The Men Who Want AIDS — and How It Improved Their Lives

[KamaAina]

No, this is not from some twisted version of The Onion. A whole panoply of social services is available only to people with AIDS.

http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2013/08/02/men-who-want-aids-bronx-new-york

That silver lining was a surprise to Fortner. And while it might seem counterintuitive, contracting the virus has made life easier for other young homeless men in New York City, who in return for developing full-blown AIDS gain a roof over their heads and basic services.

This cruel paradox — having to get really sick in order to enjoy a better, more comfortable life — has not gone unnoticed. “I have experienced people [who are] grateful that they have HIV,” says Sage Rivera, a research associate at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who has worked with hundreds of LGBT youth. “It’s sort of like a sigh of relief or an extra boost,” he says. “There are a whole bunch of different names for HIV within the [LGBT] community: ‘the monster,’ ‘the kitty,’ ‘the scratch,’ ‘the gift that keeps on giving.’ So people say, ‘I have the kitty — so now I can get my place. Now I can get hooked up; I can get my food stamps, I can get this, I can get that.’...

And it’s not just those who already have AIDS who view it as a lifeline; some young men who test negative aspire to contract the disease as a way out of trouble. Rivera knows at least one man who planned to have unprotected sex on purpose, an attitude he sums up thus: “My life is not getting better. I need a helping hand, and it seems like the only way I can get a helping hand is by getting sick.”

For Fortner, the phenomenon of young men deliberately contracting HIV is dispiriting but not surprising. “When you’re on the streets every day — winter, summer, spring, and fall — and you find a way to have an apartment of your own, it looks better,” he says. His own experience is instructive: Once his AIDS was diagnosed, he was astonished at how much easier it was to live in New York City. “Right now the rent for my apartment is $1,150, but because I’m on the program I only pay $217, which leaves me with about $400 a month,” he says. “That’s still a struggle, but I feel gifted, because one way or another I pull through.”

Society EPIC FAIL.

[Yavin4]

1. I am speechless

This is so tragic on so many levels that I really don't know what to say.

[LWolf]

2. WTF

There is no valid reason why we cannot provide a safety net BEFORE people's lives are destroyed.

[Egalitarian Thug]

3. Go to prison, contract a deadly disease, people will do anything to live.

And as the parasites squeeze tighter and tighter, they will eventually be taught that lesson again.

[hrmjustin]

4. This is so sad!

[loli phabay]

5. there is also a subset in alternative lifestyles and othet communities that actively seek out hiv

Bug chasers is one name used, never understood it myself.

Not that this is the same thing, its for different reasons they chase it.

[KamaAina]

6. "Alternative lifestyles"?

Dude. 1974 called. It wants its euphemism back.

I've heard of bug chasers. All I can think of is that knowing you're HIV+ is somehow preferable to constantly worrying about your status.

[loli phabay]

8. alternative lifestyles is perfectly appropriate to describe the fetish world and is used often

[KamaAina]

10. It used to be a euphemism for "the LGBT community"

as in "My daughter has embraced an alternative lifestyle."

[loli phabay]

11. well its not owned by any one community communityand is fairly commonly used within

Various communities and has been for a long time.

[loli phabay]

9. for some its a wierd kink, for some its a status thing, who knows why people do the things they do

And everyone has a different reason for doing it.

[jollyreaper2112]

7. read about this happening Cuba years back

Sad, but not surprising.

[hobbit709]

12. My little brother is HIV+. He'd give most anything not to be.

[loli phabay]

13. hope he is doing okay.

[hobbit709]

14. He has for the last 30 years now.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

15. My aunt who was a public health official had "Pro-AIDS" psychos threatening to kill her at one point

Some such nonsense about AIDS being a shared cultural experience or something, and discouraging unprotected sex on drugs with multiple partners was abhorrent.

[Bluenorthwest]

17. Did you read the article and post that in actual response to what it says?

nt

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

18. Yes,

There have always been strange nuances to the issue.

[unblock]

16. munchausen's syndrome, in a way.

some people like getting ill for the attention and sympathy and kindness and other things it can bring.


similar also to people who commit crimes with the sole intention of getting imprisoned so they have a place to live and food every day.

[loyalsister]

21. This is SO not Munchausen's

People with that condition are secretive. And they don't injure themselves for reasons that most of us can somewhat relate to. Their only motivation is to get attention rather than not obtain housing and basic needs.
My dad recently told me that he wants to LIVE while he's alive. He has had severe alcoholic pancreatitis and recently started drinking again as his emphysema has gotten worse. I think he will try to measure the limits of the liquor effects on his pancreas so that he doesn't get too sick. I think he has given up because of the Emphysema.
I think these men are coming from a similar perspective and it's actually pretty rational. That anyone would feel the need to avail themselves of this strategy says more about us than them.

[William769]

19. As someone living with AIDS and had a life partner die of AIDS

I would love to tell these people contemplating it, it's NOT worth it!

There is a misconception that managing AIDS now is easy with the advancements, what they don't tell you is with all the drugs pushed out in recent years there is no long term studies on the effects to the body. I started taking Atripla the day it came out in (and was taking Susteeva the main ingredient in Atripla before that). This life saving drug has wrecked havoc on my liver & kidneys. Management is not as easy as some people make it out to be.

Education all around is the best defense for all concerned.

[steve2470]

20. very sad indeed nt

[LeftofObama]

22. Definitely NOT worth it!

It's an illness I wouldn't wish on anyone.