HIV Is Not A Death Sentence

As Tony observed about our fellow Fabcasters Migs and Corporate Closet (click here to read it), these two intelligent, wise and driven guys postponed having themselves tested for HIV for a simple reason: fear. It was the fear of finding out that maybe they are positive. It was the fear of knowing that a past mistake of theirs will haunt them until they die. Yes, the illogical trumps the logical, the emotional triumphs over the intellectual.

But fear was also responsible for them taking the test. When people close to them tested positive, and when guys they personally, actually knew started dying one by one (usually due to “complications arising from pneumonia”), the losses hit too close to home. Suddenly this issue couldn’t be ignored anymore, and testing became all the more urgent.

It actually makes sense then, to ratchet up this fear. Fight emotion with emotion, so to speak. The numbers are alarming. And what people aren’t officially saying, unofficially what you don’t know can actually kill you. Our MSM community is in danger. You are in danger. 

But is there a better way of going about things? What if there’s a way to help alleviate one’s fears? What if you find out that nowadays HIV is not a death sentence like it once was (provided it is detected early)? And what if you know there are people like us who care and are there for you?

Fear is born out of ignorance and the feeling of being alone. More than just arming MSMs with information, the Love Yourself Project (click here to check out their blog) aims to provide highly discreet and strictly confidential HIV counseling for MSMs, specifically the legally-mandated pre- and post-test counseling sessions.

But HIV counseling is just the start. The Love Yourself Project will eventually accommodate MSMs who have questions on HIV and STDs outside of the testing set-up. Ultimately the group seeks to promote “wellness through education, prevention, cure and rehabilitation in response to venereal infections (STD and HIV) and sexuality concerns.”

And maybe by then we won’t need to use fear to fight fear.