Editorial
Eliminate paranoia
surrounding AIDS
Ignorance and confusion about how AIDS (Aquired Im
mune Deficiency Syndrome) is contracted ha* resulted in
mass paranoia directed at a few public victims of the illness.
The need for increased AIDS research is directly tied to the
need to eliminate the paranoia surrounding the disease.
Reducing paranoia would help change the tendency toward
ostracizing victims by creating a climate conducive to public
support for AIDS sufferers.
Ryan White, a 14-year-old Indiana boy. serves as one ex
ample of the need to combat AIDS hysteria. A victim of
hemophilia, a hereditary condition that impairs the blood's
ability to clot. White contracted AIDS 15 months ago. Fami
ly members trace contraction of the disease to the use of a
powdered blood derivative hemophiliacs use to help their
blood clot.
Hundreds of parents and students from his junior high
school pooled money and resources to wage a legal battle
that prevented White from attending hispublic school. After
pushing their own case through the courts. White and'his
parents finally secured an injunction.allowing him to attend
classes last week after a 15.-month absence. But his stay was
brief — on the very day he returned to school, a county cir
cuit judge ruled that White’s presence violated a 1949 state
law regarding communicable diseases.
Community members are again collecting money and
holding meetings to coordinate a legal fight to ban Ryan
from the school. But even if.he is excluded, the threat of
AIDS remains. Ryan, and every other victim and potential
victim of AIDS is still without a medical solution.
The potential for political and social persecution of
AIDS-associated groups and individuals is staggering. And
it contributes to a’climate of fear and ignorance about the
disease. And recent opinion polls indicate public attitudes
toward homosexuals have hardened due to AIDS. Of the
17,000 diagnosed AIDS cases in the United States, more
than 70 percent have involved homosexual or bisexual men.
A December Los Angeles Times poll found 77 percent
favored banning homosexuals from donating blood, 51 per
cent favored banning people with AIDS from having sex. 51
percent favored quarantining AIDS victims, 48 percent
believed people with AIDS antibodies should carry special
identification, and 45 percent supported testing job ap
plicants for the virus. • ,
Civil rights activists and public officials have reported
an increase in .official complaints of discrimination against
homosexuals and AIDS victims. Many have lost jobs and
friends, and have been evicted and refused medical care
after word of their illness spread.
Yet the most striking aspect of AIDS is the lack of
evidence that it is contagious through casual contact.
Transmission requires intimate contact, most likely through
the blood stream. To date, there have been no known cases
in which'the AIDS virus was transmitted except through
sexual.intercourse or direct exchange of blood.
Discrimination against AIDS victims has produced a
mind-set that.associates extreme degradation with victims of
the disease, as if they were modern-day lepers. Further,
there is a growing feeling that AIDS victitns deserve to be
punished and legally, discriminated against. This attitude
justifies the persecution of gay and non-gay victims — peo
ple like Ryan White., ; ' '
But if all the citizens favoring the exclusion of AIDS vic
tims from their workplace or community instead supported
the victims and their families, a significantly healthier en
vironment would be created for the discovery of an AIDS
cure. And that is the only sure solution to the problem.
Oregon Daily
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HEY, A SCHEDULE
15 A SCHEDULE!
DONT BE COMING TO ME
NOW WITH TECHNICAL
PROBLEMS
Letters
Dig deeper
So, the Emerald editors are
going to defend the militariza
tion of campus by the CIA and
ROTC on the grounds of protec
ting their right of free speech
Oh.
When in the last .10 years has
the CIA or the U.S. Armed
Forces stood for freedom of
speech? In Vietnam? In Chile’
You're going to have to dig
deeper than that to discover
what motivates our military
masters. Emerald editors Try
the corporate "bottom line"
here and overseas for starters
l)o you really think the Army
or the CIA tolerate freedom of
expression within their own
ranks? Ceesh.
Roscoe Caron
Education
Another breach
Since the Afghan debate is
growing old. let's look at
another case of the violation of
"national self-determination"
by a communist country — the
Vietnamese occupation of
Cambodia.
In 1975. the Maoist. Khmer
Kouge took. over.Cambodia and
quickly proceeded to turn it into
a slaughterhouse. Remember
"The Killing Field#"? Well.
that was the Khmer Rouge
In four years, the Communist
madman Pol Hot was responsi
ble for the deaths of 2 million
people Me also launched fierce
border raids against Vietnam
Vietnam struck back with full
force, invading Cambodia and
knocking out the Khmer Rouge
They then invited In Interna
tional famine and medical relief
team#. The Vietnamese inva
sion and the subsequent inter
national relief aid literally sav
ed the Cambodian fwople from
extinction!
The Khmer Rouge, with
Asian Hitler Hoi Pot still in com
mand, now fight the Viet
namese fiercely from border
camps hear Thailand, and they
do it with U.S. aid! The Khmer
Rouge are one of three factions
fighting Heng Samrin's Viet
namese puppet government.
The other factions (Son Sann
and Prince Sihanouk) are
politically more desirable, but
militarily helpless. *
•Vietnam has repeatedly of
fered peace talks with Sann and
Sihanouk, but quite rightly they
refuse to negotiate with Pol Pot.
Sann and Sihanouk refuse to
negotiate with Vietnam and this
year the Vietnamese pounder!
their border camps to give them
some incentive. The Khmer
Rouge are making military
gains, and if the Vietnamese
don't hold (or if they withdraw,
as Reagan demands), the
genocidai Khmer Rouge will be
hack in /lower!
“Seif-determ ina t ion,"
anyone?
r
(Jlenn Sacks
English
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be turned into the Emerald office. Suite 300, EMU.
Irrational view
Michelle K Loew.in your let-,
ter “For men only” (ODE. Feb
13). you condemned Sports II*
lustrated’s “Swim Suit"'issue
us being on a per with
pornography.
The issue is not intended to
be a “guide" to the latest
bathing suit fashions', for I
doubt that many men am truly
interested in the upcoming
fashions or prices of women's
liathing suits. However, most
men are interested in seeing
how women loitk in the bathing
suits, which is exactly what the
issue shows Is that so .bad.? I
suppose women never admire
good looking men in bathing
suits.
And how did you conclude
that because Sports Illustrated
prints pictures of women in
bathing suits, that men only like
women's sports to give them a
"break from 'real' sports"?
Sports illustrated does not
“exploit women’s bodies in
order to make money" any more
than Cosmopolitan or Vogue
does, and they’re women’s
magazines. Sports Illustrated
does not exploit any more than
Playgirl and (IQ exploit men's
bodies for money. But I suppose
you've never looked through
i'laygirl before, or have ever
even heard of it. being as self
righteous as you are.
So don't blame Sports Il
lustrated for your obvious irra
tioual attitude toward men.
Why don’t you direct your
vengeance toward real issues of
discrimination, like women not
having to register for the draft
Michael Kramer
junior. Business