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My Name Is Aaron Laxton and I'm HIV Positive

My name is Aaron Laxton and I am HIV positive. You have either stumbled upon this video or someone has sent it to you; either way, listen and learn. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV is not spread...

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Day 450: HIV Anti-Criminalization

In this video I talk about my recent trip to Washington, D.C., as well as my current work toward HIV anti-criminalization efforts, not only in Missouri, but nationally. Also I am working on my workshop...

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Eviction of a California LGBT/HIV Organization

Have you heard that recently a California LGBT/HIV organization was evicted out the office that they were leasing and told that they were "spreading disease"? This is appalling. What can we do to help?...

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A Day With HIV Awareness/Anti-Stigma Campaign

Whether you are positive or negative, we are all affected by HIV. Take your best shot by taking part in A Day With HIV, the awareness and anti-stigma campaign presented by Positively Aware magazine. On...

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Caught on Tape: HIV Discrimination and Ignorance by a Police Officer in Michigan

Are you kidding me? Another example of the stigma that faces those who are living with HIV. This time it was caught on tape.The video shows Dearborn Police Officer David Lacey telling Shalandra Jones...

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Vote or Die?

As much as activists get noticed there is something that every person can do that has the potential of changing society: voting! I encourage all of my viewers to register to vote and on November 6,...

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Facing the Past of Addiction

In this video I talk about a moment in which I am reminded of the person that I was when I relapsed on crystal. I have been clean for 265 days and with each day it gets easier. Being in recovery means...

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Day 497: Getting a Cold With HIV

Many times when you are newly diagnosed there is a tendency to freak out and think that death is near when you get sick. This is not reality. As people who are living with HIV we must learn about our...

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If You Are HIV Positive and Voting for Mitt Romney ... Would You Like to...

I do not know how anyone that is HIV positive could think about voting for Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney does not care about HIV or other pre-existing conditions and he does not care about you. With current...

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I Am Gay, a U.S. Army Veteran, HIV Positive ... and Voting for President Obama

With the U.S. Presidential election only days away, I will take this moment to encourage you to get out the vote. I am not simply voting as a gay man, or as a veteran or even as a person living with...

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National Health Blog Month Day 1: Why I Write About My Health

HIV is only one very small piece of who I am. At the end of the day, HIV doesn't negatively impact my life. That's the greatest message, and that's why I blog about HIV.Read more ...

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A Strategy for the Holiday Season

For many of us, HIV can be stressful and make us feel as if no one loves us. In this video I talk about some things that you can do to safeguard against depression as the holidays approach. Your HIV...

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I Have HIV and Current Laws Say I Am a Criminal

According to the current criminal statutes in Missouri I am considered a felon. It does not matter that I disclose my HIV status to another person, and it does not matter that I use protection. As...

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Day 547: Remembering That I Am HIV Infected

Last night I had a dream and in it I was quite scared. Every now and then something will remind me that I am infected with a virus that without drug intervention and treatment would lead to extreme...

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Day 571: Nausea ... Need I Say More?

So many people think that you are only sick when you first become infected with HIV and that is simply not true. Part of living with HIV can be dealing with nausea related to HIV as well as from the...

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A Worthless Foster Kid for Life?

Worldwide I have gained notoriety for "My HIV Journey." However, HIV is only one aspect of who I am. Being a foster child and the associated trauma is something that I struggle with daily. I was taken...

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AIDS, Grief and Loss: Pain of Being Alive

This is a video aimed at addressing the loss that many long-term survivors face. There can be pain associated with the loss as well as with simply still being alive. Do you have these feelings?Read...

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On a Trip to Memphis: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and My Activism

As an activist and advocate it is always good to take time and re-dedicate yourself to change. During my recent trip to Memphis, Tenn., USA, I visited the place in which Dr. King was assassinated and I...

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HIV Meds and False Positives on Drug Tests

Recently I took a drug test and found that I tested positive for THC or marijuana. After doing some research I discovered that many HIV meds can cause false positives on drug screens. This video talks...

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One HIV-Infected Queer's Response to the State of the Union Address

Recently the news of a school massacre with twenty children killed galvanized media outlets around the world. In the days and weeks after, politicians from both sides of the aisle dug in for what would...

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The Changing Face of HIV/AIDS Activism

Ask anyone involved in HIV/AIDS activism about the current state of the movement and the answers might range anywhere from stagnated, stalled or quite possibly a bit more optimistic, citing the phrase...

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My HIV Journey: Videos of My First Months on HIV Meds, and Where I Am Now

I am simply a guy who on June 6, 2011, received the news that more than 33 million people have received: I am HIV positive. I decided in that moment to record the journey that I was embarking on so...

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Two Years Since My HIV Diagnosis

Today is two years since I was diagnosed with HIV. If you would've told me two years ago that I would be, at this very moment of my life, healthier than I'd ever been, probably more emotionally healthy...

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Am I Responsible for My Friend's HIV Infection, Addiction and Death?

Do we have an obligation to intervene when our friends are engaging in behaviors that are dangerous and potentially deadly? Some of my closest friends and peers are shooting, snorting and sleeping...

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What if Ryan White Had Been Black?

Unless you have been under a rock recently, you are aware that the fastest-growing group of new HIV infections in the United States is African Americans and Latinos age 13-24, according to the Center...

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Have We Reached a Point Where AIDS Is Funny?

