AIDS, and all that jazz. by an existentialist
(libertarian)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Short and sweet is the name of the game in this article.
Many anti-homosexuals hype-up the AIDS epidemic of the 1970s and beyond, claiming that the rise in acceptance has led to an increase in AIDS. This is a claim that is simply unfounded.
You see, the one thing I learned in AP Psychology was that a correlation, no matter how strong, does not and cannot prove cause-and-effect. For example, a correlation between an increase in people purchasing ice-cream and murders does not mean an increase in purchasing of ice-cream caused, or led to, more murders. The cause is an increase in temperature. When the weather is warm, people are more likely to buy ice-cream and stress levels are likely to increase, thus causing anger and murder.
I say all this with the effect that just because AIDS increased along with homosexual activity, this does not mean AIDS is a result of homosexual activity. AIDS is a result of unprotected sex, and nothing more. Two gay men can have sexual intercourse, but unless one of them already has AIDS, they will never contract the virus.
And to say otherwise is simply dishonest.
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It must also be said, of course, that scientifically controlled studies have shown that
1) There is a higher prevalence of AIDS and HIV per 1,000 individuals who are homosexual than there is hetrosexual. That , of course, is probably due to the homosexual community being much smaller, and this fact in and of itself only means that a homosexual is more likely, when engaging in risky sex with a random partner, to encounter someone who is HIV positive than not.
2) Homosexuals -- particular males -- engage in more types of unprotected sexual behavior than lesbians, bisexuals, or hetrosexual females (although, amusingly, hetrosexual males are almost as likely to engage in unprotected sex).
Unprotected sex is much more dangerous for homosexuals, and due to the prevelance of some risky sexual behaviors in the community, allows HIV and AIDS to spread within that community much faster.
It doesn't have anything to do with "acceptance of the gay lifestyle" at all. It's math, probability, and behavior that is the culprit.
I feel like I am being indecent to be so blunt, but I feel it is a relevant point that should be stated. Sexually transmitted diseases are a good reason to take one's sex life online.
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