When you choose hope, anything is possible.
During the reccent storm I took some time to watch the third episode of the farewell season of the Oprah show, she had returned to Williamsburg Virginia to try an answer the question... What has changed, what has stayed the same.
Twenty three years ago a man with HIV jumped into a public pool & into the national media. The storm of controversy that followed showed exactly how frightened & uneducated we were in 1987. I don't have many memories of this scarry time, I suppose I was more concerned with hair accessories over headlines but our country was scared, frantic & ready to place blame someplace...something the human race has done over & over throughout history.
Ten years ago I worked at an amazing camp for kids affected or infected by HIV. It was an amazing experience & despite my great aspirations to go & make a huge difference in these childrens lives, what happened was quite the opposite. It was the campers that taught me so many lessons about really appreciating life. But even then a few friends, family & even strangers gave me a questioning look & asked "Aren't you afraid?" The fear that people felt in the 80's seemed to be calming but the public displays of disgust were replaced with whispering & apathy, something that I know these precious children felt everyday (except for when they were at camp)
Today I heard a man sincerely apoligize for his words, words that at the time were spoken out of fear & a lack of education. His judgement caused a family a great deal of pain. This apology doesn't erase this hurt but it is a great place to start.
When you know better, you do better. Right?
Twenty three years ago a man with HIV jumped into a public pool & into the national media. The storm of controversy that followed showed exactly how frightened & uneducated we were in 1987. I don't have many memories of this scarry time, I suppose I was more concerned with hair accessories over headlines but our country was scared, frantic & ready to place blame someplace...something the human race has done over & over throughout history.
Ten years ago I worked at an amazing camp for kids affected or infected by HIV. It was an amazing experience & despite my great aspirations to go & make a huge difference in these childrens lives, what happened was quite the opposite. It was the campers that taught me so many lessons about really appreciating life. But even then a few friends, family & even strangers gave me a questioning look & asked "Aren't you afraid?" The fear that people felt in the 80's seemed to be calming but the public displays of disgust were replaced with whispering & apathy, something that I know these precious children felt everyday (except for when they were at camp)
Today I heard a man sincerely apoligize for his words, words that at the time were spoken out of fear & a lack of education. His judgement caused a family a great deal of pain. This apology doesn't erase this hurt but it is a great place to start.
When you know better, you do better. Right?
