Something we have known for a very long time. Being part of the vanguard of the information age and aspiring to achieve AIDS starlet-dom as he terms it, Jim puts up an AOL profile to expand the sexual delivery system. He identifies himself as HIV positive and discovers that there are many responses to his posting, especially from men who want unprotected sex. Additionally, he fails to point out that safe sex, namely, the condom use that he so readily eschews, helps control syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis, intestinal parasites and a whole host of other damaging infections. Again, treatment options become muddled and keep on chipping away at the quality of life, putting undue stress on already stressed organs.
Condoms are necessary nuisances at least for now.
Unfortunately, this is part and parcel of the disease. Jim gives voice to all those who hate using condoms. He articulated that, given the right conditions, even the most strident of us can relapse. I think where he fails his readers is by not stating that his decision is clearly personal and that the scale is decidedly tipped in favor of condom use.