Remind me not to sleep with any 60-year-old gay men in 35 years.

Yes there was an AIDS conference in Toronto. Which Bill Gates donated money, Bill Clinton spoke and the Prime Minister of Canada snubbed.
But here is a good story from some Montreal researchers that could help many people with different viruses.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/08/23/hiv-breakthrough.html

Gay men don't care about AIDS they only care about getting their rocks off. Even with statistics like these, it won't curb their disgusting behavior so why even post them? They'd rather take risks and further degrade our medical support system, then stop the behavior. It is such a "me first" ego world for homosexual men that the general public will never ever support their lifestyle.

Yeah, you're right, AIDS WILL TAKE CARE OF HOMOSEXUALITY. The best proof of the absolute rightness of your position? There are no straight people with AIDS. Isn't that amazing?

Troll aside, Dan... He's somewhat right. There's absolutely NO EXCUSE this time around.

We've all been taught over and over what AIDS is and how to practice safer sex. And our society in America is radically more accepting of gay men -- even in the "red states" -- than it was during the Reagan Administration.

You've said it before, and you should say it again. It's time to stop with the touchy-feely concerns about hurting gay men's self-esteem, time to start challenging this notion that our sexuality somehow gives us license to have sex with no responsibilities, and time to start closing down bathhouses and other venues that encourage risky behavior.

Troll.

The truth hurts doesn't it? The sad fact is that AIDS is something you can't make "go away". AIDS may infect a straight person, but it can ALWAYS be traced back to a gay encounter with the only exception being the rare shared needle by druggies or blood transfusions. Either way it all comes back to that disgusting behavior. Yeah right... sticking a c*ck up someone's ass is natural. I'm not a troll...just someone with an opinion in the mainstream that differs from yours.

Radically more accepting of gay men? Since when? You need to step outside the cozy confines of King county and see the real mainstream America. Outside of a few major metro areas, homosexuality is TOLERATED NOT ACCEPTED. I am also not a troll, but felt strongly that the record needed to be set straight. People associate AIDS = Homosexuality. Therefore there will never be acceptance of the "lifestyle". You can have all the "Pride" parades you want, but you are only singing to your own choir. You are not changing the minds of the masses.

It is so easy to talk about AIDS and Gay men and use them as scapegoats for bad behavior. Gay men have their problems for sure but pointing the finger at them does not make your problems disappear. The gay community has massive campaigns that become more and more effective all the time at educating the community. But it seems not society at large. People still seem to think this is something that will kill off gay men and then everything will be all right. What about heterosexual men that watch hetro porn that mostly don't show condoms being used. Do you really think you are not affected by any of this and that is it still some "gay decease". If you do then over 20 years of education seems have fallen on deaf ears in the heterosexual community, where education has had an impact on the gay community. The amount of gay men not being safe is nothing to the amount of heterosexual men not being safe. We just never point the finger at heterosexuals. Look at statistics world wide and you will see that the practices of heterosexuals are the problem and the education of heterosexuals are the key to preventing the spread of HIV not just a small group in the gay community that seem to be a convenient scapegoat for uneducated people everywhere. In Africa they have programs that rival anything aimed at the heterosexuals of the US. The gay community has programs like this too but all the education for heterosexuals in the US (used as an example) is pathetic. Hetro porn promotes unsafe sex all the time but for some reason it is gay men not using condoms that seem to be the problem and the disgusting ones.
Drug use is the other major factor in HIV spread too. All these problems are continuously addressed by people trying to make a difference and all you can come up with on the forum is the same old finger pointing at gay men. When was the last time you spent any time doing something to educate people in the community regarding the disgusting promotion of unsafe sex in hetro porn and trying to tell hetro men that they too are part of the problem. If you have just one unsafe casual sexual encounter as a heterosexual man in the past year are you disgusting too? If we could only point the finger at you all the time and make you the problem would you practice safe sex. Probably not you are too complacent and brainwashed into thinking it is not your problem.
Now off you go to the bar and pick up a one night stand and forget all that was said here it is in your nature too.

Brian

You are really hung up on porn aren't you? The fact is that people see normal heterosexual porn without condoms as natural. It is only the homosexual community that tries point it out as "See lookie at them having unsafe sex". ALL HOMOSEXUAL sex is UNSAFE, DANGEROUS, AND REVOLTING. Don't muddle the issue by trying to say that heterosexuals are hypocrites because we must be casually condoning heterosexual sex when we see a condomless penis entering a vagina. That is natural, and heterosexuals shouldn't have to be made to feel guilty about natural sex, although the gay community would like to push the pressure on us to...thereby deflecting some criticism.

Let's face it. I can have MUCH more unprotected straight sex without the odds of contracting any disease compared to the average gay man having sex a couple of times. No Brian If I have one unsafe casual sexual encounter this past year I am NOT disgusting. Straight sex is considered normal irrespective of whether it was without a condom. The gay community would love to have that type of reaction be a scapegoat for their shortcomings, but the sad fact is once again... IT IS NORMAL. Riddle me this question batman? When you go to donate blood do they ask questions about my straight heterosexual activity? Nope. Guess what? THEY DO ask about any homosexual activity. Why? Ohh wait... that's right... you can't donate. You are deferred due to your risky behaviors. I'm not deferred. I guess the medical community doesn't worry about my casual one night stand compared to your lifestyle. Reality Check Brian.

Hey now, MICKYMSE. If gay men all know how to have safer sex, then why do we need to shut down the bathhouses? You can be just as safe in a bathhouse as you can in your bedroom after picking a guy up at a club.

