"AIDS is a war against humanity ... this is a war that requires the mobilization of entire populations."
Nelson Mandela
"I used to be afraid of dying, but I'm not anymore.
I'm more afraid of what happens to the people who live..."
from "And The Band Played On"
I'm more afraid of what happens to the people who live..."
from "And The Band Played On"
As the Sistah said well: "I don't know quite how to say this so as not to offend, as it must be said... <snip>...Gay men had worked so hard and long for exceptance they did not want to "share" HIV with any other group. And organizations like mine kept reminding the public that it wasn't just a "gay" disease. We did so because others were at risk and to get into people's narrow little mind that they should stop hating the "homos" because they are just like everyone else. In the process I believe we (I) may have promoted HIV as not that big a deal. Unintentional of course. We wanted the hate to end, the fear to stop. It did not occur to us that there would be any resistance with gay men. After all we are in this together! A backlash hit the "rest" of the HIV community.....some gay men proclaimed it was not fair and they were being overlooked. I have no doubt many gay men felt this way because that was their experience. But it reached a point that I had quite a few angry gay men who felt like I was using their efforts for my advantage. My explanation of wanting to help was often greeted with scorn. Some felt it was hard to accept that I simply care and want to help! I wanted to bring everyone together in this battle, to work together in passion and compassion. And don't tell me it can't be done. Bullshit! As I have written before - we are going to have to save ourselves. We, the people cannot wait for Big Brother to save us! Thus the question "What do we do?"
First and, perhaps, foremost: We need to stop falling all over ourselves walking on eggs and worrying about offending someone! As Orwell said quite well:
"If liberty means anything at all,
it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
The HIVe @ Old Seminary Square - 2003-2005it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
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| http://www.mwcltonline.org/mycharts.html |
Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 12:00pm
How appropriate is the 2012 WORLDWIDE LGBT Civil Rights MARCH to be on April 21, 2012, the day before EARTH DAY on April 22, 2012; DIFFERENT DAYS, but the VERY SAME WEEKEND. It is EXTREMELY appropriate.
2012 is the 42nd Anniversary of EARTH DAY and 2012 is also the 42nd Anniversary of the very First GAY PRIDE PARADE taking place in New York City with more than 2,000 LGBT marching (which just happ...ened to be the 1 year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising)!
EARTH DAY 2012 promotes environmental awareness and will focus on BUILDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT & ENGAGING NEW ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS AROUND THE GLOBE!
The 2012 WORLDWIDE LGBT Civil Rights MARCH will focus on the RENEWED LGBT MOVEMENT & ENGAGING LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AROUND THE GLOBE!
There is NO BETTER TIME to have the 2012 WORLDWIDE LGBT Civil Rights MARCH and the timing of it on the same weekend (but different days) of EARTH DAY 2012 is NOT ONLY EXTREMELY APPROPRIATE, but will show the WORLD the importance of PROTECTING BOTH THE EARTH and its INHABITANTS EQUALLY, as well as show the WORLD the importance of PROTECTING the UNALIENABLE BIRTH RIGHT of every being living together on PLANET EARTH!
SPECIAL NOTE: We look forward to hearing back from you and adding you as an organizer (along with your organization, if any), event sponsor/promoter, or as one of our media outlets. Who knows YOU could be that one we select to be the LEAD ORGANIZER in your area/city and your area/city just might be the next location Registered to HOLD one of the 2012 WORLDWIDE LGBT Civil Rights Marches...
Committee Chairman of the 2012 WORLDWIDE LGBT Civil Rights March - Joe (J.C.) Knudson
2012 is the 42nd Anniversary of EARTH DAY and 2012 is also the 42nd Anniversary of the very First GAY PRIDE PARADE taking place in New York City with more than 2,000 LGBT marching (which just happ...ened to be the 1 year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising)!
EARTH DAY 2012 promotes environmental awareness and will focus on BUILDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT & ENGAGING NEW ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS AROUND THE GLOBE!
The 2012 WORLDWIDE LGBT Civil Rights MARCH will focus on the RENEWED LGBT MOVEMENT & ENGAGING LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AROUND THE GLOBE!
