Do you believe that Bernie Mac died from HIV induced Pneumonia?

Obviously the media is saying that Bernie Mac has died of complications of Pneumonia however I believe that he acquired the illness from a long lasting fight with HIV.

People are very secretive in disclosing this type of personal information and Bernie Mac would not have jeopardized his career 10-15 years ago revealing that he was infected with the HIV virus.

http://www.thebody.com/content/treat/art...

I suspect you are right, but I believe the answer is complicated and people need to discuss. Maybe Mac didn't but because of the powerful lobby to cloud the situation, we simply suspect. A result of being kept in the dark in general about the disease. This is partly because of the lack of concern of health dangers to minority populations and because of our own politics.

In the 80s there was a national scare and it was considered a public health crisis therefore the CDC had to publish the truth. Then because of homophobia, and powerful gay rights activism, the courts shut down the public's right to know specific cases. The CDC knows of course and for African-American men in that age group AIDs related illnesses is the 2nd leading cause of death. But notice how almost no celebrity has died of AIDS related illnesses in over a decade. But many black celebrities are dying young from rare variant illnesses we didn't die from before 15 years ago? Including some illnesses that don't kill people in general. What, no outcry to investigate the causes? Maybe because it's known. We are used to murder, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes--okay Luther had some of these but we still don't know why he died... But rare variant liver cancer, leukemia, pneumonia? Just think of all the young black celebs who died premature pre-1980 and post.cont.

This is really due to the rulings of the courts. However, for black americans the numbers are comparable to some countries in Africa. America as a whole AIDS is no longer a health crisis and because of the homophobic reaction in the 80s and 90s, the truth is no longer reported. As it is now the number one killer of young black women, and number two for black men in this country, it is not considered a national health crisis. Shows you how much certain populations matter. If you read the CDC reports you will see the truth. The drugs / treatments work differently on different populations and some populations are entirely ignored. Even if you are rich and black the odds are against you when research/ treatment for people in your community is simply not happening. It's not the numbers of people who are suffering it is the cost/benefit to the pharma companies funding the research/developing the cures. A couple rich black celebrities can't offset that. A public outcry could demand better research but that's also political.
I have some friends and relatives with HIV and they are for the most part plump and healthy looking then maybe one month their T-levels drop, they contract something and within a couple of weeks they turn into skeletons as doctors work frantically to turn it around. If they are lucky, find the right combo in time, they recover but more often than not the black americans are more likely to die. Two of my friends who have had it the longest, one a white biologist, the other a well to do black celebrity have had it since the early 80s. The white guy has never been near death but the black guy several times, he leaves the public eye while sick, and when he comes back he looks as healthy as ever but it is sometimes very close.
For the companies it is all cost/benefit(I've worked for a large pharma company as a risk analyst) For the black population it is a desire not to have more pathologies of our communities exposed (IHIV is actually hard to transmit disease in comparison to other diseases) both here and in Africa, Scientist I know at the CDC talk of the political push not to offend even as people die. So they make their statistics available that show the huge jump in black women with HIV here. That 90% those women claim their men are straight that the same surveys show that 60% of bisexual black men with HIV claim they've had unprotected sex with multiple women without telling them their HIV status in the previous 12 mos. A well known black gay activist published the responses from the women and not from the men on his site to quiet everyone investigating the MSM connection behind the huge numbers of HIV black women. His circle even claims that the women are sleeping with drug users even though the CDC statistics show that's not the source. The CDC knows, they can even genetically match strains of the virus and they track its path and spread.

I am far more intrigued by the politics of this disease than an individual celebrity that we can't possibly know for sure. I do think as long as our community is more concerned about shame than the truth, we will continue to suffer because we won't publicly demand better treatments because we don't want this activity looked at too closely/ our dirty laundry getting aired.

My college health counselor singled out young black women for a seminar and told us she makes her husband wear a condom and said I don't know what my man is doing when I'm not around, and looking at us said, and you don't know what your man is doing when you are not around. That was the closest she was allowed to speak about what she knew.

We have a real problem with education in our communities when people don't realize that immune difficiency/disorder can be a less charged way of saying "Acquired Immune Difficiency Syndrome" It's embarrasing really. And no wonder it (HIV, AIDS) continue to plague our community.

