"Seems they will stop at nothing to keep the big bucks rolling in and the public in fear of sex. Shame on them. City officials reject the claim that they are trying to scare people into abstinence"
"........a contributor with the name PaulKing wrote: "Some poor NY meths addict, who has wrecked his immune system with this highly dangerous drug, is being used to try to revive the dying 'AIDS' myth. Seems they will stop at nothing to keep the big bucks rolling in and the public in fear of sex. Shame on
them. City officials reject the claim that they are trying to scare people into abstinence"
New York Times
... and the full article:
----
New York Times
February 14, 2005
Gay Users of Internet Play Down Concerns Over New Strain of AIDS
By DAMIEN CAVE
Alerts popped like flashbulbs all over the Web this weekend as news of a
rare and potentially more aggressive form of H.I.V., first reported
publicly in New York on Friday, spread through gay chat rooms, Web
logs, dating sites and e-mail.
Officials said the H.I.V. strain had been detected in an unidentified
man who, while using crystal methamphetamine, had engaged in
unprotected anal sex with multiple partners. Gay users of the Web,
especially those who initiate sexual encounters online, had ample
reason for concern: the man had apparently met some of those partners on
an unnamed Web site.
And yet, while a touch of anger and fear could be found among the Web's
textual din, some of the most popular gay dating and discussion
sites buzzed with the usual banter of love and lust, with many of those
online advising against panic.
Health officials said the new strain was worrisome because it had
resisted nearly all the drugs used to treat the viral infection and had
progressed swiftly to full-fledged AIDS. When a participant in a popular
gay forum at Craigslist.org, an online bulletin board, who
identified himself as armyjackson1 asked on Saturday if he was the only
one "freaked out" by the news, the responses recommended calm.
"Let's not freak out," a user with the ID jrzcty wrote. Another said:
"Use protection, steer clear of party drugs, and encourage your friends
to do the same. This is no time to freak out - it's just time to sober
up."
It was much the same at other sites. For example, the new strain of the
virus, which one Web log labeled "H.I.V. 2.0," attracted little
interest at Gay.com. The site, which maintains more than four million
dating profiles and has about 30,000 users online at any given time,
manages dozens of chat rooms. An academic study that surveyed about 3,000
of the site's users in 2002 found that 84 percent had met sex partners
online, and that these users were 6 percent more likely to
have unprotected anal sex than those who met their partners offline.
At Gay.com, the topic of AIDS rarely came up. In one of the Brooklyn
discussions yesterday, about 50 men lurked and flirted, offering
opportunities to meet, as advertisements for gay video sites repeatedly
interrupted. In more than three hours of online conversation, the new
strain of H.I.V. was not mentioned once.
During a private online chat with a reporter, Louis, 37, a former
publisher of a gay tabloid who was in Gay.com's Brooklyn chat room
yesterday, said the site's users were not panicking because they already
understood the danger of H.I.V. mutations.
He said that after he became infected with H.I.V. in 2004, he learned a
great deal about the various permutations of the virus as his doctor
struggled to identify his strain. Many other gay men, he said, are
equally well informed, and need more information about the current scare
before they can share health officials' concern.
"If the guy had multiple partners, he could have picked up a bunch of
different mutations to begin with," he wrote. "There is still a lot of
scientific 'what abouts' and 'what ifs' that go along with this story."
Louis, who answered questions on the condition of anonymity because he
has not yet come out to some of his relatives, also said reaction might
be delayed because those who are infected by the unidentified man still
need to be tested. And even if they are found to be positive, it could
take weeks to know whether they are infected with exactly the same
strain. For now, he said, the new strain is "not that big a deal."
Others went even further in dismissing the warning. In the
misc.health.aids Usenet group found through Google, a contributor with
the name PaulKing wrote: "Some poor NY meths addict, who has wrecked his
immune system with this highly dangerous drug, is being used to try to
revive the dying 'AIDS' myth. Seems they will stop at nothing to
keep the big bucks rolling in and the public in fear of sex.
Shame on them."
City officials reject the claim that they are trying to scare people
into abstinence, stressing that the public was alerted so that medical
providers would be more vigilant.
cont..
COMMENT
Will they offer me a job as an 'AIDS' writer next? Perhaps I sould wait before giving up my regular job.
On a more serious note, I found this response interesting: -
"City officials reject the claim that they are trying to scare people into abstinence, stressing that the public was alerted so that medical providers would be more vigilant."
Strange that they ("City officials") were so quick to react to an accusation from someone as unknown to the public as myself.
Touchy, touchy.
Could it be I hit a nerve?