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Thank you, Mark, for explaining your position so that, hopefully, Andy can get a clue. If everyone knows so much and has no need of whatever angle of education is available, why is the MSM community still being infected; with the greatest numbers being youth? I am grateful Greg L took the opportunity to note the challenges of living with hiv. After 30 yrs, it does not define me, but it is no picnic and has, in the past, been truly life challenging due to related illnesses. As a prevention specialist in a major city, Andy just doesn't understand people who, in spite of basic knowledge, make poor choices at times. I am so glad HE gets it and NEVER screwed up and got HIV
1. Diabetes: Do not understand where you got the twisted idea that this condition is managed by 'what they eat and exercise". That only works early stages. If people do not loose weight along with it, the desease progresses. The long term effects are blindness, kidney desease and vascular desease. Before the isolation of insulin, many diabetics lived a horrible life until they died of metabolic starvation. 2. You must never have had to work with and treat ppl that smoked and eat like crap and then had a heart attack or stroke. They say sorry you have to wipe my rear and bathe them all the time. 3. Andy, I do not know how old you are, but Mr Louganis as well as myself witness the death of the generation before us dying like flies. Not knowing what was the cause, then break through of the ID of the virus; the fight for medication to be developed. Living with the fear if I am not careful today, I could be dead before I turn 30. We are the generation of promoting safer sex and caustion. The few lucky ones like him and my partner of 20yrs, just stay heathly enough til the next drug comes along. Mr Louganis made a simple statement "It's a double-edged sword. Kids are seeing us alive and thriving and all that, but I wouldn't wish my drug regimen on anyone. I mean, the things that I've been through are pretty devastating." He is right! Most of the drugs that are out right now, no one knows the effects of long term use. Many of the drugs cause people to go liver and kidney failer. Mess with the functions of the liver and cause vascular desease. The headaches days on end and the days where most of your time is spent sitting on the toilet shitting you day away. 4. The kids today. They have the wrong idea that if they do sero convert that they just have to take some meds. We are still saying please be safe so you do not have to go on the meds. The job of the each generation is to stop the next from making the same mistakes, even if to you it sounds like we are affiming our suffering for fear you other doing something stupid.
I'm so excited he's been through the highs and lows of cocktails, drama, abuse, disloyalty and still that wonderful integrity is there shining through. I have not had a drug cocktail that has worked. 5 tried, and the last has left me with cancer and kidney stones. I'm just one of those people that doesn't work with well allotherpic medicine model of the west. I have always admire and followed Greg and personally - he's my heroic mentor in deportment, character, humor, health, advocacy and character quality. If we had a AIDS Wish Foundation I would totally love a day at the beach with lunch with Greg Louganis. It would be the greatest single dream of my life. And if it does not happen, it doesn't need to - I'm so blessed to have followed his career, his happiness and recovery from trauma, and his ability to thrive with dignity. Greg - you inspired me to light up my own star and dazzle. I will be ever grateful. Thank you, Vancouver, BC Canada
At the end of the day the guy is in a position to carry a positive message about the virus, I say let him do the next right thing and show HIV is only 3 letters
Greg is one of those few heroes that continue to inspire millions gay or straight. To be a world class athlete of his caliber and have the "cojones" to come out to a world full of bigotry and closed mindedness to say that one was HIV positive as well as Gay during a time not too long ago when it wasn't as easily accepted is a great accomplishment by itself! Kudos to this great human being...
I have known Greg since 1994 and introduced him to Eric Marcus with whom he wrote his book and to Jed Mattes his literary agent before he wrote the book; Greg's bravery then in coming forward to disclose his status and sexuality helped many a gay youth and HIV positive person deal with the complexities of their lives. He is a hero to so many people!! Keep looking great and speaking truth to power Greg! Eric Sawyer
Thanks , Greg , being positive for almost 20 yrs, I too have faced many obstacles in life. The chick filet thing is just another ploy to improve their stand in the fast food market. Nothing last forever, it's strang how Americans allow the news or closed minded indviduals to determine how one should think.How many of these same pointers don't realize there's a gay working or lurking within thee mist It,s ashamed we can't use our brains to be resourceful, but destructive to others. Great to see you back.
Andy
I sense a harsh tone in both of your reactions. What did I say that warranted such offense? Were you guys offended that I dared to suggest that fear based prevention isn't effective? That's obvious. It's NOT working. We've had 30 years of fear, and the incidence HIV has remained static for roughly the last 20 of them. To think that if 30 years of terror hasn't worked we must need MORE terror is to think that doing more of the same thing will get different results. This is, in the immortal words of Einstein, the definition of insanity. Did you think that I was attacking Louganis? I'm not. He's a great guy, but I disagree with how he's trying to address the issue. Reacting as if I was making an attack on him is dirty pool. There was nothing in what I wrote that implied that, and when you criticize something I never said to distract from my opinion, you launch a character attack that distracts from my points. That's too bad, since I'm trying to add to a discussion which you should support. You said, "The job of the each generation is to stop the next from making the same mistakes, even if to you it sounds like we are affiming our suffering for fear you other doing something stupid." That's a noble sentiment to have Mark, but the job of subsequent generations is to reject the ideologies of their forefathers when those ideologies are wrong. This is the restless sentiment that got us out of caves and into high rises. It took us from leaches and witch doctors to antiretrovirals in less than a thousand years, and by god, it will take us from a fear based prevention paradigm that demonizes HIV+ to one that affirms the complexity of transmission and the humanity of poz people. Trying to shut me down just because you disagree without actually making a point isn't just wrong, it's contrary to your supposed preoccupation with the betterment of future generations. I could pick at the inconsistency in using experience to trump my supposed lack of experience. I could point to Ken's nasty statement that I've "never screwed up". I'll leave them on the table, only pointing out that they're nasty, mean, dirty argumentative strategies that don't address, only distract from, what I said. Instead, I'll quietly ask that you stop talking about your concern for future generations while supporting ideas that aren't working and telling younger people to shut up. HIV is such a bizarre area. I know of no other area where we look to our elders to divine what our youth think or feel, while telling the youth to shut up and sit down. No wonder prevention has been such an astonishing failure.
August 16, 2012