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HIV Awareness Billboard Criticized For Accepting Gay Men
(By Hydeia Broadbent)
Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Yes, we have our own day during Black History Month. While people never think they are at risk for contracting HIV, that it's above them, that it is a dirty person's disease, or is only contracted by those who are gay, I am here to tell you that anyone who is negative is at risk for contracting HIV if they don't educate themselves on the disease.
Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Yes, we have our own day during Black History Month. While people never think they are at risk for contracting HIV, that it's above them, that it is a dirty person's disease, or is only contracted by those who are gay, I am here to tell you that anyone who is negative is at risk for contracting HIV if they don't educate themselves on the disease.
America has become very complacent when it comes to AIDS. We think AIDS is only a problem in third world countries. However, the total number of people living with an HIV infection in the U.S. is thought to be around 1.1 million, and of the more than 1 million people living with HIV in the United States of America today, around half are black.
As African Americans, we should be outraged and disappointed in ourselves for being ignorant on this issue. We have chosen not to educate our children or ourselves; we are silent when our voices need to be heard the most right now.
Why do you think it's everyone else problem? Because no one is talking about it? Well, I am!
Because we are middle class, we feel safe or privileged. Are only people in the inner city or those who live in poverty are at risk of contracting HIV?
Because you may have a college degree, does that make you smarter than the average Joe walking down the street? Does that mean you make better choices?
When it comes to HIV we are all on an equal playing field; this disease does not discriminate.
The H in HIV stands for human.
HIV/AIDS has no face; it does not come with a flashing neon sign. If it did, do you think the estimated 33.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide would have taken that risk?
Do you think you can spot someone with HIV/AIDS a mile away? Is someone who has AIDS skinny and wasting away with lesions all over their body?
Please STOP. Shake your head and get those stereotypes right out of your mind.
I am not gay nor am I a girl who is promiscuous, but yet I am living with AIDS.
Every nine-and-a-half minutes, a person contracts HIV. CDC estimates that more than one million people are living with HIV in the United States. One in five (21%) of those people living with HIV is unaware of their infection, and you may have had unprotected sex with one of them.
Really, stop and think back to how many sexual partners you may have had, anal, oral or vaginal.
How many did you use protection with?
Did you go with them to be tested for HIV or any other STD?
It's 2011. Sex isn't just sex anymore, and we must learn to talk to our sexual partners about HIV/AIDS like our lives depend on it because guess what: it does.
We become ever careless when it comes to our sexual behavior; we have become complacent about HIV/AIDS.
We need to change our mind frames and stop thinking we are invincible.
Middle class African American women need to stop turning their noses up to the African American women in the club and stop thinking they are less at risk because they are picky about who they let in their beds and because they don't club hop every weekend. If you don't ask for an HIV test or go with your partner to get one, you are just as at risk as anyone else.
I ask three things of you today on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
- Post an HIV/AIDS fact on your social media sites (Twitter/Facebook)
- Get tested for HIV. Early detection can be the difference between life and death! Yes there are lifesaving medications, but a lot of people are being diagnosed when it's too late for medication.
- Talk about HIV/AIDS when it's not National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, or National Testing Day, or World AIDS Day.
To read about Hydeia's experience of living with aids, click here.
Comments: (14)
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By: ADMR on 2/07/2011 7:01PM
HIV/AIDS Awareness...Sad 4 Her As She Is Not Gay Nor Promiscuous - He who Is...Has Reapt What He Sowed.
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By: Becky Smith on 2/09/2011 12:35AM
You evil wench!
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By: C. Jones on 2/07/2011 11:34PM
Making HIV a black thing is the stupidest idea I've ever heard of.
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By: cocoabear on 2/08/2011 4:16PM
AIDs tests are bogus.Check out articles in www.naturalnews.com about AIDs.Vaccines weaken the immune system.GMO crops and processed foods have no nutrition.This is why people are dying.Enzymes are needed for digestion of nutrients and cooked ,and processed foods have no enzymes.Monsanto wants to own all the seeds of real food and replace them with their GMOs.The food safety act was recently passed in the senate.Senate Bill S510.Which really has nothing to do with food safety.They want to stop people from selling raw milk,which has enzymes and nutrition in it.Stop organic farming.Many of the senators were paid off by Monsanto to pass this bill and Obama signed it into law.Now all they need is funding to crack down on organic farmers.
