Re: AIDS Epidemic

"Rat & Swan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> Gunner wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> >>  Sorry, both of you, but I was there in 1984, working with the LA CARES
> >>  program of AIDS education.  Reagan himself may not have been an active
> >>  homophobe, but plenty of the Right-wing people in his administration
> >>  were, and frustrated efforts at education by banning material on
> >>  safe-sex in clear language and ignoring the epidemic as much as
> >>  possible.  The gay community helped itself, with very limited "help"
> >>  from any government agencies.
>
> >>   <snip>
>
> >>  Rat
>
> > Lets be frank here, ok?
>
>    That might help.
>
> >  The gay community didn't help itself,
>
>    It did.  We raised quite a bit of money, set up food banks, created
>    volunteer groups whose members visited people with AIDS to help
>    them with household tasks, shopping and health care, set up our own
>    newsletters, pamphlets, and programs to bring information to the
>    places where it was needed, even places like baths, bars, S/M clubs,
>    and so on. (Remember the bowls of condoms and free condom give-aways,
>    and free clean needle exchanges?) Activists in the gay community
>    argued for safe-sex practices, created support groups to help
>    encourage safe-sex, worked hard to make safe-sex "hot".  Even
>    pornographers like John Preston got into the act by writing porn
>    with safe-sex messages.

So what went wrong ?


The community -- almost all of it -- rallied
>    behind the effort.  And we succeeded in slowing the epidemic quite
>    a bit.  A big part of the problem was the long incubation period.
>    Many people were infected but didn't know it.  The community
>    activists stressed that everyone should assume _anyone_ they slept
>    with, long-term or short-term, was infected and take precautions.
>
>    <snip>
> > And of course now..you lads have
> > the fucking strange cult of Bug Chasers..gays whom intentionally seek
> > out HIV positive sex partners.
>
>    There's a bit of fatalism, and a degree of survivor guilt.  And
>    teens, both gay and straight, tend to see themselves as
>    invulnerable and not consider consequences.  Gays are no more
>    irresponsible than straights in the same age and social group.
>    Look at the raging infection rate among straights.
>
>    <snip>
>
>     Rat
>