Musings from Brian J. Noggle: Nonjudgmental

Nonjudgmental

The HIV threat at Normandy High School has widened to include up to 50 students, health officials said Tuesday.

Health officials last week said "some" students may have been exposed to the virus that causes AIDS but recently refined their estimate to 50.

The local news has been running this story pretty hard, with dramatic meetings between school administrators and whatnot. Of course, just using the words "exposed to" spices it up. One might think a cafeteria worked didn't wash her hands before returning to work or a lab experiment went awry. Um, still, no.

The most likely scenario for HIV exposure among teenagers would be sexual relations, but health experts say sharing contaminated needles for steroids, tattoos or drugs could also be the source.

The story's only commenter gets to the meat in the sandwich:

I would like to know how those children were exposed to the HIV virus. It would benefit all the schools, and for that matter, any gathering of people in one place, to know how this happened. Of course, if it was something like a gang bang, then I am not worried because my community does not practice those sort of behaviors.

Indeed, by not elucidating on the mechanism of exposure, the media is really trying to gin up the panic without reminding the public that these young men and women acted in a way to expose themselves.

- posted by Brian J. @ 6:03 AM