- Derrick Monasterio made an insensitive joke about HIV/AIDS, mainly AIDS.
- Although a fictional situation, Jasmine Curtis-Smith called him an “a$$.”
- People with HIV/AIDS remains the true palaban on fighting the stigma.
Derrick Monasterio recently went under fire after sharing an insensitive joke about HIV/AIDS. Many reacted negatively on Derrick’s Instagram Story. Many even slid into his DMs then, lectured him.
Twitter user, @mykapalaran, quote tweeted a screenshot of Derrick’s “joke” and wrote: End of career.
Award-winning actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith, then, replied to the said tweet.
“What an a$$!!!!”
Let us take this time to educate Derrick and people who didn’t understand the said illness.
HIV/AIDS refer to conditions usually caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). When the infection progresses, it, then, interferes with the immune system which could lead to common infections like tuberculosis. This also could lead to other opportunistic infections and tumors which rarely affect people with working immune systems. The late symptoms of infection can also be referred to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
This stage could often associate with severe weight loss as the immune system starts to weaken. HIV would transmit through unprotected sexual intercourse, contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles and in some cases, intermittent breastfeeding. Bodily fluids such as saliva and tears do NOT transmit HIV.
@mykapalaran, then, replied to her tweet with a photo of Derrick’s response to someone calling him out. The person who called Derrick out replied to his Instagram Story to educate him about the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.
“It would really mean a lot if will educate yourself about HIV/AIDS. These people are already stigmatized and ostracized by society and making their condition the butt of jokes only make things worse for them.”
“Someone like you who is privileged to be under the spotlight could help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.”
This earned Derrick’s response where he admitted that he should have been more sensitive.
“Yeaah i do not have a friend who has aids, as i’ve said just got it on twitter. And i saw your tweet about it. People thought i really did that.”
“Should have been more sensitive and of course if it would happen in real life i wouldn’t treat it as a joke”
Although, it had been a fictional situation, Derrick did make it look like HIV/AIDS remains a laughing matter.
“No, I totally get that what you posted was all made up. People get that it was a fictional situation. We took issue with the post because you made it seem like HIV/AIDS is a laughing matter when in reality people SUFFER from the stigma of having this.”
Derrick may or may have apologized but HIV/AIDS remains a serious matter. HIV/AIDS deteriorates the physical health of the person who has it. However, sometimes it also damages the mental health of a patient. It could lead to depression and sometimes, even suicide.
First of all, the stigma around HIV/AIDS causes alienation and discrimination. People always associate HIV/AIDS with death. Sometimes, they could also associate with behaviors that some people greatly disapprove of like homosexuality, drug use, sex work and/or infidelity. Many people also think that HIV can ONLY be transmitted through sex which remains as a taboo subject in many cultures.
