The porn industry is in the midst of crisis.

In July, I wrote about the downfall of Playboy and the disgustingness of Penthouse. People were upset that we even mentioned Playboy or Penthouse on the site.

We’ve written about it in the past. A lot of guys like porn, even good guys. But despite the ubiquity of the medium, an HIV scare in the industry barely makes the news.

In case you haven’t heard, here’s what happened:

The multibillion-dollar porn industry located in the San Fernando valley of southern California has been thrown into crisis after one of its performers tested positive for HIV. The discovery was made at the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, AIM, a clinic that carries out mandatory testing for about 1,200 porn actors in the valley every month. The clinic has refused to reveal the gender of the performer or which studio he or she worked for, but it has started to track down all other actors known to have been exposed and is now quarantining them until they can also be tested. Two major studios have temporarily suspended filming: Vivid Entertainment, which is probably the largest porn-production company in the world, and Wicked Pictures. Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free

Get the jokes out now.

As things go in the porn industry, if one guy gets infected, anyone is vulnerable. Everyone is sexually connected in one way or another. This is, literally, a full-blown HIV crisis. And now it’s come out that the infected actor is gay-to-straight. Yet it’s not all over the news.

As Bill Simmons tweeted last night:

Can you imagine if the sports industry had to shut down indefinitely because of one person? I’m pretty sure this would lead SportsCenter.

He might be a sports writer, but he’s spot-on. The shutdown of an entire multibillion-dollar industry should be headline news, but since it’s porn—a dirty, taboo subject—it’s not. While it’s a personal choice to get involved with porn, this is the actors’ livelihood. And if an HIV infection is an occupational hazard, shouldn’t this be something we’re talking about?

Whether you’re for, against, or indifferent to porn, the fact is that it still exists. Porn as a concept—vicariously enjoyed pleasure—is not the issue. Plenty of porn exists that promotes healthier sexuality—and humane business practices. But the unfortunate state of the industry—its exploitative nature, its lax safety regulations (mandatory testing and condom use can’t legally coexist?)—is very much at fault.

By watching it, the truth is that we’re condoning an industry that’s fundamentally fucked-up. And, worse, by ignoring it (or being afraid to talk about it), we’re admitting that what’s happened is fine, expected, unremarkable—or worse, deserved. As if the actors and actresses, having entered the world of adult entertainment, surrendered their rights to safety.

There is no moral conflict with talking about porn. When I wrote about the financial and fundamental failure of Playboy, people were upset. When Tom Matlack got us syndicated in Penthouse, readers were outraged. They weren’t mad at Playboy or Penthouse, they were mad at us for having a conversation about porn.

But the further the porn industry gets from the public conversation, the easier it is to ignore a very preventable outbreak of life-threatening diseases. Whether we need to fix the porn industry or try to put an end to it (highly unlikely), we need to talk about it. And that’s just not happening.