Greg2@f462.n204.z1.fidonet.org (Greg2) (07/27/90)
My last boyfriend and I split up when we learned that I was HIV- and
he was HIV+. It was him (not me) who broke things off, since he
believed that staying together would endanger me. I have buried
too many friends now (like so many other Gay men in 1990) to
yield to anyone in the depth of my concern over AIDS.
Now that that's out of the way, Mr. if-even-one-person-gets-AIDS-it's-
a-sin, face reality. If anyone wants to avoid getting AIDS, all
he has to do is avoid sharing needles and abstain from sex. All
sensible people agree that this will work, but it isn't a very
effective program because you can't get most people to do it.
Various forms of safe-sex are also 100% safe: mutual masturbation,
frottage, telephone sex :-), etc. This is more effective than asking
for abstinance, but 100% safe sex is a lot of work, and most people
find it less satisfying. And if people don't stick with it, it
isn't any damn good.
People are always going to be willing to take risks to do things
they want to do. Otherwise people wouldn't drink, smoke, or even
drive cars. In the case of AIDS, it's very important that people
understand what the risks are so they can choose intelligently,
but you cannot assume that people will elect zero risk. That
simply isn't human nature.
Another thing; it is every person's responsibility to police their
own activities. You cannot expect someone else to do that for you.
If you allow some guy to ejaculate inside you, YOU have accepted the
(very high) risk that he may give you AIDS. If he did this knowing
he was HIV+ and didn't tell you (even if you asked him), I agree that
his action is reprehensible (and I have never met an HIV+ person who
wasn't very concerned about spreading the disease), but it was YOU
who elected to participate in high-risk sex. That HIV+ guy can't
just give you AIDS; you have to help.
As a coda to the story I began this with, last month I retested for
HIV after 14 months of total abstinance and was relieved to still
be HIV-.
--
Uucp: ...{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!asuvax!stjhmc!204!462!Greg2
Internet: Greg2@f462.n204.z1.fidonet.org