What’s the silliest thing anyone’s said to you about the virus? HIVers recall run-ins with some real April fools
After I learned I was positive in '96, a co-worker said, 'I thought you were smarter than that!'
For her insensitivity, I presented her with the
Leona Helmsley/Dr. Laura Bitch Slap! Award."
--Gregory Webber,
Knoxville, Tennessee
"A clerk in a pharmacy
said, 'My new hairdresser is a man, and I think he's gay. Aren't all gay men
infected?' I looked her up and down and said, 'Honey, your hair
looks great, and if you aren't sleeping with him, don't
worry."
--Nate Klarfeld,
Wilton Manors, Florida
"When I told a friend I was positive, he said I had been cursed. I
responded, "Cursed because I have HIV, or because I have
ignorant friends?"
--Chad Conley,
Vancouver, Canada
"I was starting to tell
a friend about drug-resistance testing, and he
said, 'They can test for that? If people would resist more often, there'd be a lot fewer cases of AIDS, don't you think?'"
--Maryann Sinnott,
Edison, New Jersey
"A college student asked me, 'Can I get
HIV from kissing a stripper's butt?'"
--River Huston,
Upper Black Eddy,
Pennsylvania
"A guy once asked if I could feel the HIV running around inside my
body. No kidding! It amazes me sometimes how differently
people view HIV from the many other chronic
illnesses out there."
--Josh
Washington
