Taking HIV Seriously  | Poll Results | Advocate.com

||   Taking HIV Seriously   ||
Results for the following question: Do you think people are taking HIV less seriously now that they see it as a manageable disease?

Yes
 81.6%

No
 14.5%

Undecided
 3.9%

Total Votes: 538

Comments:
These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Mark
It is unconsciable that our health institutions have not developed workable safer sex messages that don't rely on the death and illnesses that we saw in the 80's and 90's. These new generations of gay kids don't have a chance if something isn't done to encourage sexual responsibility.

Larry
How could they not? I mean AIDS is no longer a death sentence; and a horrible one at that. Not to say that it's a picnic, but it's no longer guaranteed that you're doomed to waste away into nothing in agony anymore. Now, no matter how bad it is one still has a chance to live out one's normal lifespan. So again, how could that not be less scary?

Anonymous
I think it has alot to do with the thought that it only happens to other people. That was my attitude all through my 20's. I came out in 1980 at the age of 18 and never practiced safe sex back then. The 80's I watched the rise of AIDS, then during the 90's I watched many of my friends pass away. I look back now and think how stupid (and lucky) I was.

Caroline McMaster, Florida
The 'kids' these days, men and older straight women just don't get it!

Anonymous
Very few gay men are using condoms these days, it is fact.

Anonymous
eat me...tickle me :)

Jess
I feel that people are not as concerned about HIV now. As a college student, I hear things about testing and whatnot, but I'm sure we don't take it as seriously as those who lived through the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 80's and 90's would like.

Brian
"Do you bareback?" wasn't a question asked before HAART therapy. The number of early 20-somethings -- who have never seen someone die of AIDS -- who truly think that HIV is really not much different than diabetes or high blood pressure is just incredible.

Mark Gaffey
As an HIV tester and educator I've seen first hand the apathy that has taken over the public concerning this illness. If they only knew the horrible side effects of the meds and how they don't work for everyone.

David Kelly
I have been POZ for over 27years, my partner of 14years is negative and we do everything necessary to keep it that way.

William Luckeroth
Definitely. John Edward's universal health proposal would change this. I have difficulty understanding why the LGBTT community backs Hilary and/or Obama. The latter's health proposal isn't universal. Hilary has too many ties to insurers. I guess it's the year to elect a woman or a black man. The press and the two front runners don't take Edwards seriously, but he owes a lot less to the vested interests than the other democrats. I hope he somehow wins in South Carolina, but it doesn't look too encouraging I admit. His wife is in favor of gay marriage. I believe Edwards ideas are more in sync with our community than either Obama (too many religious connections) or Clinton (too establishment to carry out campaign promises).

Anonymous
YES! So true! but all people need to realize that this doesn't mean it's going to go away because unfortunately is getting worse.Everyone needs to play it safe especially African Americans and Latino because we have the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infections.

Anonymous
Yes, as evidenced by the fact that the infection rate has not dropped significantly in spite of the proliferation of information about the disease and how to avoid getting infected.

John Foster
...and it scares me.

Jim Guinnessey
Absolutely, especially if the latest statistics are correct in the growing number of new HIV cases amongst young gay men in minority communities. Personally, there is no excuse for most persons today (bad blood transfusions and infected newborns excepted) to come down with HIV/AIDS and I have little sympathy for those who do given the decades long education about condom use, safe sex and bare backing avoidance. Yes, drug use, especially crystal meth, contributes to this rise. But pleading ignorance today is no excuse for new HIV cases when the cost to taxpayers and the strain on an already overburdened health care system are in peril.

Mark Williams
I am a social work student and enrolled in an HIV/AIDS certificate program. I think that the 19-24 age group has forgotten what AIDS has done to the gay community. Bug chasers/gift givers have a twisted mind and soul that is screwing up our community.

Becky
Young people (both gay and straight) don't even seem to be taking the risk into account anymore. Whether this is due to the fact that they no longer see it as an automatic death sentence or they just don't think they are at risk of infection remains to be seen. Whatever the case may be, it certainly is a worrying trend.

