Hiv/aids

I heard about idiot people doing the same thing with other non-std related sickness, just because they were against getting vaccines, so they thought if they infected themselves with the virus, they could somehow overcome it or something? Idiots will be idiots though. You can try your best to educate people, but not everyone listens or believes the truth, especially when you say the magical word "science" or even sometimes "doctor" and stuff like that. It's sad and really unfortunate, but people can only do their best to educate and properly inform people. Not everyone listens, and they pay the price for it. Very unfortunate, especially when they spread their ignorance to others.

 

Misinformation and human stupidity. Even with todays meds people living with HIV do not have it easy. The meds can have some very serious side effects, finally in hiv positive people there have been detected higher rates of cognitive disorders.

 

wtf...

 

What the hell?

 

Some people can be so stupid and ignorant.

 

I've known of this for awhile, I had even come across a horrendously disturbing video that is too graphic for me to be able to actually describe on the forum.. I will say that even the semen of HIV men looks diseased. It's sickening.

 

Do these people really exist in significant numbers? It's always a thing you hear of, but I've always suspected that it's more a shocking thing that it's easy to talk about, rather than a widely practised activity.

There are essentially no viewpoints so stupid that you won't be able to find someone that agrees with them. Some people have destructive views of their own worth. Which in itself is pretty tragic, but has anyone hear ever encountered anyone like this in real life?

---------- Post added 14th Mar 2015 at 09:23 PM ----------

If it looks diseased, I don't think that's the HIV. The early 80s might have played out a bit differently if it was that easy to tell who had HIV and who didn't.

 

i really love queer as folk its like the gay education for us
also yeah those people exist but i bet many do regret it after time
though some do it for the sake of their partners like someone is married to a HIV\AIDS partner he would try to get infected as well so he can feel for him and that the partner wont have to worry about giving the other one the infection though its a stupid move i wouldnt hurt myself for someone i love not with something like aids

 

I have no sympathy for stupid people like that. Joke's on them when they catch it and finally realize how bad it truly is.

Too bad they have to be part of spreading the disease though.

 

I picked up once an academic journal (Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies) in my university library which had an interview with a filmmaker who specialises in this kind of porn. He was having an academic discussion with somebody and it was frankly the most warped and scary thing that I have ever read, and it made me seriously disgusted with some aspect of academia and queer theory.

In short he explained it as a positive and 'radical' thing and an extension of being queer.
I deeply disagree with it, but I will post what I remember of his position because it might explain *why* those people think like that.


1) his logic is that gay men live in fear of the virus: getting infected puts an end to the fear, and with the current state of medicine the virus is not such a horrible thing to have.

2) historically gay men and queer people were social outcasts. He is critical of the drive to be seen as normal and assimilate: he sees queer people as distinct from straight people and it is not worth trying to replicate straight peoples way of life. Having the virus cements the outsider status of queer men and makes them bound to their community. It creates a kind of radical queer utopia where people don't have to live in fear of the virus.

I don't remember other aspects of his argument, and I might have simplified it, but this is what I remember the gist of it was.

Here is a direct link to the PDF

Risk and Utopia


Edit:
I was also reminded by this of a rather painful break-up I had with a gay (bi?) male friend of mine, whom I have known since my teens and whom I counted as one of my closest friends at some point. He came to stay for 2 weeks at my place because he was moving to my city. It transpired that he avoided getting tested for a rather long while, despite having been promiscuous and unsafe. At some point he also felt fascinated by the whole bug chasing thing, but I do think it was rather a morbid fascination, rather an genuine interest. But I grew uneasy/uncomfortable around him because of this and I voiced my concerns, which fell on deaf ears: "I know, I know will deal with this soon/later".

He then informed me that he arranged behind my back that he will be moving into the room of my female flatmate (until he finds something of his own/gets a job etc). I informed her that if she is planning to share a bed with him (I know, weird!), she must know that he is of unclear health status. I've felt is was my responsibility to inform her.
He then accused me of being 'homophobic'. Jeez.

 

That's pretty foolish, considering being infected with HIV doesn't protect you from contracting a different strain, and if anything, puts you at a greater risk for catching it again, plus a host of other venereal diseases. This, aside from all the negatives that come with catching it in the first place...

 

Holy...fuck...

 

People used to do this with chickenpox because the disease is much less serious for children and the vaccine had not been developed. Nowadays, we know that's a great way to get shingles a few decades on.
From what I just read, this isn't in an attempt to overcome it, just to get it (apparently they consider it erotic?). Not only does it mean these people are slowly killing themselves, and it's an especially horrible practice if these people are planning on later having sex who doesn't want the virus - or really anyone who doesn't have it, because even if they want it, it's irresponsible to fulfill such a wish.

 

Disgusting, and giving gay men a bad reputation. AIDS is still known as the "gay disease", and this isn't doing much to end that.

This almost makes me glad to be bi/pan. At least I don't have a disease associated with my sexuality.

 

This is one of the reasons why I've lost all hope for humanity...

 

The one thing I did not like about Queer as Folk is the bi-erasure. Other than that, I think it was decent. There were several times where I wanted to say "__ seems to be bi, not gay."

 

I think people do it not because it is erotic but because they feel it is inevitable that they will get the disease. Maybe they are the promiscuous type who has unprotected sex with random strangers. Maybe in some twisted logic, getting the disease and knowing right away that you have it and getting medications (which are much improved nowadays) is better than getting it and not knowing. When people think things are inevitable they want to get them over with. It's sad that people can't just have protected sex. I hardly have sex with people I don't know well but sometimes I am tempted and I swear half the people want it bareback... Even younger people (that sounds ageist but I just feel like information is so much more available now days that younger people would know the risk!) And... No... They are immediatelly crossed off my list of potential partners...