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Hi Peter, Good to see you posting. Keep Well, John(2038)
It frustrates the Hell out of me. I'm 51 and as have the ones of us to have lived this long with AIDS and watching so many friends and loved ones die in the 80's and 90's, I actually get mad knowing that every day there are still young men in this country getting this disease. We know how it got here, where it came from and how to prevent it...Not to mention the hundreds of men and women who lost their lives. Yet here we are still telling people to protect themselves. Why are you testing positive ??? It really upsets me to think of the past horrors I lived through while all my friends were dying. (I was diagnosed with ARC in 1988 ) I'm not as "understanding" and compassionate as I should be I suppose. Somehow it gets lost in the volumes of tragedy...PTSD they say now. I actually find myself aggravated by these "newbies"...Have you NOT been listening ? Of course I also realize that lots of them weren't even born yet...Doesn't THAT make you feel old ? I'm not sure where I'm going with this but, I have seen far too much of this disease. The stigma, countless funerals etc. It's not over. WHY are we still saying the same things over and over again that still every day seem to go unheard by this younger generation ??? Why ???
MichaelWisc
No doubt some wonderful documentaries that should be seen. The 'history' is here in printed form but not widely read anymore since most of the younger generation wants the immediacy of film, YouTube or something that they can acquire and watch on a 17" screen or cell phone. Randy Schiltz's phenomenal book 'And The Band Played On' is always a must read. Most guys under thirty have no idea that the movie was extracted from this ground breaking book. His other - and final piece - 'Conduct Unbecoming' is so great that I would even present that it is better than his first. There are countless others gathering dust in some forgotten aisle of a library. They resonated with me back then possibly because it WAS such a subject of taboo but more importantly answered and asked some questions that no one - politicians, media, educators, etc., were daring to ask. I tend to agree with Patrick - they (the 'newbies') just don't seem to get it or dismiss it since they're made of Kryptonite. The continuation of this plague only solidifies our enemies and perpetuates their bigoted and uneducated assumptions and our younger generation (some - but certainly not all) are playing right into their hands. Those who denigrate us won't watch these documentaries nor will they read these books. For them, the ability to re-evaluate their positions holds no possibility. Let's hope that those who can make a difference DO watch and learn.
January 15, 2012