It's a good bet that if Jesse Jackson calls something a "civil rights issue," it's not. It's a better bet that if you hear Julian Bond telling blacks to take responsibility, then you haven't heard the whole story.
Take those bets and you'll win by pointing to the 16th annual International AIDS Summit, held recently in Toronto. At this conference, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond reportedly stated: "The story of AIDS in America is mostly one of a failure to lead and nowhere is this truer than in our black communities. ... We have led successful responses to many other challenges in the past. Now is the time for us to face the fact that AIDS has become a black disease."
Bond is half right, which in this case makes him all wrong and 100 percent wicked. The black community has certainly suffered – for the last 40 years or so – a failure of leadership. Bond knows this because he's helped to spearhead that dismal effort. But calling AIDS a "black disease" without demanding moral accountability perpetuates the failure.
Many blacks are afflicted with AIDS. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black Americans account for half of all the new AIDS/HIV infections. Overall blacks are seven times more likely to die from AIDS than other at-risk groups.
But AIDS is not a "black disease." It is offensive to label it such. Even homosexuals – who are most commonly, and most correctly, associated with AIDS – do not want AIDS to be thought of as a "gay disease." They know AIDS is a horrible thing. Julian Bond wrongly condemns blacks with this label.
AIDS afflicts all people, especially those who are sexually out of control. That is why AIDS ravages black people. In the black community today, it seems everyone and their momma are having all types of sex – and somehow no one can understand why AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women between the ages of 25 and 34.
Black people do not have AIDS because AIDS is a "black disease"; black people are getting AIDS because most of them are immoral.
It is wicked to complain about AIDS yet not call for moral responsibility – for example, abstinence until marriage. Julian Bond, of course, would never demand morality, and the International AIDS Summit bristled at even the hint of moral accountability.
While opposing an abstinence-only AIDS program, Bill Clinton (you knew he had to be at the conference) stated: "It's a mistake to walk away from that message [of abstinence] altogether." A number of conference delegates criticized the suggestion. Clinton only offered qualified support for abstinence as a means to get government money – not because he believes in abstinence.
Clearly, most "leaders" at the AIDS Summit in Toronto had no interest in actually solving the AIDS pandemic. Their true agenda was to complain about nonexistent racism while failing to address the lack of sexual responsibility in the black community.
Consider the comments of Jesse Jackson, who did not attend the "summit" but issued a statement, saying in part: "Because of poverty, ignorance and prejudice, AIDS has been allowed to stalk and kill black America like a serial killer. ... But we have also been a compliant victim, submitting through inaction. ... It is now time for us to fight AIDS like the major civil rights issue it is."
When Jackson calls anything a civil rights issue, you know he's exploiting black immorality for personal gain. I would like Jackson to explain how AIDS is a civil rights issue. In reality, it is a moral issue. It will not be cured until black Americans stop listening to their immoral leaders.
No one – not even the "evil white man" – is forcing black people to have rampant, irresponsible sex. AIDS punishes anyone who is sexually immoral; it does not care about skin color.
The solution to the black AIDS epidemic is simple; it does not require a "summit," a "conference" or anything "international." It requires nothing more than a return to God, family and responsibility. The AIDS problem would almost disappear if blacks would take responsibility for their out of control lifestyles.
You don't need Julian Bond, Jesse Jackson or any other racist demagogue to tell you that.
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