“I wasn’t surprised,” junior Putter Meinberg said.
“It was obvious,” junior Brett Surmons said.
These are people’s general sentiments regarding Charlie Sheen’s announcement of being diagnosed as HIV positive.
Sheen, son of actor Martin Sheen and brother of actor Emilio Estevez starred in the sitcom “Two and a Half Men,” as well as many other famous movies and shows. Sheen has also starred in several scandals in recent times, regarding drugs, ex-wives and the like. On November 17 of this year, Sheen announced that he was diagnosed with HIV in an interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show.
He claimed at this time that the he had been HIV positive for four years and he was under so much scrutiny from the media, that he had to let the world know. His diagnosis came as no surprise to many, as he has had multiple run-ins with drugs and sexual escapades in the past. Sheen claims that he has not given anyone else HIV since his diagnosis.
Due to the predictability of Sheen’s diagnosis, his condition will likely not prove effective for any HIV awareness. Athletes and respected figures in the past actually have had an impact on HIV/AIDS research, but this case does not.
When you think of famous people with HIV, Magic Johnson instantly comes to mind. Magic Johnson unexpectedly announced his diagnosis with HIV in 1991 and has since then worked very hard to spread HIV awareness as well as donate for AIDS research through the Magic Johnson Foundation.
Since Sheen’s official announcement, he has said nothing about donating to HIV research or spreading awareness, likely because nobody takes his diagnosis seriously.
“I was not surprised,” Career Center AP Environmental Science teacher Timothy Scott said. “Because it’s Charlie Sheen, everyone already knew it. This is likely to not have as much of a movement as Magic Johnson.” This begs the question, how much does a public figure getting HIV actually affect awareness of the virus?
Not much, according to Scott.
“When a famous person gets HIV, it doesn’t really affect third world countries,” Scott said.
While a public figure being diagnosed with HIV definitely spreads awareness of the disease in a first world country, it does not have the same impact in a third world country.
This is because the ways of contraction are different.
In a first world country, utilization of drugs from needles can spread the virus, which it commonly does. In third world countries however, the virus is usually spread through unprotected sex. The unprotected sex is no accident either. When people do not know about these types of diseases, they do not know that they should not reproduce with certain people, thus rendering the virus more dangerous.
Essentially, the contraction of HIV by a famous person in America usually has an effect on first world residents, not third world residents. Sheen’s announcement however, will impact neither.