I am still shocked at the AIDS numbers I see

[Cali Coug]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061128/..._global_deaths

Much of the problem of AIDS is related to homophobia among the general public and the sentiment that AIDS victims "deserve" what they get.

Nobody deserves AIDS. It is awful, and the problem is getting worse.

[UtahDan]

Originally Posted by hoyacoug

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061128/..._global_deaths

Much of the problem of AIDS is related to homophobia among the general public and the sentiment that AIDS victims "deserve" what they get.

Nobody deserves AIDS. It is awful, and the problem is getting worse.

And here I thought that AIDS was related to unprotected sex and needle sharing. Turns out it is homophobia that is to blame!

I agree that no one deserves AIDS and we should try to find a cure, but my sense is that the ongoing research there is well financed. I also don't think that anyone deserves cirrhosis of the liver and yet I wouldn't put an alcoholic at the top of the transplant list.

I guess if I'm really being honest, I am somewhat indifferent to the plight of most people, not just AIDS victims, who engage in risky behavior and then experience the consequences. Agreed that contracting AIDS is a steep price to pay from an ill advised sexual encounter but so is 18 years is child support. Being suddenly much flatter and wider seems like a disproportionate penalty for packing your parachute incorrectly, but then jumping out of airplanes is a risky thing to do.

I care basically about the children who are born with it through no fault of their own and for that reason am very much in favor of all the efforts to cure it and prevent it. If the secondary beneficiaries of that are adults who contract it because of risky behavior that is fine as well.

In the end I disagree that there is a homophobia issue at play here at this point though I believe there once was. I think it has more to do with the fact that most people contract it through risky behavior (or so it is percieved) and a lot of people are pretty indifferent to that.

[RockyBalboa]

Heaven forbid people wear condoms and quit sharing drug needles.

EASILY Preventable behaviors that lead to the MAJORITY of the problem.

Of course this is where liberals take those comments as saying that people who share the sentiment of prevention are saying those who get the disease earned it.

They have an incredible ability to read something and then lie about the what they've just read to convince themselves of factually incorrect thought processes.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

Heaven forbid people wear condoms and quit sharing drug needles.

EASILY Preventable behaviors that lead to the MAJORITY of the problem.

Of course this is where liberals take those comments as saying that people who share the sentiment of prevention are saying those who get the disease earned it.

They have an incredible ability to read something and then lie about the what they've just read to convince themselves of factually incorrect thought processes.

This isn't the MAJORITY of the problem as you claim. The MAJORITY of the problem is that people in Africa and other underdeveloped areas don't have a clue what is causing AIDS and millions are dying from it. In those nations, countless victims contract AIDS through rape as well (and then their children contract AIDS through birth). This isn't a "factually incorrect thought process." This is just a fact.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by hoyacoug

This isn't the MAJORITY of the problem as you claim. The MAJORITY of the problem is that people in Africa and other underdeveloped areas don't have a clue what is causing AIDS and millions are dying from it. In those nations, countless victims contract AIDS through rape as well (and then their children contract AIDS through birth). This isn't a "factually incorrect thought process." This is just a fact.

Ironically enough there was a local story last night that HIV cases in Salt Lake County have more than doubled in the past 6 months and that the Utah Department of Health is encouraging others to be more careful of engaging in risky behavior.

Of course now this is where someone again uses their biased personal Urim and Thummim and translates the term risky behavior into an attack against homosexuals.

[Archaea]

Why do some believe the US has the obligation to cure the world's problems?

To me, it shows a sense of ignorance of history and of the role of nations.

The US has the duty to be fair to itself and its citizens, nothing more, nothing less. Becoming a world cop is counterproductive to its interests. We are also not the world's economic healer. To the extent, we can benefit our citizens, then it makes sense to become involved. To the extent, we are not benefitted, then it makes no sense.

[RockyBalboa]

Elder Russell M. Nelson - - - "Aids is a plauge abetted by the immoral"

[MikeWaters]

So is obesity.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

So is obesity.

So sticking a corndog in one's mouth is akin to sticking something else in one's mouth then?

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

So sticking a corndog in one's mouth is akin to sticking something else in one's mouth then?

It depends on the context. In terms of "immorality," most would agree that sexual promiscuity is worse than gluttony (although gluttony is considered one of the 7 deadly sins, so perhaps I overstate things here). In terms of costs to society, gluttony costs billions and causes even more deaths (through heart disease, etc.). And yet, how many people would argue that funding cures for heart disease or adult diabetes (which is frequently caused by obesity) is of less importance than finding a cure for cancer, for example, because the people "deserve" what they get?