World Aids Day
I'm a little late with this one. World Aids Day was December 1st when my net was still down. I managed to get a short post on the other blog and was going to write one over here. No such luck unfortunately. My son Tim (the handsome one who leaves updates here for me) sent me a link to a Squibb candle lighting campaign.
So many things are symbolic gestures. The $100,000. Squibb offered ($1/candle lit) is small compared to their profits but it helps draw attention which isn't a bad thing. The last I heard, the candle count was over 500,000. I wonder if they'll rethink their contribution. They can certainly afford it.
World Aids Day may be symbolic as well but we need the reminders. It doesn't matter if I'm a couple of days late - I could write this same post in June and update it every month. We're talking about an epidemic sweeping the world.
On that note, Jay Lassiter has written an extremely moving post about his own struggles with HIV, his rage (which I share) at watching his friends die, and the reluctance of our government to do anything meaningful.
He's talking about the current administration but it goes back much further than that - all the way back to the 80's and Reagan. We had a President that wouldn't let those words come out of his mouth until the disease killed a celebrity. Even then, not much was done. It was still considered a "gay" disease so nobody cared.
Now this administration is listening to the religious right which seems to see HIV/AIDS as evidence of God's wrath. They are willfully blind. Meantime the epidemic rampages unchecked worldwide and is once again gaining ground here; especially among black women, a subject for a post all by itself.
I heard or read the other day the cost of treatment here (I assume for medication only) is at least $20,000/year while the drugs can be produced at a fraction of that as is being done in India.
Jay wrote three posts about AIDS and World Aids Day. They're all worth reading. Since for him it's personal, he says it all much better than I ever could.
So many things are symbolic gestures. The $100,000. Squibb offered ($1/candle lit) is small compared to their profits but it helps draw attention which isn't a bad thing. The last I heard, the candle count was over 500,000. I wonder if they'll rethink their contribution. They can certainly afford it.
World Aids Day may be symbolic as well but we need the reminders. It doesn't matter if I'm a couple of days late - I could write this same post in June and update it every month. We're talking about an epidemic sweeping the world.
On that note, Jay Lassiter has written an extremely moving post about his own struggles with HIV, his rage (which I share) at watching his friends die, and the reluctance of our government to do anything meaningful.
He's talking about the current administration but it goes back much further than that - all the way back to the 80's and Reagan. We had a President that wouldn't let those words come out of his mouth until the disease killed a celebrity. Even then, not much was done. It was still considered a "gay" disease so nobody cared.
Now this administration is listening to the religious right which seems to see HIV/AIDS as evidence of God's wrath. They are willfully blind. Meantime the epidemic rampages unchecked worldwide and is once again gaining ground here; especially among black women, a subject for a post all by itself.
I heard or read the other day the cost of treatment here (I assume for medication only) is at least $20,000/year while the drugs can be produced at a fraction of that as is being done in India.
Jay wrote three posts about AIDS and World Aids Day. They're all worth reading. Since for him it's personal, he says it all much better than I ever could.
Labels: granny
posted by Granny @ 12/03/2006 02:36:00 PM
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