Over the last month or so there has been an uproar in New Zealand over a preschool boy's parents being asked by his school to remove him because he is +. This is seriously rattling some cages down there & rightfully so. In this country of roughly about 4.5 million people, there are suspected to be about 40 children with HIV.
They suspect that most parents of + kids are keeping the wraps on the matter. Mums the word & all. These parents don't want their children facing the discrimination this little boy is going through. Still, these kids are being taught in a roundabout way that they have to keep their mouths shut about being +. Great message they're getting, isn't it?
It's a conundrum. Do you keep quiet to protect the child at the risk making them feel like they're something to be reviled & hidden away? Or do we chance openness, at the risk of rampant, ignorant discrimination? If I had a kid, I'm not sure what I would do.
This really sucks. 30 years past Ryan White & we're still judging little kids. It's not like they're out there turning ricks & shooting up. They're not spending their evenings in tea rooms & rest stops. These are children. Children, who just happen to be +. It's time to stop treating them like monsters.
Cya...
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