Eazy-E, born Eric Wright, was an American rap star and formerly a member of NWA. He was known for his truthful lyrics and blatant honesty about the neighborhood and city he grew up in, Compton. Despite his name, life for him wasn't easy. He sold drugs when he was younger and engaged in the fast lifestyle of a gangbanger. He dropped out of high school but later earned his GED. He was an associate of the Crips gang. In later life he became a member of the highly influential group NWA. I won't say what NWA stands for, but if you grew up in the 80's, I'm sure you already know. NWA disbanded around the time (1991) that he was accused of stealing money from the group.
Life after NWA showed mild success. He had some solo contributions between 1991 and 1994. In March of 1995 he was admitted to the hospital with flu like symptoms. He was immediately diagnosed with AIDS. He came out publicly with his diagnosis while in the hospital. About his diagnosis, he said "I'm not looking to blame anyone but myself." He died on March 26, 1995, ten days after his diagnosis. Eazy-E was one of the first straight rap singers that publicly acknowledged the AIDS crisis and is instrumental in helping kids in the 'hood realize that not everyone who is infected with HIV/AIDS is a gay white man.
Freddie Mercury was the lead singer of the rock opera group Queen. Queen can be heard at any football game today with hits such as "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions". Freddie was private about his homosexuality to his fans and the public, but it was widely known amongst his circle of friends that he was gay. His performances were always very dramatic and flamboyant, to say the least. There is a statue of him in Switzerland standing in a rock star pose. I hope to visit it one day.
Freddie was diagnosed with HIV in the spring of 1987. This information was withheld from the public. One can only assume that he didn't disclose his status for fear of discrimination. He died on November 24, 1991, from complications of pneumonia resulting from AIDS. He had only made a public statement about his status to his fans one day prior. The remaining members of Queen have established the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which has raised millions of dollars for the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Did you know?
Is there a fine line between HIV discrimination and a dangerous position? In 2009 an HIV positive Green beret that was to work protecting diplomats in Haiti sued the State Department because he was removed from training. His job would consist of throwing himself in the front of bullets and protecting high end foreign diplomats. The security firm that he worked for stated in the contract that workers are not to have any communicable diseases.
Federal law states that we must "promote employment for those with disabilities, but it is not intended to do so at the risk of their own health or the safety of others" (Davidson, 2009). I like to think that I am firmly against HIV discrimination in the workplace, but this case has me thinking. There could be a lot of bloodshed when the bullets are flying. The risk of the worker and the person he is protecting of both having open wounds is quite high. This case is different than other work scenarios that I have presented, where the risk is minimal.
What do you think? I thought I was on the fence with this one, but I think common sense states that job requirements for a position that could have a high risk of transmission, such as this one, should be carefully considered when determining if discrimination exists or not.
The first thing I thought Cindy was why an HIV positive person would take a job with potential bloodshed. It is obvious that if anything happened to him and he were to bleed, there would be risk of transmission to those around him. That makes me wonder, what if you are in the army? There is potential for bloodshed there too. I wonder how they would handle such a situation. There are tons of people in the army. It is hard to believe that there is not one HIV positive person engaged in battle.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your celebrities. I am familiar with both of them. I think it was really courageous of Eazy-E to admit he was HIV positive. Celebrities are in the limelight so much, they should stand up for a cause more often.
I was wondering why everyone chose Eazy-E because I had no idea who he was. He was indeed a good choice because he made people realize that even rappers can die from AIDS.
ReplyDeleteThis Did You Know made me sit back and think for a little while. If he openly told his employees that he had HIV, then I would just assume if blood was shed that they would have the supplies needed. This is the same with any job such as sports. If a football player bleeds what do they do? Or if a gymnast gets a blister on the bars and her hand bleeds on the same bars that every gymnast in the gym uses.. If you are open about it I am sure there will be discrimination, but at the same time people will be able to take necessary precautions to have the blood cleaned.
I have heard of Eazy-E but I did not know that he came openly admitted that he had AIDS. I also didn't know that he died so soon after his diagnosis. I am glad that at that critical time he was brave enough to tell people his status. It was important then, and still is now, to understand that anyone could become infected and that it was not a gay disease. Very informative post.
ReplyDeleteMy age will be showing on Eazy-E. I had no idea who he was. Too bad he didn't come out earlier. Just think of all the good he may have done.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is willing to take a bullet for me and I know of their status, then precautions can be taken if and when that happens. Depending on where he was serving, that likelihood may have been minimal. The operative word here is, his employer knowing and those he was guarding.
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