a damn shame

"Man In The Mirror"

I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

firstly a happy 50th birthday to michael jackson. he was born in august of the same year as madonna and me. although we aren't close any longer, there was a time in my mind that we were travelling along similar paths. that all fell apart though. i know that he starting visibly disintegrating first. he has morphed into someone completely different than he started out. but considering the extent of his arc, how could he not. i personally wish him health and wellness. and i hope he feels love and peace. happy birthday.

there is no real surprise at the following article from the washington blade. but why doesn't it outrage me? why do i just accept it quietly? when will i demand change and work for that?

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: "D.C. Clinic's HIV Case Numbers Surge"
Washington Blade (08.15.08):: Lou Chibbaro Jr.

The number of HIV-positive test results at Whitman-Walker Clinic increased by 232 percent this year, though the clinic did not test more patients, officials there said recently. In the first half of this year, Whitman-Walker tested about 6,500 patients and 266 were found to be HIV-positive. The clinic tested roughly the same number in the first half of 2007, when only 80 tested HIV-positive.

"These are troubling statistics that warrant more aggressive education, prevention, and testing initiatives," said Dr. Raymond Martins, Whitman-Walker's chief medical officer. Clinic officials are reviewing demographic and other patient information to help explain the increase. Most of the cases were gay men and African Americans, and one-third had already progressed to AIDS, Martins added.

Whitman-Walker's testing data suggest an actual increase in new HIV infections among its client base, said Martins.

"At each of our testing sites, we are seeing an increasing number of young gay men, particularly African-American men, coming to us newly infected," said Justin Goforth, director of the clinic's medical adherence unit. "These are young men who don't remember the first wave of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and came of age when effective treatments were available. As a result, they have never seen HIV as a major problem."

Whitman-Walker recently conducted focus groups among African-American heterosexuals and young gay men, including men of color, to see why infections are rising among certain groups, the clinic said.

"One surprising theme emerged - even though everyone recognized HIV was a serious issue, every group identified HIV as really being a problem for another demographic group," according to a clinic statement. "This is of great concern because the highest risk groups do not identify themselves as being high-risk and thus increase their susceptibility to HIV through unsafe behavior and a lack of knowledge."

sidebar- i got an ear-to-ear grin reading willie's post.