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By: "DimePiece" on 2/08/2011 9:07AM
What a nice informative and important article. I pray for Hydeia and others who have HIVE/AIDS and pray that one day that there will be a cure! What a courageous, intelligent, and beautiful woman. Hydeia is an inspiration to ALL. It's a shame a lot of people stereotype on others who have the disease, don't have the knowledge, and are just plain IGNORANT! Yes, we all need to take the time to be aware, get knowledge, get checked, & inspire & help others.
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By: TERRY ANGEL MASON on 2/09/2011 4:35AM
Infected By What Some Say Is An Unforgiveable Sin and An Incurable Disease
(Embrace this truth and it will surely set you free!)
The other day while visiting a very popular website, I stumbled onto a video of a very renowned Pastor who was being interviewed by Piers Morgan on CNN. In the interview, Piers asked this guest minister if he thought being gay was a sin and of course the minister responded (as most ministers do) resoundingly by answering, "YES! I DO BELIEVE THAT BEING GAY IS A SIN!" As the interview progressed, the Pastor began to explain to the host why he felt this way, yet went out of his way to point out that his church does not condemn gay people and that he believes God loves all people. For most same-gender-loving people, this type of response is nothing new, since most have heard this repetitive message all of their lives. For many, this inescapable message has been literally and indelibly seared into their hearts and conscious minds, as though by a moral laser. Because of this philosophy, multitudes have left traditional churches by the masses. Even though some overcome the deep feelings of rejection that they feel from family members, associates and friends, many still wrestle with the idea that The Creator of the universe rejects them and because He does, has condemned them to an eternity of unimaginable suffering in an abyss known to many as, "Hell."
Because I am a believer and heavily involved in several aspects of ministry at my church, it affords me the opportunity to visit numerous churches of all denominations all over the country. And to be honest with you, Sunday after Sunday, I often worry about the psychological and spiritual damage that could possibly be inflicted upon same-gender-loving people as they sing in choirs, play instruments, usher on Usher Boards, serve as Deacons, teach Sunday School and Bible Studies, Evangelize and even Minister. It greatly disturbs me that they are forced to listen to rehashed homophobic sermons proclaiming that God loves the sinner but hates the sin - with same sex attraction being at the top of the list. Being a gay man, I know this is where the problem lies. You see, for me being gay was not something I just decided to do because I wanted to defy God or revolt against the norms of society just to make a statement. Being gay for me was as natural as the color of my ebony brown skin, as natural as breathing, singing and playing the piano. So my dilemma was always how could who I am and what I am be a sin?
Today, I am a mature man, but I have been in the church since I was five years old. I was taught to respect and revere my elders and most certainly those who served in any capacity of ministry. In my mind, it was never a question of whether being Gay was a sin, to me it was the Gospel truth, after all, these were men and women anointed by God (so I thought) who proclaimed the true Gospel to me. They couldn't possibly be wrong because without question, I was confident that they knew the will, mind, purpose and complete plan of God for my life. Moreover, who was I to ever question them or the authority of the written Word!
Like thousands of teenagers in church, I often contemplated suicide because I felt trapped in that dilemma, a condition that I could not resolve nor escape no matter how hard I fasted, prayed, promised not to backslide, and no matter how many times the elders tried to cast gay demons out of me. Imagine, sitting in church for years, surrounded by hundreds of people (lonely and feeling rejected) hearing sermon after sermon, hating who I was and what I was, on the brink of suicide and a nervous breakdown. I was convinced that God detested the most important part of who I was and I felt trapped in a condition not of my own doing and hell-bound.
