Whose Ghetto is it Anyway? By Michael Yoder
From: Alice - May 2004, Volume 7, Issue 5
Why is it that in this of all the disability groups HIV seems to be the one that creates the most stable ghettos? While most other disability "groups" - like people with Multiple Sclerosis, people with mental challenges, people with paraplegia, etc. are seeking to become more fully integrated into the community, there seems to be a "stuck" place for many (not all) people living with HIV.
In the old days of space-suited doctors and nurses and Kaposi's Sarcoma there was a clear need to make places that were accepting of people living with AIDS and HIV: because the community at large shunned us. Now, although there is still stigma and misunderstanding about the disease and how it is spread, there is certainly more openness and willingness to engage people with HIV in most aspects of the community.
Why are we still clustered around AIDS drop-ins and volunteering at AIDS groups as though there is no outside world? Could it be that we are still convinced the world hates us? Or are we simply unwilling or frightened to be "out there" about our sero-status and our lives. In some situations there may be a need to remain guarded about declaring positive status, but if we don't "come out" as a group, will we ever be accepted?
If we live in the shadow of shame, then we will always be segregated, and it's my belief that we are then subject to continued discrimination and fear. Rather than breaking down walls we may in fact be erecting even taller ones: shutting ourselves inside where we at least we know the walls intimately.
Yes, HIV carries a stigma that's different from other illnesses, except maybe hepatitis C. Yes, the risks we face in disclosing our status open us to rejection. However, whether this is a good enough reason to remain in the ghetto I have my doubts. In every instance where I have been open about my status, I have discovered, not only my own strength in living with HIV, but I've also discovered who my real friends are.
And I think the ghetto is a place where we can hide from the painful realities that plain old life inflicts on everyone all the time.