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Out of Control: Aids in Black America

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Out of Control: Aids in Black America
This was ultimately a very alarming documentary to watch. The fact that over 200,000 black people died from AIDS in 2004, along with the infection rate being eight times more likely among black people than white people really made me question how something like this could happen in this day and age. When the clip from the debate was shown, I couldn't believe that both candidates, Cheney and Edwards, knew so little of the AIDS epidemic happening in their own country. If our own leaders didn't have a strong understanding of the epidemic going on in the nation, we should have definitely expected the same from most others in our country as well. And while other AIDS activists from the U.S. were promoting awareness in different countries, they didn't see the problem worsening in their own.
Ignorance, which was one of the five reasons for the AIDS epidemic spreading among black people, was by far the most significant reason in my opinion. Although the four reasons: government failure, sex, gay and black, and failure to lead were important, I felt like ignorance was the main underlying reason for all of these. It seemed like every time a new reason was introduced, it would always go right back to ignorance.

The film, Out of Control: AIDS in Black America presented five reasons causing the AIDS epidemic among black people. But even with this knowledge, we continue to see high rates of people being infected in our nation. The film really presents the severity of the issue and the immediate attention it needs. But more specifically, the film makes me realize how important the issue is to our generation. If I never saw this documentary, I would have never been as educated on the severity of the issue. And instead of looking at this assignment as only a grade, I realized that I should take what I learned, spread the knowledge, and promote awareness. If I were to learn from this film and simply forget about it the next day, how would I be helping to reduce the spread of AIDS? I believe that it’s possible as long as each person does their part to make the ignorant more aware.

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