I’m sure that by now, most of you have heard about the ‘Berlin Patient’ who was cured of his HIV. An exciting development in the search for a cure, though one to be realistic about for sure.
Timothy Ray Brown, an American man who was being treated for leukemia in Berlin back in 2007, is now living HIV free after an extremely intensive treatment.
When AIDS became the new epidemic of death that most of us would die from (at least according to my sex ed class), the porn industry took quite a bit of heat. And then AIDS was no big deal. And then Magic Johnson was cured of it. And then it wasn’t such a big deal. And then it was kind of a big deal. And then it was a really big deal in financially destitute countries. And then …
Well, you get what I’m saying. One thing that has never really faltered, though, is the impression that AIDS will lead to terrible repercussions for …
If you haven’t heard the name “Steven Slater” (not to be confused with sociopathic teen Steven Spader), you must be living sans television or internet. Slater, who frankly strikes me as a glib, opportunistic attention whore, is inexplicably being hailed by many as a “folk hero” for his recent shenanigans at JFK Airport.
Perhaps the “folk tale” aspect isn’t far from accurate as the story seems to change every hour and Slater grows exponentially more mythical. Indeed, when the story first broke, it seemed like a standard case of “working class hero has enough.”
The basic story was that Slater, a JetBlue flight attendant, got pissed off when a female passenger refused to apologize to him after her luggage hit him on the head. Even worse, the passenger swore at him, and Slater snapped after putting up with rude, pushy airline passengers for thirty years. He announced via a profanity-laced intercom announcement that he was quitting, then grabbed a couple of beers, activated the emergency exit slide, and left his career in impeccable style.
Yeah, that would have been kind of a cool story. If it had been the truth. However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Slater was not a hardworking guy that got pushed too far and instead just another asshole.
[The Wall Street Journal] spoke to one passenger, 53-year-old school teacher Marjorie Briskin, who said it was Slater who cursed first at a female passenger who simply asked him where her luggage was stowed.
“I didn’t think she was rude in the least. (He) was so inappropriate,” Briskin is quoted by the paper.
Another passenger, Lauren Dominijanni, reported asking Slater for a towel to clean up some coffee on her seat. She said Slater, “rolled his eyes in a real rude manner”.. then barked “No. Maybe when we get in the air. I need to take care of myself first, honey.” “It wasn’t normal.. I felt so uncomfortable on that flight.”
The Associated Press is reporting that three HIV-positive women in Namibia are suing their government, claiming they were sterilized against their will following admittance to hospital for treatment unrelated to their reproductive health. This is the first legal challenge of its kind in the country; the government maintains that all three women gave their consent for sterilization and that they will be fighting the women’s claims for damages.
The case raises uneasy questions regarding the treatment of HIV-positive women in Namibia and potential discrimination against them as a result of their condition. Vicky Noa, who has organised protests in support of these women and their plight, states that there should be ‘peace of mind that if you have HIV you can still go to hospital and be treated with dignity and equality.’
I’m in total agreement with Vicky here – no woman, regardless of her health, age, race, sexual orientation or anything else for that matter, should be scared to attend a medical professional for fear that their reproductive rights be taken away without their consent. No woman should be scared to access medical assistance through fear.
In a county where it is estimated that one fifth of the population live with HIV, it is worrying to consider what impact this type of news story might have on health in the country – if it is perceived that the state health care system can’t be trusted, will this drive HIV-positive women to turn to less reliable, non-state or even amateur methods of health care?
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