Now, here is the good news! Something happened to me, even in the midst of all this madness, I took the preacher at his word and developed a personal relationship with God. Now this presented a huge problem because the Creator that I came to know intimately, never condemned me for being gay and to my recollection, never even made a big deal out of it. This was quite a contrast to what I was hearing over the pulpit. When I felt rejected, He bathed me in the warmth of His love! When I was tempted to give up and end my life, He convinced me that I had everything to live for and assured me that He had a marvelous plan for my life!
In 2001, when I was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS, He never abandoned me, even when others said that my affliction was most certainly the result of my rebellious lifestyle and was without question, the wrath of God in full manifestation in my life! While I must confess to making some bad decisions while in my early 20's and 30's (that exposed me to the HIV virus), there are consequences that we ALL must face as a result of bad choices. God made one thing crystal clear to me: He loves me, wanted me well and wanted me to make choices that would not put me or anyone at risk of contracting any type of disease. This is the message that I pass on to everyone each time I have the opportunity to share my story. I tell people that the fact AIDS exists is no one individual's fault, but it is our fault, if we don't act responsibly and protect ourselves and individuals with whom we are intimate. The love of God abounds and is evident in the beauty of Creation and in His expression of abundance of rich blessings conferred on humanity daily.
Now please don't freak out on me because I am talking a little bit about religion or because I may use some religious terminology. You must understand that many of the reasons, as to why people believe being gay is wrong is primarily induced by Biblical views. And if I am to shine the light of truth upon the subject, I must from time to time refer to concepts that pertain to religion. Additionally, it is important to note that focusing on religion is critical to mobilizing change!
If you don't gain anything else from reading this blog, please understand this one fact: Know emphatically that God loves every person on this planet! Or as the old folks use to say, "Know that you know, that you know, that you know, God loves you!" And there is no length to which He will go to demonstrate His great love and everlasting kindness. What He wants from us first, is NEVER to allow anyone to separate us from His love; especially when His Divine unconditionally loving nature is being intentionally or unintentionally misrepresented because of people's phobias. Don't miss out on His wise direction, insight, abundance, and prosperity because some misguided soul misunderstands and misinterprets His Word! Don't miss out on the joyful celebration that can be found in life because everything in the world was created for our enjoyment and benefit.
Through my personal relationship with God, I learned how imperative it is to love myself and to rid myself of the burdensome mental and emotional baggage that I acquired over the years while attending houses of worship, where scripture was not properly interpreted and/or articulated in love. I found out that I was not infected with the AIDS virus because God hated me or hated who I was. But that I had merely simply placed myself at risk as a result of a behavior that was not safe for me or anyone else -- something I feel was also the manifestation of personal self-hatred and self-rejection.
You should know that the immune system is constantly eavesdropping on our internal dialog (in others words, what we think). Noted physicians and psychologists who specialize in the field of psychoneuroimmunology strongly believe that the immune system is constantly responding to the pictures, sounds, feelings, smells, tastes, and the internal dialog that we hold in our mind. Unfortunately, if these are negative thoughts (no matter what the cause), they can adversely affect our immune system, and this places individuals who have a high degree of self-hatred at risk of more easily contracting the virus, whose body's natural defense systems could have possibly protected them more adequately. Additionally, it places people already infected with the AIDS virus in greater jeopardy because their immune systems have already been compromised adversely by this life-threatening disease, putting them at greater risk of contracting other AIDS-related opportunistic infections.
Thus, we know that the AIDS virus is caused by infection with a virus called Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). And that this virus is passed from one person to another through blood-to-blood contact and UNPROTECTED SEX. In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy or delivery, as well as through breast- feeding. People with HIV have what is called HIV infection. Some, but not all of these people will develop AIDS as a result of their HIV infection.
Without a doubt, self-hatred could be viewed as the number one enemy to people battling this pandemic, because it further weakens the immune system, making infected persons more susceptible to diseases - and definitely AIDS (no pun intended) AND ABETS THE VIRUS! Since the unconscious mind (also known as the "body mind") is the controlling intelligence in the body, it is also the connection between the mind and the immune system. One of the major theories of PNI (Psychoneuroimmunology) and hypnosis is that the unconscious mind can communicate with any part of the body at any time it so desires and can in this way stimulate the healing process. There is, in fact, profound substantial neurological evidence that supports this idea.
