Let Us Celebrate World AIDS Day, No Time For Mourning

Today marks World AIDS Day, and this is absolutely my first time commemorating this day. I feel honored that I was invited thru a group of bloggers to ceremonialize this event by submitting a post about our personal feelings on NIV/AIDS. I have been brainstorming for more than an hour on how to tackle this subject. Ultimately, I decided to freestyle.

Since the first mentioning of HIV/AIDS, we, the public, have often heard the worst cases of these diseases and some misinformation on how these diseases are spreading as well as the percentages of people who live with HIV/AIDS. People living with HIV/AIDS in Africa and Asia suffer differently than people in the well-developed countries because of the availability of treatment. Nonetheless, people do not die from HIV/AIDS alone as there are other medical complications that weakens a person’s immune system. However, people with HIV/AIDS will have their causes of death marked as AIDS without stating the real health problem. The actual ailment could be diabetes, pneumonia, cancer, etc. Somehow, that needs to be changed.

Because I often like to find the brighter side to deeper and darker issues, I am going to talk about the good things about HIV/AIDS. Yes, there are positive things about HIV/AIDS -- no pun intended. If you have read other blogs about the HIV/AIDS already, I guarantee you have read statistics, sad stories, awareness of getting tested, the DL lifestyle, history of gay sex, and other pessimistic writings in most of those postings. There is nothing wrong with the gloomy side of HIV/AIDS because having a disease is not pleasant.

When I think about HIV/AIDS, I think about two things that should give people hope who are HIV-positive.

First, HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence, nor does it guarantee how much time you have left to live. In the past two decades, the news and media covered a person’s conception of HIV/AIDS as the person having up to an average of five years to live. The public was never educated often on how medication, exercise, proper eating, and healthy living can prolong a person’s life who has HIV. Therefore, a person with HIV can live as long as a person without it as long as the person maintains a well-balanced diet, a decent exercise regimen, a positive outlook on life and a healthy lifestyle. Today, HIV-positive people aren’t as often ostracized from family, friends, and peers as the public is becoming more understanding and accepting of the “controllable” epidemic. People who are open about their HIV status still have the opportunity to obtain successful love and lives with others, regardless of HIV status. There are also ample support groups in major cities that encourages HIV-positive people to regain a positive outlook on life.

Secondly, thinking about HIV/AIDS gives me the opportunity to remember the people I have known personally who have died from the disease. While I was saddened by their absences from Earth, I choose to remember the good traits of these people. I knew a man named Michael from Chicago who was one of the most artistic and creative people I have met. He was also a very passionate person about the things he enjoyed. Before I met him, I had friends in Atlanta and Chicago who were obviously Janet Jackson fans, but Mike’s admiration for Janet trumped them all collectively, when he dedicated a party for Janet’s HBO televised concert in 2002. His apartment was transformed into everything a Janet Jackson fan would desire. Mike created backstage passes, note pads, and other give-a-way items with Janet Jackson picture and info all over them. There were quizzes before the show started, etc. I was in awe of his brilliant creativity. The first person I knew personally who succumbed to AIDS was a guy named Bruce. Bruce had a very sweet soul. I considered Bruce as part of my inner circle/family in Atlanta because there were a group of eight guys who welcomed me into their world as a younger brother in Atlanta when I had no family to connect with in Atlanta. Due to his profession and expertise, Bruce was a very good cook. He and his ex-lover showed me great southern hospitality, despite being from Philadelphia, by opening their doors to me whenever I visited. His flamboyant behavior showed me how much of a happy person he was during his days of glory. I got to know Bruce personally for more than two years, which was the duration of my residence in Atlanta. I returned to Chicago in December 2001 and learned six months later that Bruce passed away from AIDS the day I arrived to Atlanta for a five-day vacation. My group of friends sat in a living room looking at each other with very stunned faces in disbelief. We never knew that Bruce was HIV-positive, nor did he show signs of dying before he passed. Minutes later, we all decided to remember the good times we had with Bruce. His passing brought us all closer together as we all agreed to be there for each other especially if any one of us were in the same position as Bruce.
My mission of this post to encourage you to think of all the beautiful things about the people you know who have passed away from AIDS or is currently HIV-positive. All of these are/were beautiful people, and focusing on the good times rather than the ailment will make all of our lives easier. People living with HIV/AIDS are suffering mentally about their disease, so let us not enable them to drown in their sorrow more by adding to their sadness.

Remember, HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence. A person can live as many years as he/she wishes being HIV-positive. I have friends who have been HIV-positive between 15-25 years and they are healthier looking than people who claim to be HIV-negative.

Peace