I'm Negative

And that's positive.

I considered titling this post "My Results are Positive," and then saying I am HIV negative. I am classy enough not to do that, but boorish enough to tell you about it anyway.

Not that I was really, really worried, but still it's nice to know for sure.

No News is Good News...Right?

Getting an HIV test always makes me nervous. I don't engage in high risk behaviors (intravenous drug use, unprotected anal sex), but being a gay man, I naturally worry. I stupidly timed this one so that the weekend would fall within the 2-3 day period they give. Well, today is day 3, and I am checking my phone every 6 minutes.

If I haven't heard by noon, I am going to call them.

Prince of India

So having just engaged in a discussion about how sad it is that we in this country care more about celebrities than actual issues, I went over to check out Perez Hilton. We all have our vices (besides I am in the midst of an US Weekly Pool Supplemental Draft--I need ideas!).

However, something of relative import showed up there: The only son of the King and Queen of India is gay, and was disowned by his family when he came out a year ago. (Please note: I linked the source article instead of Perez Hilton's post. It is more illuminating):

Homosexuality is against the law in India, and can be penalized with ten years to life in jail. Singh Gohil has become both the voice and face of those persecuted for their sexual orientation. Not only has the Prince publicly fallen from grace, but his mother has publicly disowned him, and his place as the next King of Rajpipla was in jeopardy.

* * *

Though his coming out was met with disappointment and outrage, Singh Gohil has adopted a noble cause, educating people about homosexuality and HIV/AIDS prevention.

"I came out in the newspapers openly that I'm gay and basically [because] I wanted to show to the world that even a prince can be gay," he said. "I wanted people to discuss homosexuality, which was always considered a taboo and a stigma… it's been existing in India but no one talked about it."

* * *

"There is a lack of awareness," Manvendra [Singh Gohil] explained. "The purpose of my coming out openly is for a cause, for a good cause, for the control of HIV/AIDS."

Anyway, for those of you who may have followed my politics v. policy discussion on DtB, I assure you that I consider opening minds in a homophobic culture and educating people about HIV and AIDS to be very legitimate foci of public discourse--Prince Singh Gohil's efforts have the potential for positively affecting many and hopefully those effects will outlast him, me and you.

Hope

Looks like we have made a pretty big breakthrough on the road to a cure for HIV:

The scientists engineered an enzyme which attacks the DNA of the HIV virus and cuts it out of the infected cell, according to the study published in Science magazine. The enzyme is still far from being ready to use as a treatment, the authors warned, but it offers a glimmer of hope for the more than 40 million people infected worldwide.

* * *

The researchers engineered an enzyme called Tre which removes the virus from the genome of infected cells by recognizing and then recombining the structure of the virus’s DNA.

I'm not even going to make a snarky comment about government funding (the scientists were German anyway).