The CIA and AIDS
In 1981, what would be known as the AIDS epidemic started in the United States, the origin of which was up in the air. While it is now commonly believed that it originates from a form of SIV (Simian immunodeficiency virus) that is found in monkeys and apes, that was found out in 1999, eighteen years after the first reported case.
A common conspiracy theory is that the CIA created the AIDS virus to wipe out the population of homosexuals and African Americans living in the United States.
This is still a theory that many believe in today. In 2012, a woman from an African American focus group said, “I heard that [the government] took people, Black people, gay people, and made them do research... experiments, and said, ‘You guys will get paid for this’ and actually they’re given the virus.” In American Journal of Public Health, a sociological study was performed by Jacob Heller, who separated participants by race and polled them on their beliefs regarding AIDS. Hardly any trace of conspiracy came from white or Hispanic participants, but they notably came up in the African American group. On top of that, a New York Times poll showed that ten percent of African American respondents believe that the AIDS virus was “deliberately created in a laboratory in order to infect black people."
There is also an outstanding belief that the AIDS virus is controlled by big pharma in order to make a profit. Magic Johnson, whose position as point guard for the Lakers was ended by his AIDS diagnosis, has undergone scrutiny by some in the African American community, who say that his wealth has actually “cured” him. One said, “His private doctors are probably recommending different things from what we could do because we can’t afford them. Why am I giving you $200,000 pills when you can’t afford $200,000 pills?”
Those prominent in society, such as former South African president Thabo Mbeki, and Kenyan scientist Wangari Maathai (also a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize), have entertained this claim. Maathai, during an interview in 2004, responded to an alleged comment she made about AIDS being constructed by the United States with, “I am sure people know where it came from. And I'm quite sure it did not come from the monkeys." However, Maathai later attempted to explain her comment, saying, “… it is therefore critical for me to state that I neither say nor believe that the virus was developed by white people or white powers in order to destroy the African people.”
A common conspiracy theory is that the CIA created the AIDS virus to wipe out the population of homosexuals and African Americans living in the United States.
This is still a theory that many believe in today. In 2012, a woman from an African American focus group said, “I heard that [the government] took people, Black people, gay people, and made them do research... experiments, and said, ‘You guys will get paid for this’ and actually they’re given the virus.” In American Journal of Public Health, a sociological study was performed by Jacob Heller, who separated participants by race and polled them on their beliefs regarding AIDS. Hardly any trace of conspiracy came from white or Hispanic participants, but they notably came up in the African American group. On top of that, a New York Times poll showed that ten percent of African American respondents believe that the AIDS virus was “deliberately created in a laboratory in order to infect black people."
There is also an outstanding belief that the AIDS virus is controlled by big pharma in order to make a profit. Magic Johnson, whose position as point guard for the Lakers was ended by his AIDS diagnosis, has undergone scrutiny by some in the African American community, who say that his wealth has actually “cured” him. One said, “His private doctors are probably recommending different things from what we could do because we can’t afford them. Why am I giving you $200,000 pills when you can’t afford $200,000 pills?”
Those prominent in society, such as former South African president Thabo Mbeki, and Kenyan scientist Wangari Maathai (also a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize), have entertained this claim. Maathai, during an interview in 2004, responded to an alleged comment she made about AIDS being constructed by the United States with, “I am sure people know where it came from. And I'm quite sure it did not come from the monkeys." However, Maathai later attempted to explain her comment, saying, “… it is therefore critical for me to state that I neither say nor believe that the virus was developed by white people or white powers in order to destroy the African people.”
Bibliography
“A Timeline of HIV and AIDS.” HIV.gov, 7 Nov. 2017, www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/history/hiv-and-aids-timeline.
“Conspiracy Theories.” Time, Time Inc., 20 Nov. 2008, content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860871_1860876_1861031,00.html.
Deparle, Jason. “Talk of Government Being Out to Get Blacks Falls on More Attentive Ears.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Oct. 1990, www.nytimes.com/1990/10/29/nyregion/talk-of-government-being-out-to-get-blacks-falls-on-more-attentive-ears.html?pagewanted=1.
Nattrass, Nicoli. “Understanding the Origins and Prevalence of AIDS Conspiracy Beliefs in the United States and South Africa.” Sociology of Health and Wellness, 25 Apr. 2012.
Pebody, Roger. “African American People's AIDS Conspiracy Beliefs Best Understood in Terms of Social Anxiety and Distrust, Not Ignorance.” HIV & AIDS Information, Aidsmap, 29 Jan. 2015, www.aidsmap.com/African-American-peoples-AIDS-conspiracy-beliefs-best-understood-in-terms-of-social-anxiety-and-distrust-not-ignorance/page/2940657/.
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