Do not despair. I will serve as your peer for a reasonable annual fee. For a small additional surcharge, I will even add Egg to your list of equals.
Link to the PR on the Williams Institute research reports showing how the old law was used for targeted enforcement. So the whole "'jury of your peers" thing is a laugh. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/headlines/hiv-criminal-laws-affect-marginalized-communities/ Note: From 1988 to June 2014, 379 criminal incidents resulted in HIV-specific felony convictions or sentence enhancements. Of those incidents, 100 percent required no proof of actual transmission of HIV and 98 percent did not require intent to transmit HIV.
Are you saying none of the convictions were warranted? The part about proving intent to transmit HIV is just silly. Engaging in activity that will spread it without warning those you can spread it to is enough. Or do you think the necessity of mutual consent doesn't count here?
I've got to agree with you on this. When it gets to the point where our fearless leaders start to discount the importance of citizens lives by allowing people with diseases to infect others without any thought then we're all lost.
I used "just a few years" because i don't have the latest research numbers. It's somewhere between 3 and 7 years, much less a reduction than eating poorly or smoking/drinking too much will take off your life.
Maybe a bit less.....http://www.aidsmap.com/Life-expecta...ears-behind-HIV-negative-people/page/3040314/ Also I notice that you seem to focus entirely on the lifespan numbers, there's more to it than that: " How will HIV affect me in the long term? Though the outlook has gotten much better for those with HIV, there are still some long-term effects that people living with the virus might experience. As time passes, people living with HIV may begin to develop certain side effects of treatment. These may include: “accelerated aging” cognitive impairment inflammation-related complications effects on lipid levels cancer Your body may also undergo a shift in how it processes sugars and fats. This can lead to having more fat in certain areas of your body, which can change your body’s shape and how you look." Not to mention the fact that the very behavior of the virus is to weaken your immune system, so even if you do live "almost" as long as you would otherwise, your lifespan is more likely to be riddled with ailments and sicknesses that otherwise might not have affected you, resulting in a clear reduction in quality of life.
I have many, many HIV+ friends. Life is not particularly pleasant, nor economical, nor filled with freedom, for any of them.
Every single example that you used has one big difference to what we’re discussing, the person that chooses to smoke, drink,and eat too much; chose to do so.
Dude anyone with 400+ friends that have died from"anything" and you're hanging with the wrong crowd. Hell I work on motorcycles and I race motorcycles and I only have about 5 friends that have died. And probably 20 "associates"
According to the latest research, the inflammation is the likely culprit in all these issues. This research is revolutionizing the way medicine is looking at a host of diseases, from heart and CVD to brain and digestive diseases. In the end, all of humankind will benefit from this research. While all of the things you list are things that CAN happen, most people can limit or prevent them through diet, exercise, and in general, moderation in all things. Accelerated aging and bone density issues tend to be limited/prevented with regular weight-bearing exercise. Dealing with inflammation in the digestive tract and other tissues through diet, exercise and enough sleep seem to be related to lowering the lipid issues and cancer occurance. HAND (cognitive effects) also now appears to be linked to inflammation. The current research is vastly changing the way one lives with HIV. And it is going a long way to minimize and manage the damage the virus does. And with appropriate treatment started early enough, leading to undetectable viral loads, your immune system can be maintained at normal levels. Early intervention - meaning testing leading to treatment - as early in the course of the infection as possible - is key to not developing many of the complications you've listed. This is another reason why having laws that effectively discourage testing are bad. Diabetes is far more destructive than HIV with current best-in-class treatment/management for each. In other words, just like the rest of us, people with HIV should lead a healthy life to limit the likelihood of disease.
Not sure what your point is here. No one (at least no one who is sane) seeks to be exposed to any STD, including HIV. But the risk is there - however small it may be, every time you go out and engage with someone (non-monogamously). There is responsibility on the part of both partners to limit risk when engaging in sex. That said, it should also be noted that it's not that easy to acquire HIV sexually. A number of specific conditions must be present. Even then, it's less than a 50% chance that a single sexual encounter with someone poz will result in acquiring the virus, assuming you are not currently harboring STD's, aren't dealing with any inflammatory disease, aren't run down/sick. In other words, you pretty much need to be susceptible to the infection to acquire it from a single encounter. Obviously, the more you spin the wheel, the more the probability of infection goes up. Or engage in physically rough sex to cause the ability of blood contact.
I don't hang with that crowd any more. They are all dead. Now I hang at the track. Since 2008, I think about 3 or 4 guys I knew have died at the track. More than that have died on the street.