Source(s):
CDC reports on african americans and HIV

Hi, he had a lung disorder and that is what he died of. I know that there is a stigma with pneumonia related deaths linked to HIV, while perhaps that was more so back in the late 80's, early 90's, I can assure you that there are a lot worse diseases out there than HIV today. HIV is quite manageable today, the meds are great, and the treatments are getting better and better, and if Mac did have HIV (which he didnt), he would probably be alive right now. Lung diseases for the most part are very deadly, and unfortunately his condition caught up with him.

The family disclosed what it had to disclose to the public, I dont believe anyone needs any further details on his condition. Nor would they have to send out a statement saying Bernie Mac definitely did not die of AIDS related complications to satisfy everyone's curiosity. Point is, I believe what his publisher said is accurate. Bernie Mac suffered from a lung condition and it got the best of him, that's it. RIP Bernie Mac.

Bernie Mac had a disease called Sarcoidosis. here is an excerpt of what it is.
It's an immune system disorder that affects tens of thousands of Americans. Symptoms include a persistent cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, night sweats, weight loss, small red bumps on the face, arms or buttocks, red, watery eyes, and arthritis in the ankles, elbows, wrists and hands, according to the Mayo Clinic. Most cases are mild, but severe cases can cause scarring in the lungs, a complication that occurs in 20 to 25 percent of patients.

The deficiency in his lungs aided in the pneumonia outbreak and thus made his body weaker. AIDS was not a factor. Immune deficiancy does NOT mean HIV or AIDS.

It occurred to me too. It is very unusual for people in this country to die of "complications from pneumonia" if their immune systems have not been weakened in some way, and HIV is one of the most common causes.

I hope not, simply because it would be particularly sad if this were another case of an African-American man being too ashamed to admit he had HIV and seek treatment, a la Eazy E over a decade ago...

The lung disease he had was reportedly UNRELATED to the pneumonia or the cause of his death. That has been widely confirmed. But by the way, having multiple health problems is also consistent with advanced stages of HIV/AIDS.

Yes, Yes, Yes.. I do believe he had HIV. Infect, I had those feeling towards him over a year ago. I am physic and often get intense feeling that are right. I told a friend that he had HIV and they did not believe me. I have now rec'd a few calls and they are telling me.. Yvette you are right, you are right...

The next one to go is George Michael of HIV and also the other actress that Bernie Mac slept with such as Demi moore.. and a few other. We are going to hear a lot about other coming up with the same infections. Just watch and see!!!!

Hello people.....Mr. Mac died from pneumonia. Not the sarcodosis. The pneumonia was not a complication/or result of the sarcoidosis. However, should have had HIV/AIDS, it should not make a difference to any of us unless you have had any bodily fluid exchange with him. They are the only peeps that should be concerned at this moment. R.I.P....Bernie Mac

I love Bernie Mac dearly. I think it was HIV too. If you do your research sarcadosis is closely linked to HIV patients. He did go through a sick phase as HIV patients do, then their bodies get use to the disease and the drugs. They regain weight and live regular lives until something else overtakes their body (cause by the lack of an immune system). I watched a relative suffer the same fate. And we blamed another disease too. It happens more than you know.

R.I.P Bernie.

WTF? No. He died from pneumonia. He had a lung disorder. If he had died from AIDS, which is when people start to get sick enough to die, we would have seen him wasting and it would have been apparent it was more than what they were telling us. I've seen someone die from AIDS, not HIV, and they looked like skeletons at the end. Bernie was not dealing with AIDS.

Let's wait for something to surface. Some sort of untold story. But it is very strange that celibrity dies from such a lame and treatabl disease. Could be AIDS related. Like the gangsta rapper Easy E. He also looked fine in his last days. They have medicines to keep you going and boost you up for this ****. Wear a condom....check the seats for needles at the theatre...abstinence is key...Sto ******* men or girls in the poop chute...everyone is HIV positive until proven negative by a test

R.I.P Bernie

I believe he did. However I also respect his decision to keep it quiet if he did have it. At the same time he could have been a powerful advocate for HIV prevention if he did have it and came out to the public about his struggles.

W3LL iM SUR3 DHAT YAHOO! WULDNT POST SUMTHiN AS S3RiOUS AS THiS. THAT WULD B3 R3TARD3D AND TH3Y WULD HAV3
LOST A LOT OF MON3Y. SO THiNK B3FOR3 YOU POST.

this story has potential

who knows

iT'S NOT CAUSE MY HiV. iT'S A TYPE OF LUNG CANCER. i LOOKED iT UP ON THE iNTERNET. GET YOUR FACTS RiGHT.

Why can't we just take the publicists word? What difference would it make if you knew he had h.i.v.?