First Take of Tacoma

            The first day of CORE 116: AIDS was met with smug anticipation.  Having been actively involved with programs and support groups for the last four years of my life, I felt a distinct advantage over the rest of the class.  This supercilious sense quickly dispatched itself as our first directions were dispatched.  Indeed, it was a simple question, too simple, perhaps.  How many cumulative AIDS cases have been reported for your hometown and county?  Though my knowledge of the HIV virus, modes of transmission, patterns of infection, and precautions was extensive, these innocent questions proved to be exceedingly belittling.  After all the activism I had participated in, the sheer fact that I did not know the exact numbers for my community or state, for that matter, caused feelings of ignorance to wave through me.  After some deliberation I managed to make educated guesses that were ballpark, though elevated, figures.  I estimated that 50 AIDS cases had been reported in the city of Gig Harbor, and a grand total of 2,000 cumulative AIDS cases reported for Pierce County.  The actual figures were 28 cumulative cases in Gig Harbor and 1,012 cumulative cases in Pierce County (1).  Though my numbers were not astronomically wrong by tens of thousands, they were by no means accurate.  This could be the cause of any number of different things; variance in statistic type (HIV+ numbers versus cumulative AIDS diagnoses), level of exposure to the AIDS crisis, media coverage, first time you heard of AIDS, quality of health class education, etc.  All of these influence what a person might guess and they certainly influenced my guess.

            To be honest I do not actually recall when I first happened upon the AIDS crisis that has gripped the world.  By the time I was born (1987) AIDS was no longer a passing fad that was vogue sometimes and others not, it was a full-fledged threat to potentially anyone (2).  By the late 1980’s the realization was there, communities were afraid; the evidence of the danger lay in the sick and dead.  As I grew older I project that I comprehended the HIV/AIDS in late grade school and early middle school, about the time state mandated health classes began.  Also during this period, my older sister got involved with the same AIDS activist group that I would later join.  Before high school I was not very exposed to the detailed media reports on AIDS.  Living in Gig Harbor, an affluent suburban community, did not cater to access to smaller media outlets that would cover the crisis beyond the general.  I clearly remember mainstream coverage, advertisements for the AIDS walk, the local foundation, or red ribbons seen from time to time.  This was all from the beginning of my exposure to AIDS, during this time I will freely admit that beyond a trivial amount of curiosity I was by no means interested or alarmed by the crisis.  Entering high school was the start to my motivated interest in the cause.

            With middle school and high school came much more serious state mandated health classes.  Things changed a lot when I entered high school; instead of me getting taught the abstinence, safe sex, and AIDS material, I began teaching it to my peers in an interactive and informative manner.  The group I joined, AIDS Peer Education eXchange (APEX), was an activist group that trained to be peer educators.  It was a lengthy process but it was interesting and the group did not simply train to give presentations.  We made short movies with safe sex and AIDS prevention as the main message; we prepared food at AIDS hospices, volunteered at the Pierce County AIDS Foundation, helped with the local AIDS walk, brought HIV positive speakers to the school, and even helped to direct the Dining out for Life community fundraiser event.  This high school club is what truly made me aware of the epidemic that was affecting the entire globe as well as our own community.  It was our goal to make sure that every student knew that HIV/AIDS was a real threat, not merely some disease that children in sub-Saharan Africa die from.

            It is this immersion into the AIDS culture of my community that I blame for my doubled estimates of cumulative AIDS diagnoses in the Tacoma, WA area.  Working with AIDS patients, learning about the disease, and speaking about it led me to believe that it was far more prevalent in my community than it actually is.  It is nice to know that my figures were reasonable, but also disheartening that my community is affected to only a third the degree of the national average (table 2, sources 1,3,4,5).  This is mildly understandable as the Tacoma area is not nearly as urban as other locales around the country that have been afflicted on a much larger scale such as the neighborhoods where the virus first appeared; San Francisco’s Castro district, New York City’s Fire Island, and Miami’s South Beach.  The difference between Pierce County and these other large urban areas that were affected very early is that once the threat was established the response in Pierce County and Tacoma was accepted and integrated into the community.  The west coast and the Northwest especially is recognized as a very progressive place, a place that cares about people, a leader in taking care of oneself.  This positive attitude is very present in much of the community and the media outlets.  There are many organizations that are designed to promote awareness and sexual health, such as youth centers that cater towards gay and lesbian teens.  Beyond those organizations there are groups that are actively out in the community.  Tacoma has a needle exchange program, a Planned Parenthood with birth control, emergency contraceptives and testing available, and an AIDS foundation along with numerous other well publicized organizations and events.

            Local media, mainly newspapers and radio, provide a necessary outlet of information regarding HIV and AIDS.  At least every week or two you can read an article in the News Tribune addressing an upcoming AIDS walk or event, something that a local student or school group (like APEX) has done, or a controversy surrounding a local organization.  These are in addition to the inherent articles regarding the international strife AIDS is causing in Africa and other areas of the world.  Some common past headlines include: “Needle Van Site Sparks More Debate,” or “Project puts face on AIDS in Africa.”  Beyond the Tacoma paper there are several smaller papers such as The Gateway that also cover stories pertaining to the local efforts to spread awareness and fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.  A large majority of the material that gets out to the public comes in the form of advertisements.  There are radio and newspaper advertisement campaigns leading up to major fundraisers, there are advertisements and notices for support groups and meetings, and there are posters and handouts that can be found around the community.

            This exposure to the AIDS media from my family members, school, and community made the epidemic only somewhat real.  There was a reality in the sense that this disease did actually exist in my community but only a partial reality because of my location in the white, affluent, suburban neighborhood.  Not living in the city of Tacoma created a sense of removal from the problem. Having knowledge of the disease compounded this fact and allowed me to recognize that the stigmas and stereotypes associated with AIDS are largely supported by the statistics.  So, in this sense, I have never truly identified with victims of the virus.  It remains a distant threat but mostly to others, not myself.  This is supported by the relatively low rate of AIDS Pierce County has compared to the national average but it is the attitude that needs to be avoided and eradicated for the benefit of the cause.

I am without any doubts that my personal involvement with many of the local programs associated with the AIDS epidemic heightened my awareness to all things linked to HIV and AIDS.  I know where you can get tested, where free birth control is available, and where the needle exchanges are located.  I have met with AIDS patients, even brought them to speak at my high school.  I educated my peers about the virus and volunteered my time at the Pierce County AIDS Foundation.  This involvement caused me to be hypersensitive to any material concerning the virus in national news media and the local media.  Though I am embarrassed that even with my involvement in the community I did not know the actual numbers, I am also proud that my community is progressive and supportive of the measures taken to spread awareness.  It is far better to be over prepared for an epidemic of this sort than to remain ignorant and apathetic.  If a community allows itself to ferment in denial they are dooming themselves before the fight even begins.