There is NO BETTER TIME to have the 2012 WORLDWIDE LGBT Civil Rights MARCH and the timing of it on the same weekend (but different days) of EARTH DAY 2012 is NOT ONLY EXTREMELY APPROPRIATE, but will show the WORLD the importance of PROTECTING BOTH THE EARTH and its INHABITANTS EQUALLY, as well as show the WORLD the importance of PROTECTING the UNALIENABLE BIRTH RIGHT of every being living together on PLANET EARTH!
SPECIAL NOTE: We look forward to hearing back from you and adding you as an organizer (along with your organization, if any), event sponsor/promoter, or as one of our media outlets. Who knows YOU could be that one we select to be the LEAD ORGANIZER in your area/city and your area/city just might be the next location Registered to HOLD one of the 2012 WORLDWIDE LGBT Civil Rights Marches...
Committee Chairman of the 2012 WORLDWIDE LGBT Civil Rights March - Joe (J.C.) Knudson
WORLDWIDE LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS MARCH
Greetings ALL!
Season's Greetings & Happy Holidays! Multi-tasking here on the South Bank of Greater Cinncinnati in the Midwest Tri-State Region of Kentucky-Indiana-Hiv Ohio As SoBankQueenBee of the South Bank HIVe; it would be our Honor and Privilege to Serve as your Regional Hosts. As you may be aware; I'm in the middle of helping create "The Best Covington Christmas ev-ah!" and "World AIDS Day @ The World PEACE Bell". We'll use the same venues, routes, bridges... Joe, my friend; If there's anything else you need to know (boxerbriefs & briefs!), or need more bio... It's in the Book, ;-)!
Greetings ALL!
Season's Greetings & Happy Holidays! Multi-tasking here on the South Bank of Greater Cinncinnati in the Midwest Tri-State Region of Kentucky-Indiana-Hiv Ohio As SoBankQueenBee of the South Bank HIVe; it would be our Honor and Privilege to Serve as your Regional Hosts. As you may be aware; I'm in the middle of helping create "The Best Covington Christmas ev-ah!" and "World AIDS Day @ The World PEACE Bell". We'll use the same venues, routes, bridges... Joe, my friend; If there's anything else you need to know (boxerbriefs & briefs!), or need more bio... It's in the Book, ;-)!
Best Regards,
Michael
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"The South Bank HIVe
at Seminary Square"
Michael W. Connett
1043 Russell Street - Suite 1
859-291-2214
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
According to UNAIDS estimates there were 37 million adults and 2.5 million children living with HIV at the end of 2003, and during the year 5 million new people became infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.95% of the total number of people with HIV live in the developing world. But HIV still remains a threat to people of all ages and nationalities.
Four large panels from the AIDS Quilt were displayed from January 12th to 16th at Simon Kenton High School in Independence, KY. The memorial display was organized by students from the school. At the opening ceremony, senior John Mains said, "We hope to bring awareness to our peers about the real danger of HIV infection which leads to AIDS deaths. A lot of youth look at AIDS as a disease that attacks only gays."
photo from www.greatercincinnatiglbtnews.com
To continue; I've been thinking a lot about that statement in my interview, looking back over my last eleven years and having a hard time coping with My Life with HIV. Today, I finally seem to have emerged from this current Blue Spell and wanted to share these additional thoughts as well as begin compiling them on my web site.
Although we now know that the Virus doesn't discriminate against who it infects anymore, I think that the overriding point that SOCIETY still does is what the theme of Stigma and Discrimination was developed to address. It is that Stigma and Discrimination that continues to present obstacles to an infected persons "Quality of Life" and I fear that the current medical advances and increased longevity have come to sugar coat the reality of Life, and Living, with HIV/AIDS:
My friend Tex wrote: Hi! Michael, I know it's really none of my business, but what kind of problems are you having coping. Anything I can do to help?"
That is what this part of the story is about. You know how fond I am of Quotations; as Marlene Dietrich is now quoted as saying: "I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself". This one describes my recent fog:
For now though, just about everything I've written is contained in my web site or one of the many files that litter The HIVe and continues to be a "work in progress". My dream has always been that when I cease writing and have left this earth, it would be published and passed along to others making the same Journey. That's the goal that helps me get out of bed each morning. However, as I was looking back over it all and considering where I am now, I felt that it had all been in vain. Even though I seemed to be beating the deadline, I had failed to live up to my mission statement.
