Policed or enforced gratitude describes a psychological and social regime where people with AIDS are expected to feel continually thankful to the very institutions that control, surveil, and often discipline their lives. It functions less as genuine appreciation and more as a subtle tool of governance. Core definition Policed gratitude can be defined as the manufactured expectation that patients must display gratitude to public health authorities, clinicians, and pharmaceutical systems as a condition of being seen as “good patients,” deserving of care, social sympathy, and full citizenship. It operates where access to treatment, social services, and moral recognition are tied to visible compliance, optimism, and endorsement of official narratives about HIV/AIDS, treatment, and risk. How it works on AIDS patients In the AIDS context, policed gratitude takes shape through: Framing ART, clinic access, and insurance coverage as extraordinary gifts rather than contested products of po...