crux

one of my colleagues emailed me a time magazine article on the state of aids in our gay union and the silence surrounding it. i find it telling and compelling, thus i am sharing it with you all in the hopes that it increases dialogue and some thoughts about our approach. the truth is that i meet new positve men with regularity and realize that they feel under supported and frustrated. i also find that longer term poz guys have very little patience for these younger men because they weren't listening to the messages that are out there. (i wonder if we are simply burnt out and don't want to relive any painful memories again)

my feeling is that there are so many messages out there, direct and more subtle, that one can easily shut down to listening to that topic entirely. i also think that without the visible physical evidence of the nasty nature of this virus, guys think it probably isn't that bad. couple that with the natural tendency to think that nothing like that will ever happen "to me". and finally, throw in substance abuse or heavy partying to the mix, and DING DONG CLANG - one is ringing the bell loudly for a crisis.

the film is one of two posted on hivbigdeal.org. check them out. director todd ahlberg of "meth: the movie" did these two films and i think they are pretty well done.

the crux of the situation in my eyes: what's happening is that we are not mentoring the younger generation as well as we could. sure, they could listen more and they could be more respectful, but then again, they won't be young forever. I mean would we have listened?

happy pride!