AIDS Walk numbers way down
Preliminary reports put the amount of walkers and funds collected for the Colorado AIDS Walk way down from previous years. This is disturbing, since the epidemic continues to spread out of control, especially for younger people.
Some stats from Colorado AIDS Project, the folks that put on the AIDS walk here every year:
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In Colorado, more than 28% of people newly infected with HIV are between the ages 20-29.
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An estimated 850,000 to 950,000 Americans are infected with HIV, but 180,000 to 280,000 of this population is unaware that they are HIV-positive (Altman, New York Times, 2/26).
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In America, among African American men and women between 20 to 49 years old, AIDS is the leading cause of death. (CDC)
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The proportion of women with AIDS increased steadily from 7 percent in 1985 to 23 percent in 2000. (CDC) Women are more than twice as likely as men to contract HIV through unprotected heterosexual sex.
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AIDS funding is down 20% nationwide.
It just appears that AIDS is "off the radar" for many people. I don't know what the reasons are. Irrational fear of terrorism is probably right up there on the list though.
Maybe Scott Brawley has it right-- it's just the false (and how very "western" I might add) faith in pharmeceuticals:
"There is the whole notion that AIDS is over in the United States, that it's not a problem any more. Prevention messages are not working. We do have gay men barebacking. We have risk groups sharing needles again. We've got heterosexuals that have no idea what's going on. We have a whole generation of people under the age of 30 that don't remember the AIDS epidemic, that think it's nothing more than, 'Hell, you take a couple of pills and you'll be fine.'"
-- Scott Brawley, director of public policy for the U.S. national lobby group AIDS Action, in an interview with planetout.com at the 14th International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, July 7.
I think American citizens are eventually going to wake up and realize that for this whole "living in democratic harmony" thing to work, you need to give a little. Or, if none of us have given for a long time (oh, since maybe the 1960's?), you need to give a lot. We've been sitting back letting the corporation-governemt rape us, and it still seems that the majority of the people I talk to think they are powerless.
Note to self: I think I need to become more active politically.
9:22:31 AM 
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