Of course you have heard by now that reportedly the HIV/AIDS rate has gone up to 3% in Washington D.C. out of all places. I’ll get to the article in a minute.

While I hate to do this to my regular readers out there, I am going to repeat a quote I made several times on this site.

“What is the number 1 complaint I hear from sistahs out in places like D.C., Atlanta, etc. regarding the men? I’ll let you guess that one. I don’t hear the same complaint coming from folks out in North Dakota.”

To put it bluntly, here is a comment I hear quite frequently from women who live in these areas: “…and when you do find a ‘good’ man, you find out later that he’s gay.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “People keep saying that we need to have an honest conversation on HIV/AIDS. The truth is that most people don’t have the stomach for it.”

What is the leading cause for this HIV/AIDS jump in D.C.? Let’s go to the article~

Men having sex with men has remained the disease’s leading mode of transmission. Heterosexual transmission and injection drug use closely follow, the report says. Three percent of black women carry the virus, partly a result of the increase in heterosexual transmissions.

[...]

Ron Simmons, who is black, gay and HIV positive, said he’s not shocked by the study’s findings. “You have a high incidence of HIV among African Americans, and a lot of African Americans live in the city,” said Simmons, who is a member of a black gay support group. “D.C. also has a high number of gay men, and HIV is high among gay black men.”

Simmons could have easily schooled the WHO (World Health Organization) last year because apparently they still don’t know how the HIV/AIDS rate is higher in D.C. than in places like North Dakota.

In the US , the rate of infection among men in Washington DC is well over 100 times higher than in North Dakota, the region with the lowest rate. That is in one country. How do you explain such differences?“ (more at this post)

Back to the Washington Post article~

Charlene Cotton, a D.C. resident who got an HIV positive diagnosis five years ago, said breaking the taboo on discussing HIV is the key to moving forward. “You need to start at home and talk about it,” Cotton said. “It’s so hush-hush.”

There is no taboo, sis. Folks know EXACTLY how this is caused, yet they consistently choose to do the wrong thing. On top of that, we belittle those who are affected by pushing the excuse that they are too stupid to know how to strap on a condom. So we call for more education to avoid stating the obvious.

Comments like the following coming from Mayor Fenty (a Democrat) is yet another reason why I would vote for this brotha as my Mayor any day of the week.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said he is aware that some advocates have called on elected officials and others to more aggressively and publicly address the crisis. He praised the city’s recent efforts, however, and expressed his frustration about the struggle ahead.

“In order to solve an issue as complex as HIV and AIDS, you have to step up,” he said. “It’s the mayor and certainly other elected officials. But it’s also the community. You have this problem affecting us, and you tell people how serious it is and it literally goes in one ear and out the other.“

No new revelation there. Just simple truth. Something that is in short supply in the political world.

In an earlier post, I talked about how much of the AIDS activist community has been using poor African women and children as cover to avoid talking about how AIDS is being spread within the gay/lesbian community.

Unlike Africa, America is flush with the resources and education to prevent the spread of AIDS. Despite that fact, a segment of our society continues to engage in risky sexual behavior such as:

Anal Sex (Risks involved)
Oral Sex (Risks involved)
Rimming, Fecal sex, Oral-Anal (Risks involved)
Fisting (read all about it here)

The infected African child is not wrestling with such issues. So let’s not insult them by tying them to the willing ignorance of those who know better. Craft the next AIDS awareness t-shirt with the imagery of any one of these acts which (are common amongst the homosexual community here in the West) and see how much symphony and money you can generate. In the meantime, stop using Africa as the poster child for your willing ignorance.

But Duane, this is not a gay disease. Heterosexuals are spreading it, too.

Right. But again, I’m looking at the leading causes of this dreaded disease. And it just so happens that those leading causes are very commonplace in the gay/lesbian community. Most of us know this to be true, but we are too afraid to say it out of fear of being called “intolerant”. We enjoy being the guy/gal that doesn’t offend anybody in our little social circles. But once we get home we are scanning the net or talk radio to find that one person who is brave enough to say what we know to be true. If we as a society are to praise homosexuals for being “brave” for coming out of the closet, then why are these “brave” individuals hiding behind the mess within heterosexual community? Marches, rallies, concerts, walks, runs, fundraiser events, t-shirts, color-coded ipods, laptops, street plays, etc. are all mere distractions from talking about the true causes behind this HIV/AIDS crisis here in America.

I want to see people healed of this terrible disease. But the healing starts when we are ready to put ALL THE FACTS on the table and do what we can to convince people to make better life choices.