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AIDS: A Crisis as Long as Its Around

Author Eric Rofes

In his article, "AIDS Prevention--A Controversial Thesis: Gay Men are Neither Dumb Nor Destructive" (Health, March 8) Eric Rofes seems to be telling us that it's OK that 39% percent of gay men have decided to have unsafe anal sex. Really?

Well, Mr. Rofes, try telling that to friends of mine who are HIV positive. No, these aren't throwbacks from the 80s who have survived for 15 years with the disease. These are gay men who have sero-converted in the 90s.

They probably don't think that it was acceptable to get fucked without a condom. They probably wouldn't say that it's time to leave the AIDS crisis mode. They'll also tell you that the myriad of drugs that they take to stay healthy are hardly pleasant.

I don't understand the logic of Rofes' article. He points out that less than 25% of gay men living in San Francisco and New York are HIV positive now. I admit, a drop from 50% to below 25% is impressive, but it's certainly not going to make me toss my box of condoms in the trash can.

He also points out that, thanks to aggressive treatment programs, HIV positive people are living longer lives. Sure, people are living longer with HIV, but that doesn't mean they aren't infectious anymore. It doesn't mean that I or anyone else should decide that (oh, just this one time...) it's OK to swap fluids.

I agree that bashing and berating gay men about sexual behavior is not the way to go about promoting safer sex. However, telling them that AIDS is not a crisis anymore is hardly a good way to promote safer sex either.

Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:
... And the Horse He Rode in On

'Sexual Recruiting' and the Ex-Gay Movement

AIDS Prevention--A Controversial Thesis

Related Sites:
Rolling Stone
GayToday does not endorse related sites.

Let's tell gay men the truth and then empower them to make intelligent decisions based on it. The truth is that there is no cure for AIDS and that it will continue to be a crisis as long as HIV is being passed around.

Ryan Reed
Young Gay Man
Los Angeles

From Unnatural to Inevitable

rolstone0301.jpg - 11.37 K In the new Rolling Stone (March) there's a good, though of course frightening piece called "The War Against Gays," and the Religious Right's obsession with Kweers. It's really amazing. One of the things that they now hammer on, believe it or not, is that homosexuality is actually "natural." It's accursed, vile, etc. etc., but it is so natural to human nature that if they don't stamp it out, then all of life, the family, the country, blah-blah will fall like Sodom & Babylon down the tubes if gays have their way. Quite interesting. We have gone from being unnatural to inevitable—and they're going to do their blessed best to keep us away.

P.B.
New York

Sheep in the Rose Garden?

Marital faithfulness may merit judgment, but in order to render such judgment, I believe you must have "standing". Standing on matters such as these involves ONLY other parties sexually involved.

That blackmail crap and "we pay his salary" crap is very problematic to me as a public employee. As an openly gay man I am immune to blackmail, but I live on public money, none of you have any rights to regulate my sexual conduct because of that. We knew BC was a horndog when we elected him (there were enough allegations during both campaigns to make that clear, even if we did not know what details were true & which ones were false). I voted for him because I like his politics.

Let's imagine that there are 2 candidates next time: The first guy supports gay rights, abortion rights, wants to reform the healthcare system, cares honestly about the less fortunate, does not want to give my money to religious schools, but this guy wants to fuck sheep in the Rose Garden while NBC airs it live.

The other guy is a staunch supporter of all Christian Coalition values and has been faithful to his wife his whole married life, and they both were virgins when they wed.

Some of these folks would have me vote for the 2d guy. I don't think so.

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