Every thought, every emotion, every desire, every internal representation you have is monitored, overheard and viewed. Your immune system is watching, listening, and feeling! It has been shown that grieving people often have grieving immune cells. If the grieving goes on for a prolonged period of time, then the immune system has also the self-talk of, "Leave me alone; I don't want to be bothered." Feelings of grief and self-hatred, according to noted physicians and psychologists, can cause people to be extremely susceptible to cancer and countless other infectious diseases. That is why it's so important to understand that negative emotions that are trapped in the body are not conducive to health and why there is a need to release all of a person's negative emotions within a healing process. It is imperative that individuals battling any life-threatening illness do all they can to eliminate all self-hatred from their lives so that they can regain wholeness and return to optimum health.
Tell yourself every day: "I came into the world divinely supplied. When I arrived on the planet, I brought with me wealth in the form of talents and mind powers. I am here to find my true place in life and to give my talents to the world. I am here to expand and unfold in a wonderful way, according to my God-given potential, and to bring forth spiritual, mental and material riches which will bless humanity in countless ways. That is why I affirm that God is flowing through me as health, peace, harmony and abundance."
This affirmation, if said daily, will usher in SELF-CONFIDENCE, LOVE, SUCCESS and ABUNDANCE into your life in ways you never dreamed if you dare to affirm it out loud each day.
BY TERRY ANGEL MASON, GLOBAL AUTHOR
WWW.TERRYANGELMASON.COM
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By: Doing the thing on 2/21/2011 10:13PM
"You are very special, and we have the same DNA, I have a hard time with words but you said it all! God Bless You, keep on being a Blessing.
You are forever in my prayers!!!
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By: BeautyofHolinessMinistries on 2/24/2011 11:20PM
Brother, you have a number of things going on. 1. you don't understand just how much Satan hates you, 2. You don't seem to know that the scriptures tell us that by mercy and truth iniquity is purged. 3. You must be careful to not exploit the weakness of others for your own personal, financial, gain, since there are many men and women who are gay but looking for sincere help to not be gay.
You were in a tremendous spiritual warfare for a number of years. And the devil, who is smarter than people, had your will, mind, and soul bound up. I wouldn't discount the power of prayer, fasting, and casting out of gay spirits. These are necessary, in greater and greater degrees, to address these types of issues. Additionally, verbally commanding the mental strongholds of perversion to be cast down in Jesus' name is also necessary. God indeed does love the person; but God hates sin. So, then it is God who has the greater dilema. How can He who is holy, pure, righteous, and true manifest himself to us as merciful and gracious and slow to anger, without violating his own holiness and righteousness? The answer is that he sent his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, his chief joy, into this world of sin to destroy the works of sin in our individual lives. In so doing, God maintained his holy and righteous standards, while simultaneously displaying the greatest action of mercy and truth towards us.
You must understand that your enemy is Satan.
-It is Satan who bound you up to be so naturally drawn to a gay lifestyle. He has witches and warlocks sending out demons against people all the time. If he has determined that he wants a particular persn to be gay, then he assigns witches and warlocks to continually send out demons to that person to bind and afflict that person repeatedly in that area; especially if there is someone in your family who struggled with the same types of sins.
-It is Satan who bound up the hearts and minds of the people who spoke God's word to you, but in hatred rather than love. It takes true brokenness of heart for love to flow out to a person. So it is possible that the elders of which you have spoken were attempting to speak truth without any true contrition of heart in their own personal lives. If that is the case, then rest assured that it was Satan who tempted them with their own lusts in their personal lives so that when they stood to minister, they may have had a form of godliness, but denied the power of God’s true love when they spoke to you.