I rolled over and completed my morning stretch. The first thing that I reached for, as I always do, was my iPhone. I went through my morning ritual of checking emails, text messages and then making my...

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"Live Your Life": Thanks and Encouragement to the HIV Community for 2014 (Video)

In this special holiday entry, Aaron reflects on his journey -- and the more than 200 videos he's posted since his life-changing HIV diagnosis two and a half years ago.Read more ...

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HIV Prevention and "Click It or Ticket": Are New Devices Safe?

After doing research on new safety devices being proposed to protect drivers and passengers of automobiles, I have come to a conclusion: There is no need for an increase in new safety devices.Read more...

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The New Battle of New Orleans: Insurer Says "Ryan White No Good"

There is a new battle raging in the deep-south that without doubt could have implications for everyone living with HIV/AIDS across the United States. Louisiana has found itself in a battle between...

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Where Would We Be Without AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)?

This is a very loaded question and one that is without doubt going invoke debate and conversation. For all of the negative things that people say and read about AHF (AIDS Healthcare Foundation) there...

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Meth, PrEP and What Could Have Been

Let me take a second to de-bunk a commonly held myth: "Meth is not fun or pleasurable." That simply is not true, in the beginning. The fact is that there is something about the experience of using meth...

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I Am Considered an HIV Criminal

"Why should I care about HIV criminalization? People who purposely expose others to the virus should face justice." This response is nothing new. By now, I am well-acquainted with answering the...

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Let HIV-Negative People Decide Their Own Prevention!

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a proven concept. Regardless of whether opponents want to admit it or not, "bio-medical prevention" IS the key to reducing new-HIV infections in the highest-risk...

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The Real Casualties in the PrEP-Battle

I sit waiting at a coffee shop in the Central West End at the Washington University in St. Louis Medical School. This meeting, like most these days, are spent working on strategic planning for...

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Ferguson, Missouri, Activism and ACT UP

By now, Ferguson, Missouri has gained international attention. Being a 4th generation-resident of St. Louis, I wish the attention was for reasons other than police brutality, riots and the death of an...

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I am a Survivor of Intimate Partner Violence

My name is Aaron M. Laxton. I am an award-winning International HIV/AIDS activist. I am a social worker, a writer. What I want you to know however is that I am also a survivor of intimate partner...

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Why You Might Not Want to Start HIV Medications

There are a lot of considerations that go into a decision to start medications for HIV. It is true that the earlier that a person starts medications, the better the long-term outcomes. I am a realist,...

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Let Me Clear My Throat on White Men in Communities of Color

Recently communities of color have ignited a movement that has taken the world by storm in the wake of the Mike Brown and Eric Garner cases. The problem being highlighted is one that goes back to the...

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Is Michael Johnson's Life a Black Life That Matters?

Fresh off of the heels of civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri in response to the death of Michael Brown, Jr., the nation was left with the question of whether black lives matter. Institutional systems...

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Day 1 of Michael Johnson Trial: Jury Selection

Greetings everyone!I am providing a summary in an effort to keep everyone in the loop. Jury selection kicked off around 9:45 a.m. on Monday, May 11. There were 51 prospects in the jury pool. Half men,...

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Day 2 of Michael Johnson Trial: Opening Statement and Initial Testimony

Jurors today heard opening statements from the prosecuting attorney. The State alleges that Johnson exposed 2 to HIV without their knowledge and that they subsequently became infected. The State also...

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Charlie Sheen Has the Right to Privacy

Today the media and tabloids are circling around Charlie Sheen reporting that they are going to disclose information about his health. It is my belief that every person has the right to privacy when it...

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Charlie Sheen's Disclosure Brings Exploitation of HIV-Positive People to Light

Right now is the moment for the light to shine on thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS who have been killed, bullied, tortured and more, simply for being HIV-positive.Charlie Sheen, an A-list...

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Falling Short: Where Charlie Sheen's Interview With Dr. Oz Didn't Hit the Mark

This week Charlie Sheen sat down with everyone's favorite television physician, Dr. Oz. As Charlie spoke with Dr. Oz, I jotted down notes. I found as the interview progressed there was a recurrent...

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Considering Gender When Exploring HIV-Trauma Therapy Interventions

Living with HIV can be traumatic on multiple levels. For each person it can be extremely different and the treatments must be adapted to each situation and case.Read more ...

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Panic Over HIV Infection While on PrEP Is Not Necessary

Social media has been abuzz today, with people sharing the news that a gay man who was taking Truvada as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) has contracted a drug-resistant strain of HIV. I can only...

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8 Ways to Fight Poverty to End HIV

If we are serious about ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic, then it is time that we look at the whole picture. Each of us are the sum of everything that makes us who we are. HIV is merely one tiny piece of...

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This is More Than the Orlando Shooting

Today, I feel sad. I feel blah and numb. Today, I question all of the strides which we have moved us forward. As an older LGBT community member, I remember a time when it was not okay to be gay. It...

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My HIV/AIDS Activism Includes Fighting for Racial Justice

The ding on Facebook alerted me to a new reply to a post I had put up hours before, responding to the news that two more men of color had been assassinated at the hands of police in two different U.S....

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How Jimmy Kimmel's Story About His Son Relates to HIV Health Care

This week Jimmy Kimmel announced on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live regarding the birth of his newborn son and a rare heart condition that would ultimately require his son, Billy Kimmel, to have open-heart...

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