Let’s face it, there are more cheerful topics to talk about out with your friends then those related to HIV/AIDS. The ongoing existence of the virus and disease is something that breeds immense frustration and discouragement, and causes many to throw their hands up in the air and simply want to change the subject. Because of this, it was extremely elevating to come across a video online that discussed the transmission of HIV in such a straightforward, engaging, and overall logical way.
Elizabeth Pisani’s talk, entitled “Sex, Drugs and HIV—Let’s Get Rational,” discusses several of the ways that HIV is still transmitted today, despite the fact that people are fully aware of the dangers of their actions. After listing a few other contributing factors she states that “HIV is [mainly] about sex and drugs, and if there are two things that make human beings a little bit irrational they are erections and addiction.” She goes on to elaborate on how people can sometimes act irrationally, but for perfectly rational reasons, breaking down the reasoning behind things such as sharing dirty needles when clean ones are available.
Through both anecdotes and statistics, she describes how an addict hates the idea of sharing a needle and realizes its risks, but has an even greater fear of getting pulled over by the police with a clean needle in his pocket. She explains the outlook that a dirty needle may or may not transmit a disease that may or may not kill someone in ten years, but a clean needle if caught will most likely send a person to jail for up to a year immediately, where they will almost certainly encounter dirty needles anyway and wind up in the same situation. With the risk of imprisonment out there, addicts feel like they have no choice but to keep their freedom safe over their health.
Pisani does an extremely effective job of inserting wit and amusement into a potentially dry topic, covering invaluable information while still keeping her audience engaged. She highlights information in a way that anyone, whether they are an HIV expert or have never heard much about the virus, can expa
nd their overall grasp on the subject.