Personal Responsibility
How many times do we hear about people learning lessons the hard way? Like the little kid who burns his fingers after Mommy just told him not to touch the hot stove, some people pay attention to warning signs only after a tragedy happens.
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine appears in this public service announcement, released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to promote seat belt awareness. On April 12 Corzine was seriously injured in an automobile accident while not wearing his seatbelt, a practice he admitted he did quite frequently. Hopefully others will learn from his mistake.
But this incident reminds us of the fact that despite the best public health and safety awareness efforts, personal responsibility and choice ultimately determine how safe we will be as individuals. You can collect all the pamphlets and brochures, see all the PSAs and attend all the workshops and classes, but if you as an individual don’t make the conscious decision to save your own life, it all goes for nought.
A warning from the Surgeon General of the United States that “Cigarette Smoking May be Hazardous to Your Health” first went on the outside of cigarette packages in 1966, yet the Centers for Disease Control reports an estimated 45.1 million American adults smoke cigarettes. While the number of smokers continues to drop each year, cigarette smoking remains the leading contributor to lung cancer, and lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women.
Similarly, motorcyclist deaths have more than doubled between 1997 and 2005, with head injury due to not wearing a helmet, the single biggest cause of serious injury and death. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that wearing a helmet can reduce the likelihood of a crash fatality by 37 percent. Even so, cycling enthusiasts resist legislation making helmets mandatory, citing such reasons as the desire to feel the wind in their hair.
To conclude the comparisons, HIV infection rates among Black men who have sex with men are at 46% in some major cities, and this population is seeing increases while decreases are being seen among other groups. In light of how quickly some people criticize Black gay and AIDS service organizations for what they are supposedly not doing right, can we afford to ignore discussions around personal accountability and continued indulgence in high risk behavior that is clearly detrimental to our own well-being?
Posted by bernie at May 24, 2007 6:14 PMYou bring up a great topic, personal responsibility. I for one tire of people blaming everything bad that happens to them on others.
Smoking, its a legal habit, but, you know the consequences, and, yet, people won't stop, even after seeing people die. Seat belts, everyone has seen that film in high school with bodies smeared all over the road, and yet, drive down any street, and you'll see people without a seat belt, something that takes less than a second to put on.
Getting HIV when you won't use a condom. Give me a break, I have the least sympathy for this crowd. It may sound harsh, but, there can't be anyone in this country who does not know how the virus is transmitted. Some blame it on "cultural" reasons, or not wanting to admit that you like getting your swirl on with another dude, sorry, nothing but nonsense, foolishness and cowardice, since if someone says they want to have sex without one, they are showing that they don't care about themselves, let alone you.
To sum it up, I guess I'm just so sick and tired of always seeing black men as the worst static of any being kept, and the HIV one is one that there is no reason for, no matter how many excuses activist come up with, or the lies of self deception that some of these knuckleheads come up with, 46% in some cites, that is AMAZING in 2007.
Peace.
Posted by: LaRufus at May 25, 2007 8:33 PM62 here... infected during the dark ages of HIV/AIDS in the 70's, knowing what we know now looking back at my medical records.. what I could tell you about what I've survived pre AIDS meds would stun you, multiple HIV infections, including cancer, twice in the early 90's. Some call me tough, I say I am not owning this illness that appeared out of the blue back then that came into my life unasked. Can't turn back the clock so I deal. Work to educate and appreciate my good fortune as most of my generation who contracted HIV/AIDS are dead and long gone.
Not on the DL here, don't sleep with women and I share my status, boldly with those that I meet. That said... EVERYONE knows about condom use, both men and women and all of those whom you choose to have sex with and then choose to not use a condom when you don't know the HIV status of your bedmate. The reasons are many and varied why folks don't use condoms and none of us know all of those reasons and personal responsibility is personal and individual and if you take care of your own protection you more than likely will not become infected with the HIV virus. Period! The DL is practiced by men of all races who take no personal responsibility in the safety of their women partners or the men they sleep with too for that matter. Shame on them, for they know not what they will be in for when they become ill.
I'd like to add that no one is addressing the large percentage of new HIV infections among our black folks that are due to IV Drug Use and the sharing of dirty/used needles and not just the far too easy answer that someone on the DL has had sex with other men. Granted, somewhere along the trail of IV HIV infections, someone did have actual sex and become infected by some man or some woman, but that 411 is not in the syringe being shared or being questioned if one is an addict. Wash. DC has the largest population of young black girls infected with HIV and many of those young girls/women are having sex with men to support their drug addiction. We as people of color, either have The Results or The Excuses!
Cherry picking the CDC statistics and ignoring this Huge issue of IV drug use transmission of HIV in our communities of color simply glosses over the HIV elephant in our collective black community closets. No Glove, No LOVE! If you don't know your partners status and or have no verifiable proof of said status, You become your own victim. HIV ends with me and each and every person... we are all responsible and mostly to oneself first and foremost to practice safe/safer sex. I've been lucky to have survived my AIDS hell... and also I'm not stupid or self destructive either. Please heed my words. Remember... Sometimes the F'cng, You are Getting is Not worth the F'cng you are getting. I KNOW!
Live healthy and long.