Andrew
As a person who grew up during the 'war zone' that was/is the AIDS crisis, watching my friends decay and die, I am surprised at how cavalier today's generation of men are regarding this disease. It is still here and it still kills.

peter
I'm 48, been through all the SEX-SEX-SEX in San Francisco back in the 80's and 90's. These "kids" today are heavily into METHAMPHETAMINE (which I also used to do) and FUCKING AROUND WITH JUST ABOUT ANYBODY -- Again, "We're Hot ! We're young ! We just can't posssibly get 'the bug' (and now with STAPH INFECTIONS TOO). HIV is being taken waaaaaay too lightly by those in their 20's and 30's, some of whom have never seen the horrors of dying from AIDS. I lost a friend at age 34 with KS - terrible ! And dementia - at 34 !! BELIEVE IT !!

peter
I'm 48, been through all the SEX-SEX-SEX in San Francisco back in the 80's and 90's. These "kids" today are heavily into METHAMPHETAMINE (which I also used to do) and FUCKING AROUND WITH JUST ABOUT ANYBODY -- Again, "We're Hot ! We're young ! We just can't posssibly get 'the bug' (and now with STAPH INFECTIONS TOO). HIV is being taken waaaaaay too lightly by those in their 20's and 30's, some of whom have never seen the horrors of dying from AIDS. I lost a friend at age 34 with KS - terrible ! And dementia - at 34 !! BELIEVE IT !!

Anonymous
There are also economic considerations, self-esteem issues, ageism and just plain naivete. Some people are still picking their barebacking partners using the "healthy look" parameters. Of course, as with many men, some HIV positive men lie but many more who don't know their status will swear that they are HIV Negative. It's the nature of men, whether Gay or Straight, to just plain LIE.

Anonymous
As a live-in partner whose partner has it, I suffer from caring, worries,love. It's causing me to wake up and ask myself, if i can do this? My Partner seems to have more energy, better face, no worries, wants to adventure in life. Wakes up each day ready. Me on the other hand..., worries,cries,and concerned.

D. Alberstadt
Last I heard there still was no cure. Why would anyone expose himself / herself to a disease that will kill you?

Beth Brooker
It is not front page news, so we are hearing about it all the time. So, people forget about it.

Craig
Without a doubt, people who did not live through the "always fatal" era of AIDS really have no idea of the real nature of this disease

Anonymous
unfortunately, yes

RD
No. Many gay men are not taking HIV seriously anymore. A friend of mine used to think bare backing was cool. He died a year ago.

EW
Unfortunately, I think that people have become complacent about HIV and AIDS partly because of the new drugs. Too many people ignorantly believe that the new drugs will manage the disease and that they can live comfortably by just taking a few pills everyday. It is true that more HIV-positive people are living longer, but it does not change the fact that even with the new drugs, AIDS is a harsh, brutal disease that will make one's life hellish and will greatly shorten one's life. For younger people to ignore the danger is an insult to the memory of the people who died in the early years of the epidemic in the early 80's. Wake up, people!

Roger Burr
The rise in other STD's related to exposure through unsafe sex practices, shows we have lost the fear of Aids. We now consider it more of a manageable disease, rather than the death sentence it once was when it boasted a 100% mortality rate.

Anonymous
I know a lot of young gay men who are falling back into the risky behavior of "barebacking." The same risks are out their as 20 years ago but they are no longer publicized frequently. Young gay's (18-30) no longer view themselves as being infectable. Although manageable all need to remember that it can just as easilly be fatal!

Anonymous
I know a lot of young gay men who are falling back into the risky behavior of "barebacking." The same risks are out their as 20 years ago but they are no longer publicized frequently. Young gay's (18-30) no longer view themselves as being infectable. Although manageable all need to remember that it can just as easilly be fatal!

Anonymous
For those who have it, I wouldn't know. But for those who don't, it's one of the many constant reminders to use protection, because it's still seen as very serious for those who are negative.

Anonymous
I see a decrease in overall responsibility, especially in the younger community. Thankfully, condoms are readily available for responsible people. Sadly, I have seen too many slowly die of AIDS when it could be easily prevented.

