HIV on Sesame Street?

[sweetcinaminn]

There is a new character coming to Sesame Street. It is a little girl puppet who has HIV. This is scheduled to air in South Africa where HIV infection is running rampant. In the US, there is a lot of attention being drawn to this. Some are saying the children are too young to learn about this at this age, while others are stating it should not just be aired in South Africa alone.

Do you think the concept is too much for children this age (3yrs and up) to deal with?
Please post your opinions and don't forget to vote.

[chocolat]

I wonder if that little girl has it too. I know of a little girl who contracted from her mothers' womb..(innocent) she's 18now. Everyone might know who she is, on tv all the time.

Well, they should know that it exist. little children don't know much about the sexual content of attracting it, unless they are in the sexual world themselves. I wouldn't expose a child to this info unless they are of sexual age, and possibly drug involvement. As far as being on that particular tv show, I don't know how it will affect other kids if she shares certain info there.

[Tigress]

I think thst its a good idea for the kids in South Africa, but as for other countries i dont know.... its something that the kids in S. Africa have 2 deal with on a daily basis... everyday i think 5 persons in each village dies from age.

[GOD]

I think it's a good thing.

Like it or not AIDs is now a part of the landscape.

and with aids Killing 6000 people a day in africa it's definitely a relevant issue.

AIDS is Ravaging the Islands right now particularly Haiti and to a lesser Extent Jamaica.

It also presents something of a Unique threat in the US, one of the most fertile breeding grounds for AIDS in the US one third of african american men are either locked up, on probation, or on parole.

The cards are stacked against us as Black people and anything that can be done is welcomed.

[Scorpion Tiger]

It is a harsh reality in South Africa so I don see a problem with showing it over there to help educate the kids and the nation on a whole but when it comes to here it is a vast difference. I personally, believe that a kid show is to educate kids in a fun learning way and since our kids are not faced with living with HIV/AIDS on a evryday basis I just feel that it is not appropiate.

[GOD]

Originally posted by tigerdms
It is a harsh reality in South Africa so I don see a problem with showing it over there to help educate the kids and the nation on a whole but when it comes to here it is a vast difference. I personally, believe that a kid show is to educate kids in a fun learning way and since our kids are not faced with living with HIV/AIDS on a evryday basis I just feel that it is not appropiate.

Not appropriate?

Black people are the most at risk we should be the most vigilant.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/afam.htm

19,890 cases were reported among African Americans, representing nearly half (47%) of the 42,156 AIDS cases reported that year.

Almost two-thirds (63%) of all women reported with AIDS were African American.

African American children also represented almost two-thirds (65%) of all reported pediatric AIDS cases.

The 2000 rate of reported AIDS cases among African Americans was 58.1 per 100,000 population, more than 2 times the rate for Hispanics and 8 times the rate for whites

[GOD]

Adult/Adolescent Men. Among African American men reported with AIDS, men who have sex with men (MSM) represent the largest proportion (37%) of reported cases since the epidemic began. The second most common exposure category for African American men is injection drug use (34%), and heterosexual exposure accounts for 8% of cumulative cases.

Adult/Adolescent Women. Among African American women reported with AIDS, injection drug use has accounted for 41% of all AIDS case reports since the epidemic began, with 38% due to heterosexual contact.

[lindalay]

Obviously the little girl puppet on Seasame Street will not be portrayed as having contracted the disease by sexual penetration or shooting up. Or will she?

The lesson here is about sharing dirty needles and dirty dycks.

Ya wanna scare kids by telling them it sometimes gets into the Red Cross blood supply and make them forever fearful of transfusions? Or maybe afraid to go into a public pool or restroom? Contaminated saliva and blood can have transdermal penetration.

I think the message on the show will be: kids, don't be afraid to touch or sit on the lap of an HIV infected person. Then I would worry about a false sense of security. Meaning when they grow up they would feel comfortable marriying a HIV positive person and having the condom break. Or worse, having a creep actually spit on them.

The mere fact that a character on the show has a potentially deadly disease makes no sense. If it did we would have had a muppet with TB, West Nile Virus, Cancer and any number of other killer diseases.

But the biggest problem of all is with lame azz parents who depend on society to instruct their children instead of their lazy azzed selfs. To intrust this to idiot-liberal TV writers and producers is a crime in itself.

[sweetcinaminn]

Well said Lindalay. They are not gonna be specific about how the character contracted the disease. They are gonna make it so children will be able to tolerate the reality that they are faced with. They are hoping this will lessen the stigma attached to being HIV positive especially since the rate is almost 50% in South African births.


I posted this question because there is a lot of debate here in the US about the new puppet on the show. I think children would benefit from this. Kids are learning about sex at extremely young ages. Not educating them about HIV would in my opinion by criminal. What kind of society are we living in where parents will let their children watch videos with practically naked women doing outrageous things and listening to vulgar lyrics on songs, but will want to shield their children from getting much needed education. Some of these children are two and three years old singing lyrics to songs about "My neck, my back..."

It seems like people are trying to censor the wrong things. Like Renegade said,

Not appropriate?

Black people are the most at risk we should be the most vigilant.

[Smile]

I think it's qute a good idea since it gives a true reflection of the society we all live in. Too often on Tv there are shows that neglect other races, various ages, people with sexual preferences etc. IMO, it is imperative that kids know from an early age that people with HIV are not all gay or promiscuous. The more kids know from an early age, the less mistakes they will make when they get older

[2002ways]

We live in diffrent times and shows need to make adjustment to reflect our society. People like to live this old fahion type of life but time has changed.

Look what they do to school prayer and spanking your child.
DO YOU SEE THE RESULTS OF THAT NOW? NUFF SAID