There are four letters, that when put together can spell out a lifetime of agony, despair, prejudice and constant indignation; AIDS. Over the years the disease has been called GRID, Gay Cancer and finally came the name that is commonly accepted today, AIDS. Multiple theories are present as to the origin of this deadly virus, all of them are unique but no matter what the origin or name, AIDS is a terrible epidemic that needs to come to an end. People have suffered long enough, and too many people have been discriminated against something that’s not entirely their fault. The medicine for AIDS only prolongs the inevitable, and suffering of the poor people cursed with the disease. AIDS as of now is a death sentence and it currently has no cure; it targets people of every race, age, and gender from all walks of life but despite AIDS only being been around for less than a century, it has managed to leave an immense impact on American history, individuals, society and culture. As with everything in life, humans like to question the origin of something, and the origin of AIDS has its share of theories under its belt. One of the first theories is that of ‘God’s punishment’, a theory stating that God had created AIDS to kill off homosexuals. The reasoning behind this is that God doesn't like homosexuals, as is interpreted in the bible, and after decades of people going against his wishes, God created AIDS to try and get rid of all homosexuals. Another theory that goes off suspicion is that HIV was created in a laboratory on ‘accident’ when researchers were taking a similar virus, called SIV, from monkeys in hopes of making a vaccine for polio. Yet another theory is that the virus it’s self-got its start in Africa, due to poor sanit... ... middle of paper ... ...t was solely seen as a gay disease, and at the time society was comprised of mostly homophobic individuals. In its infancy, people were terrified of the disease; no one reacted at first due to fear, not even the gay community itself, but just as fear immobilizes, it can be a perpetual motivator. “Watching a generation of gay men wither and die, the nation came to acknowledge the humanity of a community it had mostly ignored and reviled” (Osmond). Slowly but surely the disease became official and accepted as what it is in media, television, movies and society. AIDS changed many things in America, from how Gays were being portrayed in the media, to how they were being treated in society. AIDS did however, have one good outcome; it increased patience and support for other causes, initiating ‘patient activism’ which is helping said causes find treatments and cures.
Carl Zimmer the guest speaker of this broadcast states that in 1981 doctors described for the first time a new disease, a new syndrome which affected mostly homosexual men. The young men in Los Angeles were dying and the number of cases was growing faster and faster. The number of deaths was increasing from eighty to six hundred and twenty five in just the first few months. After the first few cases in LA, AIDS was declared to be one of the deadliest pandemics the world had ever seen after the plague in the Middle Ages.
Before the evening of August 19, 1992, Mary Fisher was known as successful television producer and an assistant to president at the time, Gerald R. Ford. Fisher gave the speech “Whisper of AIDS” during the 1992 Republican National Convention Address on August 19th in Houston, Texas. As being HIV positive herself, she became a spokesperson for the disease. HIV, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a deadly disease that is capable of spreading rapidly among humans through bodily fluids. This virus weakens the necessary cells needed to fight infection within the immune system (“HIV/AIDS 101” par. 1). In her speech, she addresses that being aware of the disease is the key to finding a cure. During this state of time, those affected were being discriminated and rejected from society. The purpose of this speech was to get the attention of the audience and persuade them to inform awareness to others about this horrific disease. Mary Fisher’s “Whisper of AIDS” speech successfully demonstrates the qualities of ethos, logos and pathos appeals to
HIV is a virus that can be sexually transmitted, obtained through hypodermic needles or contaminated blood transfusions, or passed on from mother to child through pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. It starts off with flu-like symptoms, then it interferes with the immune system, making people prone to illnesses. Their immune system becomes very vulnerable. Sadly, there is no cure for HIV. Research shows that HIV originated in Africa; however, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was not recognized until 1981. HIV is a source of heavy castigation and it causes economic problems as well, especially count...
Although antiretroviral treatment has reduced the toll of AIDS related deaths, access to therapy is not universal, and the prospects of curative treatments and an effective vaccine are uncertain. Thus, AIDS will continue to pose a significant public health threat for decades to come.