Here I'll point out that bathhouses operated straight through the decline in HIV infection.

I don't worry about AIDS. You know why? I don't engage in risky behavior. And I still have plenty o' fun. There are still plenty of worries, of course - I dread herpes, and everyone sooner or later gets a case of HPV - but HIV doesn't have to be one of them.

I think gay men think that HIV is manageable. And, to a certain extent it is. If you have an extra $10,000 a year just lying around, or if you're sure you're always going to have kick-ass insurance - and if you're willing to either 1) put up with withering rejection every time you announce your status or, 2) risk infecting unknowing porters - then, you bet, it's manageable.

But can that shift - from dread to a feeling that managing HIV might be worth engaging in sex with utter abandon - explain the increase in HIV infection?

But, I guess my point is that you can't say that fags need to take individual responsibility for their HIV status and then turn around and argue that we need to shut down the bathhouses to keep fags from hurting themselves. Either we're for individual responsibility and freedom or we're for neither.

And, it's not "our sexuality" that entitles us to do what we want with our bodies, its everyone's sexuality. We're all entitled to promiscuity: gay, straight or bi.

And, REALITY CHECK,

You're right: If you have a one-night stand with a woman, you're not likely to contract HIV. But herpes is a far greater problem among hets than homos. There's more than AIDS out there, and you breeders are spreading plenty of it.

And, globally, hets are spreading HIV much faster than homos. Africa, SE Asia - all those infections, rates spiraling out of control, those are straight people, having "natural" sex. It's still killing them. Maybe it's just American hets whose sex is "natural."

Hmmm ... funny. AIDS doesn't seem to be taking care of lesbianism. Or is lesbian sex not homosexual sex, and therefore, according to Reality Check, "UNSAFE, DANGEROUS, and REVOLTING"?

So tell me Felix you rocket scientist. How exactly do lesbians have sex? Is penetration of their sex organs involved? Tell me Felix, how do lesbians spread AIDS? Knowing the answer, I'll take it a step further for you... the better question to ask instead... "What is the rate of HIV contraction between gay men compared to lesbians? Any real idea? Homosexual men pushing their ego agenda are much more UNSAFE,REVOLTING, and DANGEROUS than lesbians. I truly have no problem with lesbians as they aren't perpetuating the increased spread of AIDS compared to you pole smokers throwing it in another man's ass.

Reality Check Felix

A wise person had once said "The Truths Lie Somewhere in the Middle" I think that applies to this discussion. Someone states an outrageous viewpoint just to be given an outrageous opposing view. Nothing gets done this way…and so it continues until both sides are brave enough to admit that the answer is in fact somewhere in the middle. I will say this though , I think the two dominate words that lie somewhere in the middle are Responsibility and Accountability. With that said, I’m curious as to what’s up with the “Comeback� entry posted on this slog by Dan Savage at 01:53 PM yesterday? I hope this is not some kind of promotion for “Bareback Sex� or something. Please tell me I’m wrong with my suspicions.

Want to talk about revolting? This whole situation is infinitely sad, with failures 20 years ago continuing to bite us in the ass.

Think of how different Africa would be today of Pope John Paul had allowed condom use. How much lower would HIV prevalence be if proper public health procedures were used in the '80s? Fuck Regan and his foolish administration. Fuck the "advocates" that denied even basic containment measures.

Any disease that starts out as "gay related immuno deficiency" couldn't have had a rational and forceful response back when it was needed.

Glad I got someone's back up. But to think Hetro sex just involves "natural" intercourse is naive. Hets take it up the ass too but then you do not need to have anal to get infected by the HIV virus.
Anal sex is natural for me. It would seem Mr "Reality Check" is the one who is self centered in thinking their world is all natural and lacks the possibility of contracting anything. With a name like "Reality Check" I guess they think they are going to inform us all on what is real and correct. The world is way more complicated than that.
And for "aids will take care of homosexuality" as far as tracing back the source of the first encounter, well it was not a homosexual man that is to "blame" for all this. it goes back as far as 1930's when the first transfer from a primate (wild Chimps In Africa) to a human started this whole thing off. People in Africa started dying and it was noticeable by the 50's not just homosexual people but people in general and it has never stopped there.
Many people engage in activity that is risky but to say I am doing it natural and so I am ok or have lower risk is ignorant. If this can decimate Africa and have a high infection rate in Asia amongst heterosexuals (far more infected than homosexuals) then with an attitude that you are ok with your "natural" heterosexual sex, then it is just a matter of time.
Play safe on all sides in whatever comes natural to you.

Yeah, I get the impression that it's been a while since Reality Check got laid- hetero, homo, or otherwise.

'Play safe on all sides in whatever comes natural to you.'-Brian[p][/p]

Excellent line! I'd add to that,[p][/p]

Be made held accountable on all sides in whatever comes natural to you. [p][/p]

I say this 'cous not long ago (2 years ago I believe) in Pierce County, a straight black man was convicted of infecting several straight white women with HIV (via sexual intercourse). He was sent away for like 110 years for his lack of responsibility and sheer recklessness (talk about being held accountable).[p][/p]

Now if they can make a straight black guy pay his dues for infecting others, can't they make a gay person who chooses to infect others through unsafe sex pay the same dues? Am I wrong? Shouldn’t it be about equality in consequences just as much as it is about public health and safety?[p][/p]

Using the “Queer Culture� defense as a convenient catch all excuse for lack of responsibility and accountability in the gay community should have been soo 1981.