Finally, the Reason for Increase HIV Rates in the Black Community Revealed ...
Eric Shapiro - New York Press post 7/15/2010
Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and their fellow conservative pundits clearly don’t have a monopoly on ignorance and thinly veiled bigotry. Inexplicably popular morning talk show The View sparked controversy with recent comments by cohost Sherri Shepard and guest host D.L. Hughley linking increased rates of HIV among African Americans to homosexuality.
“When you look at the prevalence of HIV in the African American community, it’s primarily young women who are getting it from men who are on the down low,” Hughley said. Shepard concurred: “It's so big in the black community with women because they're having sex with men who have been having sex with men.” Neither host cited any evidence in support of their allegation. I guess such reputable cultural critics as Hughely and Shepard expect viewers to take them at their word.
Predictably, there was a response. Gay media watchdog group GLAAD countered with a full-page add in Variety explaining: “The Centers for Disease Control has publicly disproven this myth. And since June 22, thousands of people have written to ABC, asking that The View provide correct information to viewers. Unfortunately, those requests have been greeted with silence from both ABC and The View.”
I certainly won’t hold my breath waiting for an apology or a correction. If I had a penny for every time someone on the show said something uninformed, I’d be drowning in copper.
Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and their fellow conservative pundits clearly don’t have a monopoly on ignorance and thinly veiled bigotry. Inexplicably popular morning talk show The View sparked controversy with recent comments by cohost Sherri Shepard and guest host D.L. Hughley linking increased rates of HIV among African Americans to homosexuality.
“When you look at the prevalence of HIV in the African American community, it’s primarily young women who are getting it from men who are on the down low,” Hughley said. Shepard concurred: “It's so big in the black community with women because they're having sex with men who have been having sex with men.” Neither host cited any evidence in support of their allegation. I guess such reputable cultural critics as Hughely and Shepard expect viewers to take them at their word.
Predictably, there was a response. Gay media watchdog group GLAAD countered with a full-page add in Variety explaining: “The Centers for Disease Control has publicly disproven this myth. And since June 22, thousands of people have written to ABC, asking that The View provide correct information to viewers. Unfortunately, those requests have been greeted with silence from both ABC and The View.”
I certainly won’t hold my breath waiting for an apology or a correction. If I had a penny for every time someone on the show said something uninformed, I’d be drowning in copper.