A friend from the UK said:
Years ago I thought that World Aids Day was a pretty good idea. Something to make Joe Public think about aids a little bit more than normal. Since WAD was instituted I've seen it go from a consciousness raising event to an occasion where everyone says "yes, well, it's all terribly sad, but..."He's right, of course, and that's what I've been trying to do, everyday with every breath I take. But as I said, "Somedays, Life in the HIVe's a Bitch!". That's why I still have to believe that World AIDS Day is important.
A couple of years ago I was reading about people doing special stuff on their websites for WAD and I decided I'd had enough. As far as I'm concerned, every day is World Aids Day. I created the gallery at http://www.craftman.co.uk/aids/ , which is available 365 days a year. I've suckered a few people who, when they've viewed the main index page of the site, expect the link "aids" to take them to a list of "helper" programs that I might use :) "Don't wait till World Aids Day to do something about aids: do it now."
Steve
Perhaps for no other reason than it does make Joe Public think about AIDS a little bit more than normal. And it comes at a perfect time of the year and this year on a perfect Day on a perfect weekend...
From what I've seen and heard so far, locally we seem to have let the opportunity turn into an occasion where everyone says "yes, well, it's all terribly sad, but..." rather than a well publicized and planned consciousness raising event. The planned cablecast that I participated in taping is the only thing I'm aware of here.
As Mary Fisher talked about recently, it is the telling of our stories that is key to making sure that every day is World Aids Day. To honor World AIDS Day, I wanted to use the strength and creative energy from my recent re-awakening to continue the telling of my story.
Although you may not have read anything I've written yet, you have lived through the same times and seen many of the same headlines, stories and events that I have. In her recent remarks, Mary Fisher said: "When first I was diagnosed with HIV in 1991, and when first many of you joined the fight, the AIDS community had its own story. It was a story of mysterious reports and sudden wasting, of an unnoticed community of hemophiliacs whose lives were suddenly being cut short and a previously hidden gay community whose fabric and texture was suddenly, brutally, being exposed by AIDS. Headlines told stories of families making three discoveries simultaneously: their brothers were gay, their brothers were sick, their brothers were dying." This spoke strongly to me as I was also diagnosed in 1991 and am a gay man. However, I came out to my family with the first discovery in 1978. The response wasn't pretty and I was told I'd have to leave my childhood home.
In her magazine, Oprah says in part: "Think back for a moment on your history - not just where you were born but the circumstances that contributed to your being here. Consider what you believed about yourself based on what others told you directly and indirectly, since 93 percent of communication is through nuance and action, not words. How were you treated? That is what defined how you experienced the world - both the moments when you felt valued and wanted and the moments when you felt wounded and sure you'd never be fulfilled. Though you've probably had times when you didn't want to press on, you have survived your path. You are still here, still standing - and what an amazing journey your life has been...
What I know for sure is that your life is a multipart series of all your experiences - and each experience is created by your thoughts, intentions, and actions, to teach you what you most need to know. Your life is a journey of learning to love yourself first and then extending that love to others in every encounter. How can you travel on that road without fear? Whenever I'm faced with a difficult decision, I ask myself: What would I do if I weren't afraid of making a mistake, feeling rejected, looking foolish, or being alone? Remove the fear, and the answer comes into focus.
If you're holding anyone else accountable for your happiness, you're wasting time. You must be fearless enough to give yourself the love you didn't receive. Begin noticing how every day brings a new opportunity for your growth. How buried disagreements with your mother show up in arguments with your spouse. How unconscious feelings of unworthiness appear in everything you do and don't do. All these experiences are your life's way of making itself whole - sometimes whispering, often screaming. Pay attention. Every choice gives you a chance to pave your own road. Keep moving. Full speed ahead."
And the headlines, stories and events that are part of my experience:
- Bare-backing, piglet parties and the return to unsafe sex.
- Increased infections, especially among the young.
- U.S. Warned Against AIDS Complacency
- About 1 million Americans are infected with HIV, which causes AIDS.
- The lack of additional progress against the virus likely stems from several factors, including the large number of infected people who either do not know they have the virus or are not getting treatment.
- "Today's epidemic is very different from the one we faced a decade ago. The populations at risk, the attitudes about infection and the science of HIV have all changed."
