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From: flar@Eng.Sun.COM (Jim Graham)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: Re: Not a high risk group?
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Date: 17 Oct 90 20:19:32 GMT
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Hoffman.El_Segundo@xerox.com writes that he believes that we shouldn't
publicize risk groups as that can foster denial in the people outside
these groups.  He also writes that he believes that he is not in a high
risk group because, while he is gay, he is not having unsafe sex.

I agree that risk groups have the potential to induce denial in the
nonmembers, but it also stresses the need for safe sex in members.
Which is more important is hard to say since there will always be
people who deny the problem.  I see most of my straight friends (and
even teenage straight friends - a group typically hard hit by denial...)
understanding that they should not be having safe sex even though they
aren't gay.  In fact, in coming out to them, they all stressed that
they were so worried about AIDS that they wondered how I dealt with being
even more at risk then they were.  In contrast, I see many gay men who
don't believe that they are in serious danger.  (Luckily, this isn't
the majority of gay men.)

I don't agree that you should seek to redefine the risk groups to
pare them down any.  They are already fairly specifically targetted
as they are and the more specific they are, the more nonmembers they
have, which just leads to more potential denial victims.

Why are you concerned with whether or not you are in a risk group?
Potential discrimination may validate that concern, but I can't see
any other reason other than wanting to feel that you are safe.  But
why do you want to feel that you are safe?  That may lead to the
lowering of your guard and unsafe behaviour.  This statement is the
one that has me worried:

|> With some effort, you can actually REMOVE yourself from that risk group!

I don't think you should ever consider yourself outside of the risk group.
What you are doing is "having safe sex within a risk group", you are not
"exitting the risk group".

Thanks for setting me clear about your happiness in seeing fewer people
engage in unsafe acts.

					...jim