Once upon a time, someone who was living with AIDS might have been asked to leave his job because his co-workers were so fearful that they would catch it. Sound like a story from long ago and a place far away? In the early days of the AIDS epidemic, we heard that story all too often. People losing their jobs, housing, being refused dental care, families ending their relationships.
Once Upon A Time....Or Not?
Once upon a time, someone who was living with AIDS might have been asked to leave his job because his co-workers were so fearful that they would catch it. Sound like a story from long ago and a place far away? In the early days of the AIDS epidemic, we heard that story all too often. People losing their jobs, housing, being refused dental care, families ending their relationships.
By lorraineteel
But that all ended long ago, right? Hold on – not so fast.
Fast forward to 2009. Twenty-eight years since the first case of AIDS was identified by the Centers for Disease Control, a generation later, we are still hearing these stories. The Minnesota AIDS Project legal program was just contacted by a client who experienced that situation – he was removed from his job because his co-workers feared for their safety. Why? Simply put, they have never received the appropriate education about AIDS. It would be easy to be angry, to point fingers at these folks and think, "Why in the world would they worry? Don't they know that this virus isn't transmitted in the workplace, it's a sexually transmitted virus."
But it's not their fault. As a country we have failed to educate each other about AIDS. Sure, in the early days there was lots of attention to this virus. In the 1980's you couldn't watch any newscast without an AIDS story – how was it spread, how can we stop it, how do we cure it – these all dominated our discussion. That conversation sadly stopped at a very inopportune time. Once we really understood clearly how this virus was, and importantly was not, transmitted we as a nation we didn't dedicate the time or resources to provide that information to the public.
As a result of not educating the public, those living with HIV throughout Minnesota and the United States continue to face stigma and even outright discrimination as experienced by our client just last week. So what should we do? Right now in the Minnesota Legislature there has been a rallying call to provide that basic education. Senator Scott Dibble and Representative Jeff Hayden have introduced legislation that would direct the Minnesota Department of Health to provide that information to all Minnesotans. That's exactly what's needed – an ongoing education program for all Minnesotans about HIV. Just like we all are educated throughout our lives about smoking, weight control, and seat belt use – we need a commitment to ongoing AIDS education.
In this day and age, AIDS education should be the standard for everyone. Not only so that we know how to protect ourselves from becoming infected with HIV. Not only so we can get the tools on how to teach our children about not becoming infected. We need this information so that those living with HIV don't have to face this stigma or discrimination. A long time ago we were scared about people with cancer. We learned how silly that was. It's time to learn that people living with HIV are just like anyone facing a lifetime of medical challenges – they need our support, our compassion – not our fear.
Please take a minute to thank Senator Dibble and Representative Jeff Hayden for their leadership and vision. They are on the right track. And if you'd like more information about AIDS, you can chat online with an AIDS educator at www.mnaidsproject.org. Get the facts before it's too late.