Reverse HIV Discrimination & Bug Chasers

Up until two months ago, I was homeless- living in my car and holding down a full-time job that just didn't pay enough but to merely exist. I tried all the avenues which I thought would be available to me. General Assistance, Welfare, the local LGBTQ "community" center. I'm not a jaded person, but apparently I didn't realize that there were a number of "qualifiers" that I had to meet in order to get the assistance I needed. For example:General Assistance: I'm not a member of a racial minority (I'm caucasian), Welfare: I'm not a single battered female with children (I'm male, single without kids). The LGBTQ "community" center: I'm not HIV positive (and plan to stay that way).The LGBTQ "community" has been all up in arms about the rise in the infection rate of HIV and those "pitiful souls" known as "bug-chasers".

Gee, I wonder why.

What was once considered a "death sentence", HIV became a managable illness- provided the lucky recipient responded favorably to a host of different toxic concoctions. AZT lead to protease inhibitors which lead to "the cocktail" and now Tripla (a new single daily doseage treatment recently approved by the FDA) T-cell and Helper cell counts went up and Viral Load counts shrank to barely detectable and trace levels.

How comforting. Modern medicine finally came to the rescue. Which is the way it should be. Unfortunately, only after the deaths of tens of thousands of people globally. Local government also belatedly came to rescue in the form of providing discounted housing for those who are too weak to work. In many States, including California, having a life debillitating illness- like HIV makes you eligible for permanent disability status. (In Florida, if you have HIV, then you're automatically disabled.) Which in turn opens the door to a plethora of helpful services, like access to well-below market housing, food, healthcare, public transportation at little or no-cost.

For those people that require such services, I'm glad that they are available. Modern medicine has made HIV survivable. Local government has made HIV attractive and lucrative. I can truly understand when HIV survivability combined with the plethora of services listed above, it can become very tempting to engage in "bug-chasing" activities.

I mean, like, why not?

I've been a hard working gay man all of my adult life. Hell, I'm struggling to make a life for myself. I've suffered more set-backs than triumphs, of late. I've been without a long-term relationship for more years than I wish to acknowledge. My situation depresses me. My loneliness un-nerves me. I'm at an economic stand still and my bills are stacking up. My life seems to be unraveling right before my eyes, despite my constant efforts to the contrary.

Would someone in my shoes want an easier way out? Oh, hell yeah! So based upon what I've observed, the whole concept of bug-chasing can be extremely tempting, indeed. However, I have a personal morality code that forbids it. I haven't guarded and maintained my sero-negative status so I could cast it away due to a "temporary" economic state and take advantage of a structured support system that wasn't designed for me. In my opinion, NO ONE ought to take advantage of any support system if they do not require it. This would include able-bodied trace detectable individuals living in greatly subsidized housing and are abusing their monthly disability allowance to sustain their addiction to crystal methamphetamine.

It is a travesty.

It must stop.