I loved Sean Strub's article "What’s Wrong With Our Movement." I love POZ Magazine and am very grateful to everyone involved with it. But one thing—a very important piece—was missing from Strub’s speech: Personal and social responsibility on the part of people with HIV.
All these nightmare Republicans and religious fundamentalists—they represent a huge number of people and we can't just demonize them. We need to reach out to them, talk to them, and try to find common ground.
And one thing that is essential for this common ground to be found is for HIV+ people to convey to all of the right-wing that HIV+ people support personal and social responsibility—including the absolute necessity of disclosing HIV status to all sexual partners. That is 100% MY responsibility. Just as it is 100% the other person’s responsibility to ask me.
It is horrible that that man got several years in prison in Georgia for not disclosing, but it was criminal that he did not disclose, and we need to let the wider community know that we condemn that kind of irresponsibility. The fact that none of his partners tested positive is no thanks to him. (I don't know what the appropriate punishment is for that, but certainly public condemnation.)
We do need empowerment (I've been positive since dirt) and support and representation on these boards, but we also need to take responsibility for our actions and do all we can to halt the spread of the epidemic.
All the publicity about bare-backing, crystal meth, older long-term survivors losing their will to keep practicing safe sex—this is fueling the right-wing’s agenda. We cannot hope to combat their hatred and demonization of us unless we make it very clear to them that we are committed to being responsible and halting the epidemic. I don’t mean abstinence, but disclosure is absolutely non-negotiable. Sean's wonderful speech was fatally flawed for wide distribution by this oversight.
