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AIDS ads annoy
By Jake Zisla
I learned something new a few weeks ago from that talking picture box I consider to be the end-all and be-all of human knowledge, and that is that people with AIDS are lepers, and should be avoided at all cost.
Now, this message was not spelled out in so many words. In fact, it was couched as a public service announcement aimed at stopping the spread of HIV and AIDS among people my age. But my astute deduction skills and keen sense of wit allowed me to see the hidden message in this bit of on-air education.
Some of you may have seen the ad I am referring to. It is sponsored by a youth group called FATE (Fighting AIDS Through Education), a branch of the American Red Cross. In the commercial, a bunch of 18-25 year olds are cavorting around like they were at a Roman orgy. Weed is smoked, coke is snorted, booze is guzzled, and yes, sex is had.
Needless to say, the first time I saw this PSA with the volume off, I was pretty impressed by FATE’s liberal stance. However, the next time I saw it, the volume was on, and I was able to be educated about AIDS firsthand, as I realized they were opposing this behavior and not supporting it. Silly me.
Throughout the drunken fiasco depicted on my TV was a voice-over, narrating statistics about the increase of AIDS in the world, and the fact that people who do drugs are blah blah blah percent more likely to contract the HIV virus.
What I didn’t quite catch was whether or not there was a link between using the same dollar bill to snort some blow with a person with HIV would actually give you the virus. Or whether passing a joint would be just as dangerous as sharing a needle.
There also was no mention of whether the statistics about the spread of AIDS were skewed by their epidemic status in Africa, where in some areas one in four teenage girls is infected (I learned that from TV, too).
You see, when I got my HIV education in eighth grade health class (and TV), I was under the impression that HIV passed through body fluids, and not any old physical contact.
Let’s assume, for a moment, that FATE had decided to show a bunch of teenagers playing poker, or Playstation, and then inferred that it was dangerous to touch the same cards or use the same controller as someone with HIV. It’s basically what they are doing now.
I support anyone who wants to educate people about AIDS and HIV, especially a group of students who are taking initiative. I also support any group who wants to educate people about drugs, as long as they provide a fair, and balanced look, instead of strictly admonishing anyone who isn’t straight edge sober.
If these goals are tackled separately, great, grand, wonderful. When they are linked through half-truths, innuendo, and unsupported facts, people get the wrong idea, and we are actually taking a step backwards.
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