Damon
People dont take it as seriously as they use to its now given the seriousness of contracting herpes, you have it it wont go away but you can pretend its not a problem.

emh1410@hotmAIL.COM
They take it as no big deal

John Ioccheli
Sorry but this question is a no-brainer. You would have to be a special kind of stupid to not notice the huge boom in the media dedicated to "barebacking". Barebacking is anal sex without the use of condoms. Every book store, every DVD store, every porn store has many items glamorizing bareback sex. The older guys in the community have witnessed the death of many of our brothers and they continue to be careful out of fear of dying the same horrible death. Younger guys who have come out in the last 10-12 yrs are not knowldgeable about HIV related death. Most probably don't know 1 person who has died as a result of HIV. Further, they are bombarded with media stories highlighting the medical advances in controling the virus and the drugs that allow a person to live a relatively normal life. They falsely believe that these drugs are a cure. This leads them to believe condoms are no longer needed.

Kenneth
As the negative partner in a sero-discordant relationship, is see a real opprotunity for myself to pay attention, like I always have, but now I see everything up close. Unfortunatly, I do see several people in my generation, and the next, that don't care. They see HIV as an inconvience, not the deadly disease it was 25 years ago. Scary, huh?

Tilisha
I do not think that as a nation (US) we see HIV as a life-threatening disease anymore. We see it as a way to identify people that are different by their sexual practices (i.e. promiscious individuals, down-low brothers, LGBT individuals, drug addicts, etc.). We have developed an invincibility complex surrounding HIV and STIs because we do not want to admit that our choices have consequences. Oddly enough, people are more afraid to be tested then ever- I guess they want to kept that veil up over their eyes.

Duane
I do think that people are taking the disease less serious. People can't look at people, and tell if they have it or not these days. Most of the people I know that have it, are in better shape than those I know that don't have it. These "bodied" men are constantly pursued. On the other hand, I have been surprised at how many people are willing to tell you they are positive, which makes it easier (even though I think you should treat everyone as such). I am equally disturbed by the amount of young dudes I meet that want to do it raw...This is scary, because it is mostly the young ones. I think that there is apathy because the disease is seemingly "invisible". It isn't a death sentence for many, but not all!

Anonymous
I was born in 1962; I started college in 1980 (I came out 2 years later), in the "start" of the AIDS epidemic. NO cures were around then, NO maintainable medicines "founded" then, NO hope whatsoever! NOW that there ARE medicines, etc. available for those with HIV; THE MEDICINES ARE NOT ENOUGH! Gay men take too much for granted! I am DIABETIC (diabetes is enough for anyONE to handle! I am in GOOD control), HIV-negative, and don't participate in anything less than mutual masturbation, body masage, safe sex always. No, I don't have a partner - maybe because I AM SAFE - I don't truly know why. No, I am NOT "afraid" of men with HIV. I am loving, attractive, and SAFE, lonely, NOT desperate! Why don't the majority of US gay men practice safe sex? Personal death wishes? NOT for ME.

Anonymous
I've had people tell me that they don't need to worry about it cause they can just take a pill. They don't realize the side effects and the need for second-line drugs and the still existing stigma

Gary Beck
Absolutely. Look at the outbreaks of MRSA throughout the nation. I just spoke to a physician friend of mine in Omaha and he is seeing a lot of it. This is indicative of people participating in risky behaviors.

Calvin
I think the sense of urgency has definitely died down. People are aware of it, but we know so much more about it now then we did during the original outbreak. So no, I don't think people are taking it less seriously; we're just less hysterical?

Dave
Yes definitely, you can see the results even in small community's. There seems to be a higher numbers of new cases and the biggest problem is the fact that the newly infected are left with few medical chooses, because there getting infected by those who have had the virus for years and it has mutated to the point where there on their last available regimen of drugs. So yes people are taking HIV less serious, and by no means is this virus less manageable. Its became even more deadly!

Michael
I'm certain that people are taking HIV less serious, because I've had younger men say just that. Having lived through the 80s, I find it appalling. I also see the hell that my positive friends go through with the medication. I've never asked, but I assume that the medications put a hurting on the wallets as well.

kim d
Too many people of all sexualities, races, and ages see this terrible disease as something that is ok to live with instead of something to avoid at all costs. It frightens me to hear people say they EXPECT to get it. How sad for all of us.