The background of homosexuality in the 1940’s and 50’s was harsh, but people started to be opened toward the rights. There were criticisms toward homosexuality in the early days of Milk. Gay men carried the labels of mentally ill or psychopathic. Often times, gay men committed suicide from harsh judgement and criticism that always followed them. Even though population of homosexuality grew and had jobs, they were harassed and beaten by the police. There were a lot of disapproval and hostility of homosexuality. Anita Bryant, a singer, made a campaign to oppose the rights of homosexuals. Christian forces and activists withdrew gay-right legislation which lead to Proposition 6. The harshness from background of homosexuality back in the 1940’s and 50’s took the freedom away from the homosexuals. After the harshness, there came a little bit of hope for the homosexuals in San Francisco. Castro, a city in San Francisco, became the center of gay neighborhood. In 1964, gay men formed Society of Individual Right (SIR), and 1,200 members joined. Homosexuals started having good views when Sipple who was gay saved the president from a gunshot. Finally in 1972, Board of Supervisor banned the discrimination law for homosexuals. Even though in 1940...
In 1981 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report first rare cases of what is seemingly pneumonia in young gay men. These cases were then grouped together and the disease known as AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) takes its root in American Society. This disease spread quickly and the events following are responses to the spread of the disease in America known as the AIDS Crisis, where the response of both the people and the government would impact and change society and American culture and lead to emergence of a gay identity, persecution and fear of those with the disease, marketing of safe sex, and the deterioration of class barriers.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was once considered a taboo disease that made its appearance in the United States around the late 1970s. Little was known about the virus and it was originally thought to just be found in the gay male community. As more and more research has been done people now understand the virus and realize that it affects men and women as well as all races, ages, and sexual orientation. It is believed that HIV is a mutated form of the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) that is found in chimpanzees. It most likely moved to the human population from people hunting monkeys, coming in contact with their blood, and eating their meat (The Origin of HIV/AIDS, 2014).
HIV/AIDS is a global pandemic that threatens lives all over the world. It is important to understand exactly what this disease is and how it affects societies globally. Although HIV, in severe cases, leads to AIDS, there is a distinct difference when defining both terms.
AIDS was referred to as GRID (Gay-related immune deficiency) until the U.S Department of Health and Human Services announced that the probable cause of AIDS is a retrovirus referred to today as the human immunodeficiency virus. The general public and the medical community believed that AIDS was attributed to and the consequence of a homosexual lifestyle and/or the use of intravenous drugs, and this notion persists even though AIDS is no longer referred to as GRID. In the eyes of the general public and community today, AIDS is a disease associated with homosexuality or drug abuse. This presumption bleeds into how those who contract AIDS are perceived by the general public, and in the case of Arthur Ashe, USA Today’s article has the ability to severely tarnish his reputation. People living with AIDS, as a result of the stigmas associated with the disease, are often subject to discrimination by their communities. This can manifest itself through violence, rejection, and prejudice. Arthur Ashe, because of the article published by USA Today, will now be subject to these same forms of discrimination. His role as a public figure will only worsen the situation for him, because he is subject to scrutinization and condemnation from any individual in the world that has access to the news. This discrimination will also beset Ashe’s wife and six-year-old daughter. USA
AIDS is a deadly disease that affects people world wide. AIDS is a disease that brings about many social consequences. Many of these consequences result in physical, emotional, and economic problems. AIDS compromises the immune system of the human body, making a person susceptible to many different illnesses and infections. Among these are: unexplained fatigue and weight loss, night sweats and flu-like feelings. These infirmities can interfere with a person’s daily physical tasks. For example, taking a shower, eating, working, excersing, caring for a child, and cooking. Being unable to perform these tasks makes an n individuals life extremely difficult. Individuals with AIDS also experience a number of emotional problems because of the social stigmas attached to AIDS. For instance, a person having to be scared to let others know he or she is infected, and being unable to engage in intimate relations without infecting others. Further emotional problems can be caused with the continuous worry of death, which can inhibit a person’s normal functioning .People who have these issues develop a great deal of emotional problems because one feels that they do not fit into society. AIDS is not only a disease that affects an individual, but it also affects the larger society . This is so because of the financial needs to help fund programs and organizations to help stop the spread of AIDS and help those who suffer from AIDS. Although, the money goes towards helping AIDS victims it is costly for tax payers, when it can go towards helping people and developing educational programs within their communities. Why should the population pay for the bill for the consequences of others? As one can see, AIDS doesn’t only bring about consequences that indirectly affect individuals, but it also brings about consequences for society as well.
