It's a horrible thing to say
It's even a horrible thing to think, so I'm not exactly proud of my reaction to this bit in the article ABCNEWS.com : Spermicides and Condoms: Not the Best Marriage?
Many people think they are at low risk for HIV, so why take the trouble to use a condom?
Some women may think of themselves as fairly low-risk and therefore might not insist on the use of condoms. But that's a serious mistake. There are straight men out there, too, who don't think they need to protect themselves from infection because they still think HIV is a "gay" disease.
What I thought was that anyone still carrying that particular notion in their heads - the bit with the emphasis added -- deserves whatever happens to them.
Like I said, not one of my nicer moments.
The following answer in the piece, comparing people not using condoms to a person on a diet eating chocolate, didn't improve my mood any either.
Bonus round: Planned Parenthood Says 'Spread Condoms -- Not Aids'; Delivers Condoms to Africa and Congress
During National Condom Week, Feb. 14 - 21, Planned Parenthood is encouraging activists to send condoms to Africa along with a message to the president asking him to save lives by making condoms and medically accurate condom information more widely available. Activists can visit http://www.saveROE.com to send condoms directly to Africa, where an estimated 1.1 billion condoms are needed in sub-Saharan Africa for HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. Additionally, when activists send a message to the White House, Planned Parenthood will send a condom to Africa on the president's behalf.
Since, you'll never believe this:
In his recent State of the Union address, President Bush promised to provide funds for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs in Africa and the Caribbean. However, the president's extremist allies are now demanding that not a dime be spent on condoms as a means of preventing AIDS. Their solution? Abstinence only.
Know I should have seen that one coming, but apparently I lack the imagination required to understand the workings of the conservative mind.
This does mean their words and actions are a constant source of delight and surprise, so there's that, at least. . .
Comments
America: Land of the Free (to be judgemental) and Home of the Brave (especially when hunkering down behind a nuclear arsenal and a huge pile of food).
On a related theme, anybody read Dan Savage this week? (Link can be had through theonion.com). I'm curious what people think of his get-tough-on-dangerous-behavior attitudes. Not sure what to make of the situation, myself.
Posted by: garrity | February 16, 2003 1:44 PM
He's a day late and a dollar short. NYC queer activist folks were talking about that kind of stuff 12 years ago; it's precisely the thinking that led to Giuliani's Disneyfication of Times Square and the eradication of NYC's bathhouses. All it's done is to drive public sex underground and make it less accessible to those who want to try to do outreach, education, and prevention work, honestly... and to fuel the drive to "normalize" (and "heterosexualize") queer relationships, i.e., "If everyone were monogamous and pair-bonded and there were no irresponsible people having casual sex, then everything would be okay!" And so on.
Sex Panic mailing list is an interesting forum that discusses these issues quite often -- find their info at http://www.sexuality.org/l/incoming/sexpanic.html if you're curious.
Posted by: hanne | February 16, 2003 5:53 PM
On a related rant- I ran into a friend of mine in the scrip queue at the student clinic the other day & she was livid. Rightly so- until Feb 1, birth control for students on the student health plan [including graduate students] cost a copay of 5-bucks/month. Women coming in after Feb 1 faced a 26-DOLLAR/MONTH FEE. Planned Parenthood also recently upped their prices. Where this leaves Ohio State's student population is a frightening thought, since not everyone can, or will choose to, afford a price-hike like that.
Posted by: Neogrammarian | February 17, 2003 8:02 AM
Neo, there's only one right thing to do under the circumstances: convert their women and castrate their men.
Posted by: hanne | February 17, 2003 11:48 AM
For their sakes, sure, but- ugh- they'd all probably turn out like the rest of Columbus lesbians, &, well, I'm just not into butch. [Milles pardons any Columbus-lesbian readers out there, but, hey, I'd tell you the same if you talked to me at the bar.]
Posted by: Neogrammarian | February 17, 2003 1:18 PM