yet, what is happening to us as a community? Are we losing our voice and just succumbing to the craziness of the world? Throwing our hands up to the stigma? Listening to the noise about HIV just being a chronic dis-ease now?
Does anyone even care that Latinos represented 17% of the U.S. population but account for 24% of all new HIV diagnoses? That Blacks make up only 12% of the U.S. population, and they account for 44% of all new HIV infections among adults and adolescents, and Blacks comprise 61% of all HIV/AIDS cases among women? If we are aware of the stats that are looming in our communities then tell me why we are not getting tested more? Talking about it more? Yes, it is in the White communities also even if no one is talking about it.
Why do we have to keep having these conversations week after week?
Is it too much for one to wear a condom, use protection, or sleep with just one person?
HIV Testing is not like a pregnancy test, nor does it protect you from STIs. It's your job to care about your health just plain and simple. Stop acting like you never heard about the disease or know anyone who has it. Every time you play Russian roulette and may have had a one-night encounter you can't keep running back and getting tested because it is called the "Window Period".
Everyone is ignoring the fact that HIV has consumed the bodies of so many of our friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers, church members, and even some of our enemies.
Sometimes, I just have to take a break as an HIV Educator & Tester, and reassess Life!
I feel like we are losing people at an all-time high, but as an HIV Educator & Tester I find that there are a lot of people who are just willingly signing up for HIV. That’s right… I said it! Signing up for HIV.
They are literally saying, “Baby tonight, I just want you to pass me HIV, oh no, better yet…let me taste AIDS with my lips”. No one wants to use a condom and no one wants to talk about past relationships, or go and get tested for HIV.
So, I am sitting here waiting for a person to walk through the doors to get tested. I have everything laid out and ready to go. You know how we do when we are getting ready to go out to a dance or a party…our clothes all laid out on the bed and our smelling good stuff right there. So, I have the test kit, gauge, cotton balls, alcohol pads, and a gift card there also. The sad part is that I have been sitting here for exactly 59 minutes and no one walked through the doors. No, let me correct that! No one walked through my door that leads to HIV Testing. Is it me?
So as I was testing the other day, I was able to educate an individual about the choices they have been making. Hmmm, let's see, sexual encounters with over 30 individuals in the last 30 days without…did I mention without a condom? How do you awaken urgency inside of a person who appears complacent? How do you stress the importance about loving yourself more than loving the bedroom scene for a mere five seconds of loving someone else?
