MAILBOX Has Doug Collins lost control of his senses? Dear Editor: We have been living with the reality of AIDS for over a decade now, During that time, HIV, the virus believed io cause AIDS, has infected more than 5,000 Cana- dians. It's expected to find its way into the lives of almost 30,000,0G0 individuals, world-wide, by the year 2,000. As those of us who have been working on the front lines of the epidemic know only too well, AIDS has challenged our ability to Separate archiac notions of morality from contemporary acts of compassion. And while we have come so far in increasing our knowledge about how the virus is transmitted, (sharing needles, un- Protected vaginal or anal inter- course, receiving a transfusion of infected blood, or from an in- fected mother to her inborn in- fant), it is hard to believe that ig- norance and insensitivity still prevail, It exists among those who not only do not understand the HIV experience, but worse yet perpetu- ate infantile myths about HIV and AIDS, Who remembers that in 1983 members of the Lyndon Larouche organization stood on street cor- ners in San Francisco, warning people not to eat in the city’s res- taurants? They claimed that gays were putting AIDS in the food. Or what about the story of the American family with two hemo- philiac children infected with HIV who had to move when neighbors burned down their home? What did these incidents say about our potential for inhumanity toward others who are less a threat to us than we are to them? Fundamental to the war against this epidemic is not only support for those of us who live with and love a grandmother, a father. a sister, a brother, an uncle, a lover, a wife, a plumber, a nurse, and maybe even a journalist with HIV. Doug Collins, in his August 7 column in the North Shore News (‘When it comes to AIDS, human rights can be wrong’'), would have his readers believe that “worrying about human rights with regard to AIDS is madness. It is pushed into the main by the homo fobby,"’ he says, ‘‘and it is time we came to our senses.”’ Statements like these make me wonder about the senses of some- one Jike Mr. Collins. Was he thinking sensibly when, in his article, he stated that ‘‘the medical establishment has been wrong before’’ yet proceeded to let a representative of the medical establishment provide most of the content for his article? And I wonder if he was being sensible when he suggested that the Florida dentist who infected a young girl DR. DOUGLAS ALDERSON, Chiropractor wishes to an- nounce that DR. DIANE FORBES, Chiropractor will be joining him in practice as an associate in his office located at: 1372 Marine Drive North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 174 Phone 985-0461 The office hours are: Dr. Alderson Monday 7:30am - 5:30pm Tuesday-Friday 7:30am - 2:00pm Dr. Forbes Tuesday-Friday 2:30pm - 8:30pm Saturday 7:30am - New patients are welcome. Accepted by MSP ICBC, WCB claims accepted 5:30pm with AIDS ‘may simply have breathed the disease into the girl's bleeding mouth?" if breathing were an infectious mode of transmission, Mr. Col- lins, wouldn't it have dawned on you that we would all have HIV? Then again, you may have lost control of your senses. The references made by Mr. Collins to a group he called the “Vancouver Homos”’ are unclear. Who are these people he alludes to? A rock group, an interpretive dance company, perhaps a sup- port group for overweight dairy farmers? Or was Mr. Collins try- ing to do the New England Jour- nal of Medicine a favor by giving credence to some nonsensical and outdated perceptions of transmis- sion they may have somehow overlooked in covering medical advances in HEV research since 1981? I cannot help but perceive the tone used by Mr. Collins to be more dangerous, irresporsibic, and emotionally infectious with its virulent promotion of hate. misin- formation, and disregard for those individuals affected by AIDS, than HIV itself. Perhaps Mr. Collins would benefit by volunteering on an AIDS helpline when the mother of an infected daughter phones to find out why she can’t get disability payments to cover the cost of her daughter's expensive medications. Or perhaps he would benefit from a discussion with members of the Persons With AIDS Society to find out about the impact his words have on the health and dignity of someone ly- ing in a hospital bed. Perhaps people like Mr. Collins should just go to their rooms and think about what they've done. Human rights should be euaran- teed, regardless of a person's sex- ual orientation or medical status. Christopher Koth Coordinator, AIDS Vancouver's Man To Man program Thanks for assistance Dear Editor: We would like to express our appreciation to the construc- tion crew on Heywood Street, North Vancouver (working Tuesday, July 9, 1991), for your valiant efforts to revive our husband/father after his tragic fall. We know that with your at- tention and quick calls to the Low, low prices on blinds and tracks For FREE Estimates Call 987-2966 Serving the North Shore for 19 years emergency personne! that everything that could have been done was done. We also have a very special thanks for the paramedics and atttading personnel who were at the scene almost immediate- ly. Our greatest thanks. The Terlebauka Family North Vancouver DRAPERIES BY S. 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