SOUNDBITES — “Part of it for my generation, I could see it in the eyes of the audience last night. It just brings back such horrible memories. I’ve lived for 10 years with the knowledge that I had the virus in my body before the treatment was available. Some folks just can’t deal. But we really have to acknowledge that the depths of commitment is not there. It’s not what we saw in the past. I hate having to say this, but I think it’s a racial issue. The infections have become more prevalent among communities of color. The face of AIDS is always changing and more complicated than showed by the media. Many are young people of color and they tend to be poor. There’s a regrettable reality and much less solidarity from the community. And it saddens me.” — Activist and National Equality March organizer Cleve Jones on whether “men of his generation” have abandoned the fight against AIDS
cleve jones
Are We Less Concerned About Fighting AIDS Because It’s Become An Issue For … Blacks?
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Anthony in Nashville
I think there’s a number of factors behind the lack of concern about AIDS.
1. it’s become seen as a black (esp in regards to straight women) and/or poor disease
2. burnout after nearly 30 years of being defined by AIDS
3. faith in PreP and cocktails. people think it’s manageable now like diabetes.
Timmeeeyyy
Or it could be that HIV is no longer an automatic death sentence that it was. Many people now view HIV (correctly or not) as a manageable chronic disease.
Chitown Kev
Well. It’s a lot of things.
I think the digital divide may even be a small factor in this.
Info about HIV and AIDS is readily available. Testing is readily available.
Affordable health care for poor communities IS a problem. This is one of the big reasons that HCR is needed
Some black communities (esp. conservative religious blacks) are still in denial and say that it’s a gay disease. You can’t help those with problems that deny that there’s a problem.
It’s lots of things.
Charles Merrill
It’s also about the government’s interest in AIDS. $24 Billion for AIDS in the Federal Budget. I remember when there was none, and Reagan would not even mention AIDS. Part of the energy behind ACT UP was to get Federal funding and for NIH to find a vaccine.
Charles Merrill
@Charles Merrill: Cleve is trying to stir up a socialist movement using poor blacks as a talking point.
anthony
This was pretty true. Society only cares when it happens to middle or upper class white people. People will argue that statement but reality has made it clear.
PatrickD
A big part is Burn out. Personally, I’d been doing aids related work since the mid 80’s. In the late 90’s, at our local aids clinic there was me, another old GWM and a room full of young men of various other backgrounds. Who did they come up to to ask to volunteer? Yup. US. When asked, they said that we OWED them(meaning the younger guys) because it was GWM’s that brought aids to the States. ‘Course, that WAS San Francisco…..
Qjersey
Cleve may have a point on the larger societal level, but within the gay male community…AIDS is well, meh.
Boys just wanna have fun and so what if I get tweaked out and take loads all weekend and become poz, I’ll just go get on medications (through ADAP).
I’m in my 40’s and “still HIV neg” however, far too many of the 20 somethings I have met and played with over the last few years have seroconverted…and they all had have a few weeks of boo-hooing, and then go on meds…and keep on barebacking with strangers.
If a guy says to me “it’s okay for you to top me raw…I know you’re safe,” I’m probably not the only one who has gotten that special offer.
It’s easy to tell which guys are into playing safe…they have the condoms sitting right there out in the open or the minute it looks like someone it gonna get fucked…they reach right for the condoms under the bed or in the nightstand. (and the safe playing bottoms usually have a selection of condoms in assorted sizes).
I hate that awkward moment where I say to myself “this guy would totally let me fuck him raw” or “this guy doesn’t usually play safe” (because he has to look for the condoms), and that is actually a turn off.
Charles Merrill
What steps can the gay community do to help ? How does one do outreach to the black community that are in denial ? The government has the billions allocated to fight and treat AIDS. Are they turning young black gay men away at clinics for treatment and education ? If so this is the fault of the Obama administration.
PatrickD
@Charles Merrill: It’s hardly the Obama admins fault, since this has been going on even before the cocktails….
PatrickD
@Qjersey: A big reason I stopped going to support groups. As someone who got Infected in a relationship back in the early 80’s, I don’t have much in common with Guys who either figured that they didn’t have to worry about aids because:
It’s a Gay Disease
A White Gay Disease
It’s a “manageble condition, just like Diabetes”
Listening to them complain about having to take a couple pills a couple times a day when I’d had so many friends Pass because there wasn’t ANYTHING and many had “got it” before we knew how to prevent it got “old” real quick.
In some ways the Meds arrived too soon before safer sex practices became culturally Ingrained.
Jason
Everything is less of an issue when it affects the blacks.
We are a racist country.
Charles Merrill
@PatrickD: If you think it is racism in the gay community do you have a plan to improve the situation?
PatrickD
@Charles Merrill: Yup. I don’t volunteer anymore.I’ll let those who haven’t spent a couple of decades teaching/talking/hauranging/etc folks who figure it’s a Gay or White or male or American problem(no matter how much data shows they aren’t the only ones who the virus can Infect)have the “joy” of Working without pay for those who consider you a wet blanket on their fun or an alarmist about a Gay White Man’s Problem…..
Chitown Kev
@Charles Merrill:
Maybe you start with the black communities that are not in denial.
Also, there is a big part of me that kinda sorta agrees with Patrick D and I am a gay black male. I mean, you can lead the horse to water…
Charles Merrill
@Chitown Kev: You have a point. HIV positive black spokespeople like Magic Johnson are sending a silent message of good health after infection. Does Magic ever mention the word “Gay”.
Chitown Kev
@Charles Merrill:
No he doesn’t that I know of.
You do bring up something interesting. You’d have figured that after the death of Arthur Ashe and Magic Johnson’s admission that there would be more awareness in the black community than there is.
What infuriates me, somewhat, is that the infection rate of black women (and this is tragic, don’t get me wrong) has come at the expense and the erasure of black gay men and even the scapegoating of all gay men.
But again, not everyone in black communities is in denial. I would say begin there and by and large avoid black churches.
Freeman
@Jason: I agree completely.
kishfan
I don’t think you can ever overlook the power of stigmatization. Seriously, its got nothing to do what-so-ever with race. The reason we “don’t care” about HIV and AIDS now is simply because we view it as totally avoidable and often blame the person that got it. The only real reason it even got attention at all in the 1980s is because it could be gotten through no “fault” at all.
PatrickD
@kishfan: There is that and I can understand the attitude. I myself look at the stats and look back at all the yrs I volunteered, taught, etc and feel that I wasted them. I mean, we didn’t know how you got GRID, you basically have to be intentionally ignorant to not know how HIV is spread in the 1st World. Here, the only way a Witch can give you it is if you two don’t use protection or share needles. No Black Magic need apply…