Bicho and I to Dr. Abel Albino: “AIDS is not a virus, your words are.”
By Lucas Fauno Gutiérrez (script and text) and Jon Amarillo (illustrations) We, the people living with HIV, those who have the virus, and those who support the cause, repudiate not only the statements made by Dr. Abel Albino yesterday in Congress, but also what his role in medicine and the State represents. That in 2018 a professional…
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By Lucas Fauno Gutiérrez (script and text) and Jon Amarillo (drawings)
People living with HIV, those who have the virus, and those who support the cause, condemn not only the statements made by Dr. Abel Albino yesterday in Congress, but also what his role in medicine and the State represents. That in 2018 a healthcare professional and representative of the State would attack us with false information, full of stigma and prejudice, is an act that cannot be overlooked.
Albino is the same doctor who in 2015 said that homosexuality was a problem. The one who says condoms don't work. The one who, when using a platform, not only displays an archaic and retrograde voice, but also provides—not innocently—erroneous information. The one who says that AIDS can penetrate porcelain. The one who might seem bizarrely funny to us. He is a threat to our health and our life in society.
And he laughs. Because he was talking and laughing. How could he not laugh when, on top of sowing seeds of fear and lies, he's also earning millions as an advisor to the current government? He's laughing in our faces. A face that cries out in impotence, grits its teeth in fury, and continues to act day after day. We do and contribute little by little, only for a dangerous ignoramus who claims to be a doctor to suddenly appear on the scene with this harmful material. That's why we respond to him:
AIDS is not a virus; HIV is. Condoms are impermeable. A person whose condom breaks can go to any hospital and demand post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Living with the virus is not a death sentence. It is not contagious; it is transmitted.
How is it prevented? – Sexual transmission: It is prevented by using condoms correctly and consistently, that is, throughout the entire sexual encounter, whether vaginal, anal, or oral. No other contraceptive method prevents HIV.
Currently in Argentina, more than 120,000 people are living with HIV. And of those, 30% are unaware of their status. The fear of testing is not so much due to a physical issue but rather to a social stigma. A stigma that Dr. Albino reinforced yesterday.
Dr. Albino, you not only misinform through fear with the obvious aim of imposing your retrograde religious thinking, but you also condemn a large part of society.
When we talk about HIV, we're not just talking about a virus. Talking about HIV brings into play social issues, human and social rights, matters of empathy and activism, struggle and resistance. Listening to Dr. Albino is a reminder of how much they hate us, how much we threaten their double standards.
Visit Presentes every Thursday to find a new installment of Bicho and me.
Bicho and I #32: #LivingWithHIV Bicho and I and the words: “How would you prefer I call you?”
Bicho and I #31: With HIV they want me "healthy": I prefer to be a monster
Bicho and I #30: It's not our World Cup, HIV is not a game
Bicho and I #29: Bicho and I against the patriarchy: “It’s going to fall! Or better yet: we’re going to knock it down!”
Bicho and I #28: Laying the cards on the table
Bicho and I #27: The drama of the "little prick"
Bicho and I #26: Debts and progress 35 years after HIV
Bicho and I #25: #LivingWithHIV Bicho and I: From Words to Deeds
Bug and I #24: In the medical world, containment is everything
Bicho and I #23: “No one is obligated to say they live with HIV”
Bug and Me #22:Until the cure, always!
Bicho and I #21: Take a hug
Bicho and I #19 go to the movies: 120 beats per minute
Bug and Me #18: Your question is annoying
Bicho and I #17: “Yes, I live with a strain of HIV”
Bug and I #16 “It’s not contagious!”
Bicho and I #15: #8M Three women living with HIV explain why they stop
Bicho and I #14: #LivingWithHIV “Where is Bicho?”
Bicho and I #13: “We are not carriers”
Bicho and I #12: “How can you not tell me you have a Bicho?”
Bicho and I #11: HIV and AIDS are not the same
BichoYYo#10: Bicho, me and medication: “People with HIV are much more than a pill”
BichoYYo #9: We urgently need our medication
Bicho and I #8 The Dangers of Activism
Bug and I #7 Superpowers for an X-Men cover
Bicho and I #6 “Happy New Year!”
Bicho and I #5: “Nine years with Bicho”
Bug and I #4: “The scapegoat”
Bicho and I #3 “Without Grindr there is noparadise”
Bicho and I #2 “The best thing about medication”
Bicho and I #1: the comic strip that tells in the first person what it's like to live with HIV
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