AIDS education should as a matter of course include components which explain the dangers and drawbacks of AIDS discrimination. These dangers constitute not only the harmful impact on the victims of discrimination and their families and associates, but also their snowball effect: the way in which individual acts of discrimination, especially if officially sanctioned or ignored, tend to lend support to false beliefs about HIV transmission, and result in driving persons affected by HIV and AIDS further away from medical support and social assistance. AIDS campaigning is now concerning itself more with the presentation of acceptable, practical strategies for behavioral changes and with the positive reinforcement and social support of these changes. If respect and self-esteem, a sense of family and community responsibility, and a belief in nondiscrimination against those with HIV and AIDS are some of the identifiable building blocks of persuasive and effective AIDS prevention programs, then nongovernmental and community-based groups with their voluntary ethic and self-help philosophies will be well-situated to disseminate the message. 4 references.