-It is Satan who stood at your right hand resisting your every attempt to not be gay. This is why you most likely felt like the rug was pulled out from under you every time you seemed to start getting any type of victory in this area. Victory meaning that you recognized that those gay feelings you were having were not really how you were supposed to be feeling. Yet somehow you had no power to resist it with any level of consistency. The chances are that you were also bound up in other areas of your life as well. I say this because same-sex spirits are very controlling, domineering, and territorial. They, i.e the demons that facilitate same-sex lifestyles, are never satisfied with only governing one aspect of your life. They want all of you and they systematically begin to control every aspect of your life, whether you want them to or not. This is how demons operate.; and they are relentless in their efforts to have you unless you proactively rebuke them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, backed by a lifestyle of holiness.
-It was Satan who fed your pride, ego, and fears to seduce you into an active homosexual lifestyle.
-And it was Satan who afflicted you with aids due to your lack of obedience to God's command to flee fornication.
Your philosophy about how the immune system is “listening” to our words is nothing more than a new age philosophy that rejects the biblical truth that death and life are in the power of the tongue. It was not enough for Satan to do all of these evil things to you, but now he wants you to be consumed with a perverted rational of how to deal with the consequences of sin, so that you can teach error to others.
Everything that Satan does in the earth is done through attacking God's word, then attacking God's servants (like preachers and elders), and then attacking the power of blood of Jesus Christ to truly cleanse a person of sin. His next step is to present a humanistic philosophy as an answer to the problem that he originally created in the first place. You have all of these elements written here in your write-up. So then it leaves a person to think that binding and casting out unclean spirits is of non-effect (which is not true); it leaves one to think that all the preachers and elders are in error (which also is not true); and it leaves people to think that it is possible to seek the pure presences of the Lord Jesus Christ without true repentance and without humble obedience to the Holy Spirit (which is also not true).
I offer to you, dear brother, a new life in Christ that is founded and based on true repentance rather than self-justification for sin. The scriptures tell us that if we say we have no sin, then we make God a liar and that his word is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness (1John 8,9). I can promise you that the Holy Spirit will never lead you to justify sin, whether it be fornication, adultery, pornography, pride, lying, homosexuality, etc. But I can also promise you that he will lead you and guide you to all truth, to the glory of Jesus Christ, based on your obedience to him day by day. There is true freedom in Christ, but it's freedom to obey righteousness; not freedom to sin, or to justify it in any way. We need to remember that there must be one standard of holiness that applies to everyone, regardless of the sin, or of how intimately personal an area of sin has become in a person's life.
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By: Greg on 2/09/2011 3:57PM
I completely concur with you on this issue! I don't know why black folks just don't seem to, or want to get it! African Americans are sadly being stereotyped..that's both true, and unfortunate. And, yes HIV/AIDS is being labeled as a "black disease" by the medical community at large, that's also a fact! But, it's clear to see why! African Americans are only "13%" of the US population, but are responsible for "51%" of all the reported HIV/AIDS cases in the US today! BW are, and continue to be the "highest risk group" for all races, and also both genders! BM also top their gender group with the most reported cases for men of all races too! Even, though there's only a one point difference that separates BM and WM. However, with BW its dramatically different! Two out of every three reported cases of HIV/AIDS is a BW! that's both a reality, and a fact! BW have 66% of all reported cases of HIV/AIDS for all races of women today I the US, and those are "third world" numbers! And, one has to also understand that those numbers only represent the "reported cases" for HIV/AIDS! The American Medical Assn, has said that if testing in the AA community were mandatory then the projected numbers for AA would be closer to 70%! But, in spite of the continuing warnings, and dangers most black people still refuse to be tested! The word is getting out, but black people remain in a complete state of denial! Especially, BW for their continuing failure to embrace "safe sex" practices! Black folks are always conjuring up the usual conspiracy theories, but instead need to focus more on personal responsibility. However, most don't, and never will!
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By: pozloves on 2/09/2011 10:25PM
Due to the rise cases of HIV number, more awareness of HIV/AIDS is needed. The number on a biggest HIV dating site on HIVlover.com increase by 20%
Of the total HIV-positive and AIDS patients, 95 percent of the cases involved males.
By route of transmission, 63 percent were infected as a result of same-sex contact.
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