I’m not your usual AIDS activist. First of all, I’m actually a terrible activist who rarely, if ever, takes to the streets. Second, I grew up on the political and religious right. Third, I’m a white heterosexual cisgendered monogamous male, not really in any risk group. So why do I care deeply about HIV?
I grew fascinated with the complex science involved during medical school. I loved studying – and often forgetting on tests! – all the biochemical aspects in HIV. I loved the medicine so much, though, that I spent an elective rotation in an HIV clinic at my school. There, I saw innocent victims of HIV, not the “evil people” so often demonized by self-serving politicians. I saw marriages, both heterosexual and homosexual, that persisted despite HIV. I saw people ready to live thanks to the latest HAART medical therapies.
When I moved to Nashville to work in a biomedical research job, I wanted to learn more about research outside of my work, so I began to volunteer on the Community Advisory Board of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network at Vanderbilt. Most places, I try to give more than I get, but with this board, I definitely get more than I give.
Each month, I get to listen to talks about some aspect of HIV, whether social or scientific. I get to know people leading local efforts to deal with the disease. I get to listen to national experts inform me about the latest scientific advances. I get to contribute to international efforts to quench this virus definitively through a vaccine for all time. I get an excuse to read dozens of books about various aspects of HIV’s impact.
Although I talk about HIV some in my relationships, I’m still not a stereotypical HIV activist. I do what I do best – learn about science and life in relationships – and maybe that’s enough. Maybe if we cared about our neighbors more, both in our neighborhood and across town, and if we stigmatized them less for their oddities, we’d be able to conquer not just HIV but all life-altering diseases. That’s why I continue to advocate for an HIV vaccine and continue to learn about its progress. Maybe that’s activism enough…