Infected/Affected, Who Cares? (Sonya from Voices from our Allies)

Sonya posted a new blog Infected/Affected, Who Cares?  on A Girl Like Me’s “Voices from our Allies” page:

Someone once stated “only people who are HIV + can understand HIV”,  and I so beg to differ.  As a person who is negative and gets tested on a regular basis and has been doing HIV activism since the 1980’s, understanding  whether we are infected or affected HIV/AIDS affects us all.

So, are you saying to me that there is no way watching my good friend intentionally spread the disease, hate the world, and curse me and God/Die, had no effect on me?

Are you saying to me when I didn’t know where my co-worker was when he didn’t show up for work, no answer on the telephone, and found him dead in his apartment/he chose to die with his secret of living with HIV/alone. ..Because the Stigma was too Great…I don’t understand the effect of HIV/AIDS?

To watch us go on in our everyday lives and talk about everything all day and every day, but never mention the words “safe sex, protection, knowing our status, or getting tested” is insane. What is it going to have to take for us to stop the apathy that’s running rampant in our communities, churches, and even some of our homes?  More importantly to us?

Can we just agree to disagree because as long as there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, and as long as people are dying from the complications of HIV/AIDS, and we still have apathy in our communities, and the Stigma is still here…Yes, I will continue the fight, and be a voice, advocate, activist for HIV/AIDS!