An Epidemic of Ignorance: AIDS & Discrimination

An Epidemic of Ignorance: AIDS & Discrimination

Over the course of history, it has often been said of human beings that we are afraid of what we don’t know. In the late seventeenth century, religious fundamentalists used the irrational fear of witchery and superstition as an excuse for the execution of many innocent people. Until fairly recently, most non-Anglo-Saxon races were looked upon with apprehension and abhorrence. Nevertheless, mankind has frequently managed to overcome its ignorance and fear in favor of knowledge and enlightenment. The mid-twentieth century space program developed after a prolonged fear and trepidation against “going where no man has gone before.” A newfound social refinement and intelligence conquered even the dark ages, which had previously been saturated with superstition and fallacy. Even in today’s world with continuously evolving technological genius and “liberal” social enlightenment, hate and fear have still proven to be critical issues. This has been a particular concern with regard to AIDS, one of the single greatest tragedies of the twentieth century. No other disease, or event for that matter, has caused so much finger pointing and hysteria. Even those unfortunate individuals who were blacklisted during the McCarthy he

These figures may seem like reasonable amounts of money for health care, but keep in mind that many insurance providers have continuously denied coverage for their HIV-positive clients. But rather the point is, that they have AIDS. "� Initially, most of the gay community was in denial of any such problem. The result of denied coverage may force the HIV-positive individual to seek Medicaid, which in turn would result in debts from hospital bills and thus the depletion of his or her own financial savings (Blanchet, 1988, p. [or] they"tmd run from [him]"� (Channiah, http://www. By 1981, several other cases were declared in the France, Haiti, Zaire and Zambia. Gary White, of the Nashville-area Interfaith CARE Team, stated that "[they] ha[d] clients who [were] denied housing, job opportunities, entrance into particular religious communities, or invitations to family reunions because of HIV/AIDS discrimination"� (Tennessee Tribune, 1996, ProQuest Information & Learning Database). Not surprisingly, school officials gave in to these illogical and spiteful demands, and thus forbade Ryan from attending classes. Many political officials and right-wing groups have ostracized African Americans and Hispanics as well.