- Strategies known to prevent its spread still are grossly underused.
- Scientific discoveries in HIV and AIDS also seem to be merely incremental, experts said. New drugs that do the same thing — but slightly better — are emerging, but there's no vaccine or blockbuster treatment around the corner.
- Making more progress against HIV will require getting more people tested and treated early in their infection, and developing drugs that work better and are simpler to take.
- There have been slow but steady increases among heterosexuals, with diagnoses increasing 10 percent between 1998 and 2000.
- For those without the disease, the growing pool of HIV infections means a greater chance of becoming infected and an even greater need to protect themselves.
- "Americans ... don't have the same sense of urgency or crisis which
characterized the early years of the epidemic. Some are
becoming bored with HIV after 20 years, some are simply tired of the messages and behavior change. And many didn't realize they were signing on for a lifetime of condom use." - However, the ultimate goal is to prevent infections from occurring in the first place.
- Many people speak of complacency now that HIV is treatable, and some even are skeptical that further progress can be made in the United States.
- HIV/AIDS is a disease at once amazingly virulent and shockingly new. Only a generation ago, it lay undetected. Yet in the past two decades, by the reckoning of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), about 65 million people have contracted the illness, and perhaps 25 million of them have already died. The affliction is almost invariably lethal: scientists do not consider a cure to be even on the horizon. For now, it looks as if AIDS could end up as the coming century's top infectious killer.
- We can't sit back and wait for a vaccine. Instead, we must renew HIV
prevention in the United States. - "We must revive the passion with which the U.S. once faced the HIV epidemic, with a strong and pre-eminent focus on preventing the spread of the virus."
I am very well aware that mine is a rather dark story that people do not want to hear, but I tell it to counter the sugar coating for the sake of prevention. I'm hoping that a heaping dose of my honest reality about "Life, and Living, with HIV/AIDS in America" - "that most of the time, it sucks... Big Time!" might succeed where the other side of the story hasn't.
Thanks for allowing me to share my Journey with y'all. "... either get busy dying or get busy living, which would you choose?"
I have come to believe that it's not that simple. In my experience, I've tried to do BOTH in balance. I have busied myself with living in the hopes that I could "use the rest of
my life the best I can so that the people and places through which my journey led me would remain a little bit better for me having passed their way". At the same time, I have also busied myself with preparing for the Journeys end so that I would not have any fear about reaching it, leave anything undone or anyone else responsible. The paperwork has been done, the funeral paid for and my bags are packed: I'm ready to go... I would hope that my wishes would be respected and no one would insist on waking me up just to say goodbye. Especially if they hadn't bothered to just say hello before then.
I would venture a guess that good thoughts, vibes and prayers, etc are indeed greatly appreciated. However, I also have to consider what The Pope said in an article I posted previously.
For future reference, Thanks for the Love, Support and Friendship. But when my time comes, and I believe I am well prepared for it, please just love me enough to let me go and "sleep in Heavenly Peace". I wish you all Love and Happiness in the New Year
Michael
Best Regards,
Michael 11/22/2002
"A time comes in your life when you finally get
it....when, in the midst of all your fears and
insanity, you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere
the voice inside your head cries out ENOUGH! Enough
fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And,
like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your
sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you
blink back your tears and begin to look at the world
through new eyes. This is your awakening..."
it....when, in the midst of all your fears and
insanity, you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere
the voice inside your head cries out ENOUGH! Enough
fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And,
like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your
sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you
blink back your tears and begin to look at the world
through new eyes. This is your awakening..."
from AWAKENING - author unknown
I cried out ENOUGH! after I obsessed over my last eleven years and took an emotional roller coaster ride. I missed meds by putting off ordering refills while I wrestled over whether or not I could, would or should. However; they arrived today and I've had a re-awakening. I will be sharing my story In honor of and on World AIDS Day. "U.S. Supreme Court decision: "Subsequent decisions have held that AIDS is protected as a handicap under law not only because of the physical limitations it imposes, but because the prejudice surrounding AIDS exacts a social death which precedes the actual physical one.
This is the essence of discrimination - formulating opinions about others not based on their individual merits but rather on their membership in a group with assumed characteristics." from the movie "Philadelphia"
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