How to Work With Your Doctor to Fight HIV, January 1992 Page: 3 of 4
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Page 17
IJanuary 1992
G -
- ^\Dear Meemaw -
I can't believe that Magic Johnson is
HIV positive! I just thought homo-
sexuals and drug users gotAIDS. Since
he claims he was infected the "good old
American way"byhavingheterosexual
sex, I guess my eyes have been opened
to the tragedy. If he can get infected,
anyone can. Reality has hit me right
between the eyes and I am scared to
death! What do I need to do?
- Scared Straight
Dear Meemaw -
I have volunteered for an AIDS service
organization for several years. When I
heard about Magic Johnson being HIV
positive, I became absolutely furious!
We have been fighting AIDS for over
ten years and these sports reporters
finally woke up! After 100,000 deaths,
they act like Magic is the first person to
ever be diagnosed! Or, even worse, they
talk like he was already dead! I just
want to scream at these people!!!
- In Your FaceDear Meemaw-
Magic Johnson is HIV positive!!! My
whole world is shattered. Now everyone
is going to get AIDS and die! I feel like
crawling into a hole and burying myself.
- Hopeless
Dear Meemaw -
It finally happened - AIDS on the
front page of the sports section! This
is a glorious day! Now everyone will
wake up to the reality ofAIDS. We will
finally get funding for research and
find the cure! The wait is over!
- Pollyanna
Sugars -
Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! Like we say in
Waxahachie, when it rains, it rains big
time.
I have never heard such a wide range of
reactions about one event in my whole
life. People are scared, angry, sad,M ee ma
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happy - you name it! I was sittin' in
front of the big, ole Motorola when I saw
the news and I'm here to tell you it hit
me like a ton of bricks. I felt all kinds of
those feelin's myself and I had to take
some time and sort them all out.
First, let me say that however you
reacted or felt was okay - for you.
How one person reacts may be differ-
ent from how someone else reacts. We
are all in different stages in this fight
against AIDS. Somethin' like Magic
Johnson's announcementreally shakes
us up inside and those feelin's fly all
over the place.
For you, Scared Straight, it sounds like
you had to face up to somethin' you
could no longer ignore. You had a
reason for thinkin' that you couldn't get
AIDS because you weren't a certain
kind of person. Since Magic is just like
you, fancy sidesteppin' didn't work this
time. The fear and panic will pass,
Sugar. Be sure to educate yourself
about AIDS, especially on how that
pesky virus is transmitted. Read up on
risk reduction and safer sex practices.
Some people decide not to have sex. If
you decide to make that choice; just
make sure it is the right choice for you.
Most people who deal with AIDS feel
the same way you do, In Your Face.
The feelin's of frustration after years
of battlin' overwhelmin' odds make us
a trifle edgy at times. Get your angerout in some constructive way (I clean
out my house when I'm bent out of
shape; I throw away lots of junk I've
held on to for years). Don't talk to the
press when you're mad or you'll sound
like that Larry Kramer fella. (Isn't he
a caution?) And, if you should run into
somebody like Scared Straight, let
someone else handle that situation
until you are in control. You will want
to blame this poor person who already
feels guilty. Oil and water, Sugar. Oil
and water big time!
Hopeless, you reacted just like Scared
Straight (S.S.) except for one big dif-
ference: S.S. wants to know what to
do, you just want to escape from the
world. It is okay to feel that way for a
while - but you need to get over it.
Educate yourself. You are more in
control than S.S. You can make deci-
sions while S.S. needs to be told what
to do next. And, you will soon realize
that not everyone is going to get AIDS
and die.
I had feelin's just like yours, Pollyanna,
and they were the best feelin's of all.
That change we were all hopin' for has
arrived. But not everyone will see it
the way you do. Don't get discouraged
when we all go back to livin' our lives.
Remember how good you feel right
now, Sugar. You will have to recall
that feelin' when the news isn't so rosy.
Mountains can be moved, but most
CONTINUED ON PAGE 21.
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Grossman, Ronald. How to Work With Your Doctor to Fight HIV, January 1992, periodical, January 1992; Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1584385/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.