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Monday, February 5, 2007

Oh, the Joys of Writing About HIV/AIDS

posted by on February 5 at 10:17 AM

I was more than happy not to be writing about gay men’s health anymore. I’ll explain why in a feature I’m working on for this week’s Stranger about… gay men’s health.

But here’s a hint. On Thursday, I posted about the new drug-resistant HIV strain that’s been reported in King County and the crystal meth users who had come down with it. I also suggested that gay men not use crystal meth in the first place, that they not have unprotected sex with meth-heads, and that they tell their friends there’s now one more compelling reason (as if one more compelling reason was needed) not to bareback with people whose HIV status they don’t know.

Pretty obvious stuff. From the comments:

Eli Sanders has an agenda and I don’t believe any of the stories he posts.

(And now, some good news.)

RSS icon Comments

1

You know, people can be told not to bareback and some will still do it. You can tell people not to do meth and have unprotected sex and they still do it. I really think it just turns into a version of thinning out the heard at the end of the day. At the end of the day take care of yourself, have protected sex and move on. I am tired of people not listening. If they want to die then let them. Just means fewer cars on the roads and a better commute for me.

Posted by Just Me | February 5, 2007 10:46 AM
2


Wow, that was rather fatalist. I guess I'll go eat a tub of ice cream now and stand by while my friends and neighbors die.

You have more power than you know.

Posted by whoa | February 5, 2007 10:51 AM
3

Well, you do have an agenda, Eli, but I've always thought that agenda was to help gay men lead healthier, more stable lives.

Posted by Gitai | February 5, 2007 10:51 AM
4

Ahh, Since I have a BA in Economics I just looked at the chart of Meth usage on Sullivan's website. A one or even two year drop in Meth use does not a trend make. Particularly with the pattern that the chart is showing.

Posted by Andrew | February 5, 2007 10:52 AM
5

At the end of the day take care of yourself, have protected sex and move on.

Sounds entirely reasonable, JM.

Here's the problem: Gay men have become their own worst enemies in the age of AIDS.

We don't do enough to encourage personal responsibility.

We do a LOT to continue playing the victim.

We go on witch hunts in the gay community...looking for "patient zero".

When we hear about a new "upward trend" or "superstrain", we respond with hysteria, and create a hollow "Manifesto"...whose purpose is to only shame and punish a community that's been shamed and punished for decades.

If each of us were taking personal responsibility, and the community were encouraging THAT, rather than the witch hunt mentality, we'd all be better off.


Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 11:30 AM
6

if you don't want to listen, then don't. if you die, big fucking deal. you made your choices, you knew the risk, you pay the cost. something darwin said fits here...

Posted by ooga | February 5, 2007 11:33 AM
7

Unwisely dipping my toes in this discussion again, shouldn't we as a community be concerned about behavior that spreads drug resistant microbes?

I'm not just talking about HIV-1. What about the drug-resistant TB, staph, strep, and psuedomonous? When people skip their HIV meds, engage in risky behavior, or refuse to accept HIV causes AIDS, it isn't just HIV that becomes more resistant to medication.

Posted by golob | February 5, 2007 12:05 PM
8

Golob,

can you explain how taking personal responsibility encourages the spread of drug-resistant microbes?

This is what I'm talking about.

More personal responsibility...less witch-hunting, shaming and punishing.

I think you know where I'm headed, and you don't like it...

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 12:37 PM
9

BD, I basically agree with you. What I find objectionable is the notion that "irresponsible people will get what they deserve, so why worry?"

We *all* suffer when people don't take personal responsibility and spread treatment-resistant diseases. I have no interest in dying from totally drug resistant TB.

In 19th century New York City, people who were unwilling or unable to avoid spreading deadly diseases were forcibly sequestered on an island in the harbor until they were cured or learned how to protect others. It worked. Couldn't be done now, but we should be serious about doing more than politely asking people to be responsible.

Posted by golob | February 5, 2007 12:50 PM
10

Let's stick with the subject. We're talking about AIDS, not TB or strep. I think you're trying to muddy the water intentionally. As far as I know, there isn't a TB epidemic in the gay community that can be traced to unsafe sex. If somebody has TB, you can get it just be being in the same room. So, let's get back to the subject.

If we as a community placed much more emphasis on personal responsibility, and less on witch hunts, blame and punishment, we'd actually change the (sub)culture in which we live.