Anonymous
we have lost our place in reaching out to a new generation that did not see the devastation and death from HIV/AIDS if we don't do something radical and on a large scale we stand to lose many more young people

Anonymous
I think that the non - profit AIDS assistance agents would like us to think that people don't take it seriously . The stated need for " continuing education and advocacy " is a great way to hold on to funding and stay in business .

Anonymous
Pop a few pills and live! Aren't we the OTC drug capital of the world anyway?

Jonboy
I suggest it is rather obvious with STD data on the uprise, especially with the young. Even the geratric population has seen a rise in AIDS. Many of us who have lived through deaths of friends, I alone lost 5 friends, can and do become loose with their behavior. I had a friend who contracted HIV when he was 66 yrs., because he was too trusting and stupid. The youth have had this in their face since birth and in my opinion have become aloof to its seriousness.

Michael
They think its like diabeties or high blood presure. Take 1 pill a day and your good to go? I just don't get it?

Charley
As someone who just returned from the dr. with a t-cell count of 59, I can say, from experience, I don't take my disease as seriously as I should.

Keith Andrews
I have been with the same man for 20 years so I really wouldn't know. I would certainly hope people aren't taking it less seriously. But if I had to guess I would guess that they are.

Keith Andrews
I've been with the same man for 20 years so I really wouldn't know. I would certainly hope that they were not taking it less seriously but if I had to guess I would guess that they are.

Anonymous
Unfortunately yes. I buried two friends in 2007 who died from AIDS, so much for manageable.

Paul, Dallas
Sadly, many people have bought into the idea promoted by the drug companies that HIV is no big deal.

Michael J. Ibarra
As a HIV/AIDS Client Services/Testing Counselor I see all types of people come in to were I work, young, old, rich, poor, some fairly educated, and then some truly needing education on sexually transmitted diseases and sexuality. I'm bothered by sex/personal postings that I see on the internet, m2m etc...so called straight men that looking to hook-up with only married, straight or bi-men, what a joke, do they really believe a stranger is going to tell them the truth.

Michael J. Ibarra
As a HIV/AIDS Client Services/Testing Counselor I see all types of people come in to were I work, young, old, rich, poor, some fairly educated, and then some truly needing education on sexually transmitted diseases and sexuality. I'm bothered by sex/personal postings that I see on the internet, m2m etc...so called straight men that looking to hook-up with only married, straight or bi-men, what a joke, do they really believe a stranger is going to tell them the truth.

Steve in Chicago
Absolutely. Why do you think there are so many bareback porno videos available? They should be outlawed or at the very least people should be fined. I'm no prude, but it really pisses me off that people are so ignorant as to think that AIDS is now "manageable" and more tolerable. It is still a miserable way of life that most people can't afford. Greg Gour from California took his own life last year after video documenting his "Farewell & No Regrest Tour" around the country to say goodbye to family & friends. The HIV meds., after years of use, were starting to disfigure his body and he decided not to let that happen.

aleksei
How sad that young people are not at all concerned about AIDS. AIDS still kills despite the medical progress. People need to be safe.

Michael Dowdy
More and more people regardless of their age, race, gender, nationality,and sexual orientation are not protecting themselves and sexual partner or partners from contracting stds and hiv.

Bob
Sort of a silly question, really. New infections are again on the rise among gay men, especially young gay men. So, yes, clearly some people are taking HIV less seriously. I do think, though, that a significant contributing factor to the rise in new infections is the effect of increased drug use, especially crystal meth, in the gay community. Until we address the drug abuse, as well as the depression that often triggers it, the new infections will continue.

Robert
Those who no longer take it seriously should follow one of us around as we manage our disease on a daily basis. See how much planning must go into seemingly simple things such as travel especially abroad. The should see how much the drugs cost both with and without insurance. They could watch me manage the diabetes that was triggered early when by the disease and the treatment. They should see what it means to disclose status to someone before having sex the first time. I would love to have the feeling back in my feet after one of my earlier drug cocktails contained a component that was particularly know to cause neuropathy. I think they might think twice about being careless.

