AIDS- CT to be believed?

AIDS and its Origins: Is it a Conspiracy Theory and Should it be believed?
Answer: its complicated

In using Mandik’s definition of a conspiracy theory, which in turn uses the qualities of Keeley’s original definition, the conspiracy theory that AIDS/HIV was a man made creation to wipe out the black and African American populations, is indeed a conspiracy. Mandik states that there needs to be intentional attitudes and intentional explanations. The belief in this conspiracy theory is based in fear, hate, and the psychological states of America at the time of the ‘War on Drugs’ and beyond.

However, the corroborating evidence for this conspiracy theory is questionable. The testimony of Dr. Jacques Pepin, done by The Agenda with Steve Paikin, gives aimed evidence at the African continent for a much earlier historical occurrences of both HIV-1 and HIV-2, but this evidence has nothing to do with the belief that had taken hold of minority identities that the United States government created the AIDS virus for their own racist means, and that there is the possibility of a cure and treatment of HIV-1, which is the most popular. The accompanying source, the “Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment’ abstract, although providing support for the beliefs in the conspiracy theory is unrelated to the conspiracy itself. Although it may be because of the similar conditions of both Syphilis and HIV diseases and the use on black Americans, unless there is empirical proof, then it is invalid to the argument. However, it does provide enough evidence to base the claims of this theory, that the US medical system could potentially be against and in favour of the destruction of black and African American members of the United States, and unwilling to provide necessary care to improve the medical situation. There is fear in the knowing communities now, proven by the statistics taken by Ross, Essien, and Torres, and not just for Black identities. The source that does not help this theory as a conspiracy is Boyd Ed Graves accusation of the US government targeting Black Americans with a “stealth dart gun, a ‘micro-bio-inoculator’ that can tag unsuspecting victims from 100 feet away”. This being absolutely unreasonable and not even close to an intentional explanation, does not provide corroborating evidence that the government caused this epidemic. However, Graves’ further discoveries of the possibility of a cure from a transcript from 1970. As that was the original height of the news coverage of HIV/AIDS, this could have been blind positivity, but as we move closer to a possible treatment, this claim could be construed as true, as an intentional explanation.

The most complicated part of this conspiracy theory, is the questionable lack of inclusion of statistics of non-heterosexual cases, which most of the well publicised cases have been. This is a very much narrowed view of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but leaves out both the cultural and ‘othering’ implications of this disease against those not in the ‘normed’ heterosexual relationships. Being gay, and the connection of HIV, historically (and sadly still sometimes today) made the sexual transmitted disease correlate with conservatives also being against gay people. Further than that, the ‘studies’ that took statistics of the belief in this conspiracy was only based in the US, whereas HIV/AIDS is all around the world, and all governments are not that ‘racially’ in-tune with one another. In conclusion, this case is most definitely a conspiracy theory, but whether or not it is truly a conspiracy that is contradicting and original story, is another question all together.

Sources were used from the previous and accompanying “CT Database” entry.

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