First, let me state that I believe you to be a great advocate and resource for those of us living with HIV disease and a nice guy. Your advice is thoughtful and most often, on the money, but I find myself avoiding reading your posts due to the language you sometimes use to refer to us - "HIVers". I find it offensive and have since I first heard the term being used by PLWAS and others three decades ago. Hope you uderstand my intent. Keep up the good work. Sincerely,

David

Hi Dave,

Sorry to hear that you find the term HIVers offensive. Can I ask why? It's not only more descriptive than PLWAs and way easier/faster to type; it's also more accurate in most cases! PLWA is an acronym for People Living With AIDS. Many folks who write into the forum do not qualify for an AIDS diagnosis. That would make them PLWHIV, which looks like alphabet soup, would be a nightmare to type and would probably confuse many folks. Please note I use many descriptive titles for us: "virally enhanced," "HIVers," "positively charged," etc. So Dave, I respect your opinions, but actually I don't really "uderstand" your intent! My advice is to lighten up a bit. Haven't we HIVers got more egregious things to find offensive??? How about the GOPers trying to kill significant health care reform, or the right wingers in Uganda who want to execute all HIV-positive gay men?! That is not only offensive and shocking; it's damn immoral! I'm sure there's a special place in hell for folks who espouse such hate.

Dr. Bob