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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam Citron who wrote (116417)	10/9/2003 10:51:54 AM
From: aladin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Sam, Jacob is not some Christian nutcase, but is a medical professional. His point is that promiscuity in the face of STD's is dangerous and requires extreme discipline with condoms etc. Casual sex and undisciplined protection are a lottery with death. Unless we treat HIV as a real disease and do not get into the polictics of the sexual revolution we are bound to fail. If AIDS was passed by breathing/coughing it would have been approached entirely differently - even if the infection rate were similar. Because its an STD its treated differently. How many SARS patients were allowed to walk around - even if they wore masks and gloves? John

To: Sam Citron who wrote (116417)	10/9/2003 4:51:47 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

AIDS and politics: Nobody talks about "the politics of stomach cancer", or "the politics of German Measles". But, in any discussion of AIDS, from a community hospital to the UN, everyone brings to the table extraneous political and moral agendas. The result is, the response to the AIDS epidemic has been irrational, on a global scale: 1. First, denial. Denial that your nation or your group has a problem, denial that sexual practices are causing the spread, denial that the blood supply is tainted. Denial that AIDS is caused by the HIV virus. Denial that requires ignoring 99% of the available facts. 2. Second, blaming others. African leaders routinely blame AIDS on bizarre conspiracy theories (ex: AIDS was genetically engineered by the CIA, in a racist plot to kill all Blacks). They blame the rich world for not providing free drugs. Homosexuals in the U.S. blame homophobic policy-makers. Hemophiliacs blame the Red Cross (some truth, here). Everyone blames their favorite BogeyMan. Everyone blames everyone but themselves. 3. Third, rationalizations to avoid any useful change in personal sexual behavior. African men respond to the spread of HIV among women, not by becoming monogamous, but by having sex with younger women. There is massive fatalism among homosexuals in the U.S. (might as well enjoy myself, I've going to get it and die anyway). 4. Fighting each other, instead of fighting the disease. Rejecting good solutions because they aren't perfect solutions (and "perfect" being defined by political or moral agendas). Promoting sex exclusively within marriage, is the simplest and most effective behavior change. The prevalence of HIV infection, in any community or nation, is directly proportional to the prevalence of sex outside of marriage. Using condoms should be thought of as the next-best fall-back position, what you promote to people who won't do the best solution. They aren't mutually exclusive, any more than seat-belts and air-bags are mutually exclusive ways to prevent auto accident deaths. The same argument applies to IV drug use. Ending the addiction is the obvious first choice, the best solution. But, for people who are hooked and can't stop, using clean needles is a lot better than nothing. Providing free needles does not promote drug use. But requiring that the main effort be toward ending the addiction, is reasonable. People who oppose the ideology of "The radical Christian right fringe" discredit themselves, if their alternative is no rules, no morality, no structure, and no effective solutions. The Authoritarians will win the PR contest, if our methods result in chaos. We need to provide an alternative that works under real-world Ideal-Not conditions. For decreasing birth-rates, condoms work. For stopping the spread of HIV, they don't. One simple reason is, when people are having sex outside of marriage, alcohol is usually used. After a couple of drinks, people forget about condoms. That may be another reason for the low HIV rates in Muslims (and Mormons).