Fulton County Leading the Nation with New HIV cases. (Atlanta: crime, pharmacy)

[Atlwarrior]

https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/healt...oL40G0yrkmRPP/

[DreamerD]

Quelle surprise.

[ipkl07]

Yeah, I am surprised to hear that.

[Atlwarrior]

That’s why I am so against the messages that so called “Hip Hop or entertainers portray out of Atlanta. Our culture is over-sexualized, and now we are reaping the seeds of irresponsible passions. Passion is natural, and every human needs affection, but it still requires responsible use. People get to Atlanta, and just go buck wild literally.

[seussie]

I understand your frustration, ATLWarrior, though I don't personally see my "culture" in mainstream Hip hop, or any mainstream commodity tied to so-called Black culture. I see this issue as far more than the music: rap's certainly not glorifying homosexual sex and the majority of those with it and contracting it are Black gay males (or DL folk) for lots of reasons: being unaware, poor sex education, adult pedophilia and exploitation of youth. But at the same time, sex isn't fundamentally bad nor is encouraging it but being irresponsible (which includes doing it without being informed or taking advantage of someone) is. I thought that we as an area lowered the contraction rate. . .

[ATLTJL]

I got yelled at and called racist years ago in this board when I pointed out black men are way more likely to have HIV than white men, and that's part of the reason for segregation in Atlanta's gay culture. Now, with the advent of PrEP, every HIV transmission is sadly preventable. And if you really want your mind blown, look up how Gilead gets away with charging $1000 a month for it. They don't even own the patent for it. Do you know who does? The CDC. They just aren't enforcing it. It's a sad state if affairs that we have what is more or less a magic HIV vaccine and not everyone knows about it and fewer people have access to it. Crime against humanity. Can you imagine if this had happened with the polio or small pox vaccine?

What's even more infuriating is PrEP is at least somewhat effective at preventing infection even when only taken within 24 hours of exposure. It SHOULD be available at every pharmacy in America without a prescription just like Plan B for pregnancy, but we're a long way from that, if ever. It's maddening.

[ATLTJL]

I'm saddened -- but not necessarily surprised -- that this isn't a topic many on this board feel is worth addressing. Oh well.

[LTCM]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I'm saddened -- but not necessarily surprised -- that this isn't a topic many on this board feel is worth addressing. Oh well.

It's a wierd combination. White's don't want to talk about it because doing so is seen as attacking the black community and therefore racist. Blacks don't want to talk about it because they don't participate in self criticism of their structural problems as they don't want to acknowledge there is a problem.

Therefore no one talks about it. Better to have it live in dark shadows.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I'm saddened -- but not necessarily surprised -- that this isn't a topic many on this board feel is worth addressing. Oh well.

Originally Posted by LTCM

It's a wierd combination. White's don't want to talk about it because doing so is seen as attacking the black community and therefore racist. Blacks don't want to talk about it because they don't participate in self criticism of their structural problems as they don't want to acknowledge there is a problem.

Therefore no one talks about it. Better to have it live in dark shadows.

1) It's not that it isn't worth discussing. It's that I feel it's been discussed many times.



2) See number one.



And I'd be very careful about saying "their" structural problems because the structural problem does not belong to them and them alone.

[DreamerD]

And just to add to this, black people are always under such scrutiny, such study. It gets very tiring. Will black people ever just be allowed to exist without living under a constant microscope?