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Not Gone, But Forgotten
By: Michael Weinstein, Frontiers In LA
Los Angeles, CA - October 1, 2009
I am sailing this week aboard the Celebrity Solstice in the Mediterranean on an Atlantis Cruise. For those of you who have not had this opportunity, it is a revelation. An absolutely beautiful boat with an abundance of food, entertainment and amenities. The 2,600 people aboard are mostly gay men. Of course, they are also on vacation and trying to avoid any cares or worries.
The subject of AIDS is definitely not on the agenda. When in the course of casual conversation I am asked what I do, I say I am the president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. A couple of people say that’s great. But mostly the reaction is a mixture of discomfort and regret for having asked, and no one wants to know more. This is in sharp contrast to how the same group would have reacted ten years ago.
There are no reminders of the very significant health crisis which still plagues gay men—with a couple of exceptions. There are men who obviously suffer from the side effects of HIV drug treatment. This could be easily ignored while viewing the vast array of beautiful, scantily clad young men. One afternoon there was an announcement over the PA system that one of my shipmates had forgotten their Norvir at home, asking if anyone on board had any extra. Norvir is a key component of many HIV drug cocktails.
Recently, Gov. Schwarzenegger wiped out the entire California state contribution to the AIDS budget and there was very little reaction from the community. In one stroke of the pen, the governor wiped out 28 years of community activism and it barely made a wave. This could be seen as a sign of progress. Gay life is no longer dominated by the plague of AIDS. We are free to live our lives without this dark cloud hanging over us. Why are people like me always trying to ruin the party? For one simple reason—we are still in a crisis.
How can it be a crisis after almost three decades? Isn’t a crisis by definition time-limited? And people simply aren’t dying like they were.
AIDS is still a crisis because new infections are still out of control. We are still on track for the next generation to be as infected as the last. AIDS is still a killer. Complacency about the one-third of our community being kept alive by a chemical pipeline that is primarily supported with shrinking government funding is dangerous.
The glory of the gay community’s ability to entertain and distract has to be balanced with cognizance of the ever present consequences of HIV. It will continue to be the job of people like me to remind people of the threat. Our community rose to the occasion in the 1980s and mounted a magnificent response to this epidemic. We can do it again. So party on, stay safe and help however you can. AIDS is not gone, and if we try to forget about it, this crafty virus will punish us once again.
- Frontiers In LA
http://www.frontierspublishing.com/2811/consliving/cs_hivliving.html
