Bob Skinner

From Bob Skinner's talk, I have learned that living with AIDS is like living life heavily influenced by the fear tactics taught by STI prevention courses. It seems as though he lives a very cautious life, always uses protection, takes his anti-retrovirals, and maintains peak physical conditions as to avoid a secondary infection. He lives a very different life from others infected with HIV around the world. Many Africans are just struggling to make it through the day, whereas Bob Skinner is focusing years down the road; his only worry, it seems, is the cost of medication.

The route he mentioned in rural regions is the heterosexual route among married individuals. Like most married individuals, the use of protective barriers for preventing STIs is not even looked upon, otherwise, whats the point of being married? This makes life tough if people in rural regions become ailed with HIV/AIDS. In some areas, it takes a long time to drive to areas to be treated because of the lack of resources in these rural areas. Also, in rural areas, it proves difficult because rural areas tend to be more stigmatized when it comes to certain diseases, because of the lack of knowledge in these rural areas, and I am guessing that HIV is a major example. I grew up in a small town, where every one knows everyone's name, so if someone from my hometown was afflicted with AIDS, you can bet that my mom would find out and would tell me so-and-so has AIDS the minute after she herself found out. This would make life tough for individuals AND their family as well, because small communities can be brutal without proper knowledge.