Fatigue, Excessive Vomiting, Headaches, Depression, Irritability,

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Fatigue, excessive vomiting, headaches, depression, irritability, infertility, and death; these are all symptoms and repercussions associated with HIV/AIDS. For such a long time, HIV/AIDS has been called a “gay” disease. Even though the gay community was and is one the most affected populations, is stating HIV/AIDS is a “gay” disease honestly rational or is it simply a way for individuals who do not agree with same-sex lifestyles to villainize and blame the very people they despise? The first article titled “Getting it Straight: HIV as a Gay Disease Is a Myth That Refuses to Die” was written by an author by the name of David Salyer, David Salyer is a writer who has published this article in a collection of articles that discuss HIV/AIDS…show more content…
One of the ways Salyer used ethos in a very effective way to argue his claim was when he said, “They are not all gay. African-American and Hispanic women together represent less than one-fourth of all U.S. women, but account for more than three-fourths (76%) of AIDS cases among women in this country (CDC Update, 6/98),” (Para. 3). This use of the CDC, the Center for Disease Control, as a source is very strong and credible because it is the sole purpose of the CDC to disclose information regarding diseases and viruses in the United States. He was also attempting to make the point that not all HIV cases are composed entirely of gay men. The article continues to use other, equally as strong sources, such as: the New York Times, UNAIDS, and Dr. Sharon Hillier of the University of Pittsburgh.
The latter article titled “AIDS Is A Gay Disease” uses ethos very poorly in comparison to its opposition. The only really viable time Benkof uses ethos effectively is when he uses information cited as belonging to Matt Foreman who is the Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The mere mention of Matt Foreman came when Benkof said,
When gay leader Matt Foreman called AIDS a gay disease in 2008, narrow-minded groups seized the opportunity to renew their tired argument that homosexuality is a “dangerous lifestyle” (an odd analysis given the rarity of HIV transmission through lesbian sex). But

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