What good does it do to go on witch hunts? What purposes do blame and punishment serve? You don't need those things if you're taking on personal responsibility.

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 1:15 PM
11

Looking for a patient zero isn't a witch hunt. It's a scientific imperative. By finding where the mutations that lead to drug resistance occurred, researchers can gain information that allows them to develop responses to that mutation, and improve treatment for all people with HIV.

Posted by Gitai | February 5, 2007 1:40 PM
12

Golob,

what I'm saying is incredibly simple.

We place great emphasis on personal responsibility. The positive approach.

We stop with the witch hunts, the shaming and the punishment. The negative approach.

As far as I'm concerned, the "stick" doesn't work. Gay men have been shamed and punished for decades. We often respond with accordingly negative behaviors (drugs, alcohol and rampant sex), and all this feeds into a vein of nihilism surrounding AIDS in the gay community. We've got to stop using the same stick on each other that's been used on US!

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 1:41 PM
13

Gitai,

what ever happened to that superstrain in NYC?

As far as I know, the whole thing petered out (no pun intended).

Expect the same with the Seattle "superstrain".

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 1:51 PM
14

Hmmm, BD, I wonder if some doctor in 1918 said, "I bet this Spanish Flu thing will just peter out."

Posted by Gitai | February 5, 2007 2:05 PM
15

BD, without the "shaming and the punishment", there is no personal responsibility. Personal responsibility does not exist in a vacuum, it requires a community to recognize and encourage it.

You seem to confuse punishment for behaving irresponsibly with punishment for being gay, implying that the latter leads to the former, which I think most gay folk would take a bit of exception to.

Posted by BC | February 5, 2007 2:13 PM
16

Hmmm...Gitai,

seriously. What became of the NYC superstrain?

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 2:15 PM
17

BC says: without the "shaming and the punishment", there is no personal responsibility

"Stick", anyone?

Thank you for illustrating my point, BC.

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 2:23 PM
18

Yes BD. Life is full of negative consequences. You do not wear a seatbelt because you love the supple feel across your chest, you wear it because you don't want to fucking die.

Life's all about the damn stick. Deal with it.

Posted by BC | February 5, 2007 2:30 PM
19

Life's all about the damn stick. Deal with it

We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one, BC :)

You seem to think the gay community needs the "stick". I think we need the "carrot", and much more of it.

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 2:33 PM
20

No, the "gay community" does not need the stick. Don't you get it? We're not talking about the "gay community". We're talking about a few assholes that think a layer of latex makes sex worthless, and so won't wrap it up before sticking it in someone else. They deserve as big a stick as you've got. The rest of the gay community can have all the carrots they want. As far as I know, carrots don't carry any communicable diseases.

Posted by BC | February 5, 2007 2:41 PM
21

BC,

that takes us RIGHT BACK to personal responsibility. Yay!

Why are you concerned about what a "few assholes" are doing if you're taking care of yourself?

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 2:46 PM
22

Gitai, scarily enough there *were* doctors who said exactly that about the 1918 flu, when a milder version went through first. Compounded the disaster.

Posted by golob | February 5, 2007 2:47 PM
23

Yet you still can't answer the question about the NYC superstrain....

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 2:49 PM
24

I am going to be Mr Gloom and Doom: We are going end up going to a bunch of funerals in a few years again aren't we? Time to buy a black suit I suppose.

Posted by Andrew | February 5, 2007 2:52 PM
25

I am all for the shaming of bad behavior. If you are out having unprotected sex then you are a piece of shit. Pure and simple. And yeah, you should ask yourself how many people you will end up killing.

Posted by Just Me | February 5, 2007 2:56 PM
26

JM,

once again...we're back to personal responsibility!

So. All those people being killed. Assuming the sex was consensual, are they absolved of having any personal responsibility?

Posted by BD | February 5, 2007 3:03 PM
27

"Why are you concerned about what a "few assholes" are doing if you're taking care of yourself?"

Because, if you find the stupid people and keep telling them they're being stupid, eventually some of them catch on, and start taking personal responsibility. And then, lo and behold, they don't die. And the people they come into contact with, who may not have the benefit of as much information, don't die either. And even better, when people stop dying, all the responsible people can worry a little less that they're going to catch something lethal, regardless of all the precautions they take.

It's important to us, the less-stupid, because it still affects us.

Posted by BC | February 5, 2007 3:04 PM

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