HIV: It’s time to address the real problem

Recently a note was left for the News Argus office by an unidentified person. The person left an editorial which appeared in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. The title of the article, “Blacks flee gays, can’t flee AIDS,” The unidentified person wrote that we should print the article, because the colleges should know. Now this disease which was considered a disgrace a decade ago is now an epidemic, which Black America doesn’t know how to handle.What once was seen as a gay disease has now become everybody disease. We can no longer say that we have not come in contact with a person which is infected. Black America, accounts for 12 percent of the population and 54 percent of all new HIV cases. Recent statistics show that at least 56 college students in North Carolina have been diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. A good portion of them are black males.Let’s face it, we all know there’s a problem out there and there are some who feel that it doesn’t apply to them. The full scope of this illness is one which cannot easily be remedied. Many of these cases are said to have been related to men having sex with men. This exposes one thing which is prevalent, not only on the campuses of North Carolina, but on university and college campuses around the nation. Some might argue that there is a great deal of information on the illness out there, yet there is still an increase in the disease especially by young people. The bottom line is there is still more information needed about prevention. Are we getting the message about HIV and AIDS? With all condoms and other preventative information out there, why is this disease spreading at such an alarming rate?Why is this happening? I believe it is true that African-Americans are the least likely to admit that they are gay and come out of the closet. So for those who think they can have it both ways, the cycle of HIV and AIDS continue.Now there is trend being brought to the forefront where many men engage in homosexual on the DL or Down Low. Maybe it is time we all stop hiding from the issue and confront it. This in turn may reduce some of these statistics. No matter how hard you look at the statistics, no matter what we as a people have gone through, it does appear that now we are killing ourselves. And there is no one else to blame. Can we really be shocked by the recent results made clear about the HIV infection rates in North Carolina, especially as they relate to Black Males. Not really. There are two ways we can handle this epidemic, we can sit around and pretend like it is not happening, or we can take responsibility for our actions as adults and human beings. We can pray all we want. When given the choice between life and certain death. Which one will you choose?