More test thoughts
- Political
Oh yeah, on a roll now. After relative quiet on this page while I went through displacement activities to try to avoid thinking too deeply, all my thoughts are now falling out of my fingers. So here are a couple of points.
First off, I think there were a number of reasons why I was asked to take the test. One of them would be my sexuality, and another would be the fact that I am trying to rush through the application and my medical records are all in Hong Kong.
In a world dominated by common sense, HIV is just a disease. It's a particularly nasty disease, and it's a disease that people discriminate against, but it's just a disease. With a pretty lengthly life expectancy. And a lot of ignorance around it. Including my own.
But that was the attitude in my mind when I took the test; I had no reason to suspect I would be positive, but I knew it was a risk. I wanted to know the results as soon as possible, for the sake of my own quality of life. The test needs to be thought of more like cancer screening; as a guide to give you the information you need to make the right decisions for your life.
To quote an old UK HIV awareness campaign: Don't die of ignorance.
6 December, 2001