Anonymous
I think it's the same, we just don't see the messages about it. People who are hiv see it every day, and we also see how other's who are hiv negative respond to those who are hiv. I think these kinds of polls and other's who claim that we don't care because there are drugs that help manage is just another way of degrading those who are hiv. People will always blame those who are hiv for the problem. Why not put that energy into finding a cure like they do with other transmitted diseases like hbv, which BTW kills just like hiv does, or do people still think this is a "gay" disease?

Anonymous
I see this particularly in younger people, but it is still a big misconception, IMHO, among the older people as well. While I'm amazed at how different HIV looks today as when it first emerged during the 80s, there's no way I wouldn't take it seriously.

Anonymous
I think lots of young people don't understand HIV or AIDS. They take for granted that they can survive it, so caution gets thrown to the wind. Too bad. It's not that easy to beat AIDS or HIV.

Tom Brown
Unfortunately, a significant number of gay people have thrown caution to the wind. There is no cure for AIDS and the treatments are neither simple nor inexpensive.

A Ford
People aren't dying at the same rate as in the eighties, porn is filled with words like "bareback", "raw", "no condoms" in fact glorifyig unprotected sex. How can anyone think HIV/AIDS is a deadly disease anymore? It's not news. Sad situation.

Anonymous
look at the HIV/AIDS numbers in D.C.

Scott
Just because it is manageable doesn't mean that it is any less serious. By all accounts cancer is manageable and look how many people die a year from that. Unless you have a substantial bank account it is hard.

Anonymous
Yes and no. Many are taking it "less seriously" because the science of so-called HIV/AIDS is being exposed as baseless and even fraudulent.

Cindy
It's painfully obvious, especially among the younger gay and bi men. After having lived through the AIDS wastelands of the '80s and '90s, to watch all the idiots out there nowadays basically saying they don't care if they catch a fatal disease makes me sick. And the gay male community has the audacity to wonder why charitable donations to AIDS organizations are drastically down. If they don't care about their own lives, why should anyone else? I sure as hell don't. Darwin had the perfect name for it: survival of the fittest. AIDS is 100% preventable, guys. You have no excuse whatsoever in this day and age. You have only yourself to blame, not the government and not the medical establishment. Time to grow up and take some responsibility for yourselves.

Anonymous
Gay men and sex, come on! We play right into the hands of conservative christian fanatics. Stop making excuses and take responsibility.

Anonymous
I would say yes, but only slightly so. People still see it as a big risk, but a lot of the uncertainty and shock has worn off. I think we talk about people not taking HIV seriously anymore because we're still coming out of the shock of the early years of the epidemic and all the changes it brought. It's not that people are irrationally dismissing HIV as not being a serious risk, it's just that the playing field has changed and we haven't yet acclimated to what the new field means. Just because HIV is now seen as more manageable doesn't mean that it's seen as a total picnic; it's not so black and white.

John Bosch
It's too easy to think that "it won't happen to me" unless you PERSONALLY know of someone who died of an AIDS-related illness.

Anonymous
And that is extremely unfortunate. While the new meds work for the majority of people the cost associated with long term management is costly. Also, additional meds may need to be taken to mange moderate to severe side effects.

Lonewolf survivor
It is viewed like cancer, something treatable but unavoidable. Many of us are no longer here to tell the tale of the horror of the plague that forever changed our lives. Youth does not have the perspective of losing friends quickly and frequently as we did in the 80s. Hell I went celebate for ten years in my 20s and early 30s. I do not know more than a handful of my contemporaries who have survived even my friends who were longtime survivors are now gone. I would plead that a condom is a little price to pay for life and the life you save might be your own!!! Maybe if we could shrink the ever present generation gap in the GLBT community our juniors could learn from our mistakes and realise that "immortality of youth" is an illision, you can die.

grace
it's not just that HIV has become more manageable over the years, it's also society has put less stigma on being positive. media attention (and scare) has decreased considerably since the disease was first known about in 1981.

KC
Because HIV is seen as both manageable and something that has gone "under the radar" many people are forgetting how it got to be such an epidemic in the first place.

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