Sometime in the 90's, when AIDS was very much stigmatized, a man with AIDS lived with us for a while. Nobody else would let him live with them. We knew his family. He was sick. He coughed all the time but he got better. I would hear the adults whisper about him as I was very young at the time. The one thing I remember is that my granny always washed his utensils and things with bleach, but people didn't know any better back then. I think he always appreciated us for that. He died in around the early 2000s. He was a kind man and he made the best meals. People really treated you poorly back then if you had AIDS.

I've also heard the rumors and gossiping about people who "allegedly" have AIDS.

I've known people my age who die under 40, or even older, and there isn't really a known cause. The first thing some people say is that they had AIDS...

It's really sad. I've seen someone die from AIDS, untreated beforehand, and it was not pretty at all. I think she would have gotten treatment earlier if the stigma wasn't there because people were gossiping about her and saying she had AIDS for years, because her ex had died from it. I also believe that the stigma is what keeps so many in our community getting infected--and not getting treated.

If you're sexually active, you need to be tested for STDs including AIDS, period. If you have unprotected sex with someone, you definitely need to get tested with them first. No one is "above" catching AIDS.