While the chapter only covered one disease it is how this one disease has affected so many people from patients to health care employees. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome better known as AIDS first appeared in 1981. There are more than 21 million people that have died from the infection of AIDS. A highly contagious blood borne virus caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a fatal disease that destroys the body’s immune system. With the body having a defenseless immune system bacteria and viruses are free to affect the body. I chose to cover the topic of HIV and the effects is has on the health care environment.
In the movie And the Band Played On, stakeholders’ interests stymied public health efforts to research and implement health policy to control the rapidly emerging disease, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The stakeholders within the movie, those whose interest would be impacted by policy change, included the affected populations, scientists, state and federal public health officials, and organizations including blood banks. Early in the epidemic, the Center for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were tentative in disclosing vital information – many homosexual men were becoming infected in the bathhouses (Pillsbury, Sanford, & Spottiswoode, 1993). Despite having the supporting evidence of patient zero and a sexual cluster
Magic Johnson once stated, “You can’t get AIDS from a hug or a handshake or a meal with a friend.” AIDS and HIV is not something you can receive by touching someone’s outer skin. AIDS and HIV can only be transmitted when an infected persons; fluids meets with another person. AIDS and HIV is one of the most deadliest disease in the world that already has killed 1.6 million civilians. People need to understand the facts behind AIDS and HIV so people do not treat others who are infected like they are going to kill them. Everyone has possibility of contracting AIDS and HIV; it can change one’s world in a heart beat.
As the AIDS epidemic in the United States advanced into the 1990s, it became clear that AIDS had a new target population. AIDS was no longer strictly a gay disease but was leaking into the general heterosexual population as well. Moreover, as the decade progressed, new cases of HIV infection were being increasingly identified in poor, minority communities. While the focus of the AIDS epidemic shifted from the high-profile male homosexual population to poor, minority communities, political activism and financial support for the fight against AIDS also began to decline. With the new limitations set by decreased public support and decreased financial resources, policy-makers, humanitarian organizations, and AIDS activists began to analyze how best to extend AIDS-related resources to these new target populations.
In 1981, a new fatal, infectious disease was diagnosed--AIDS (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome). It began in major cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. People, mostly homosexual men and intravenous drug users, were dying from very rare lung infections or from a cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma. They have not seen people getting these diseases in numerous years. Soon, it also affected hemophiliacs, blood recipients, prostitutes and their customers, and babies born from AIDS-infected women. AIDS was soon recognized as a worldwide health emergency, and as a fatal disease with no known cure, that quickly became an epidemic. When high-profile victims began to contract the virus, such as basketball star Magic Johnson, the feeling spread quickly that anyone, not just particular groups of people, could be at risk. AIDS impairs the human body’s immune system and leaves the victim susceptible to various infections. With new research, scientists think that the disease was first contracted through a certain type of green monkey in Africa, then somehow mutated into a virus that a human could get. AIDS is a complicated illness that may involve several phases. It is caused by a virus that can be passed from person to person. This virus is called HIV, or Human Immuno-deficiency Virus. In order for HIV to become full-blown AIDS, your T-cell count (number of a special type of white-blood cells that fight off diseases) has to drop below 200, or you have to get one of the symptoms of an AIDS-induced infection.