According to Wikipedia, the first cases were reported in 1981.
It's scandalous that so little was acheived by science in all that time. And it was a frightening time at the beginning, and horrible in every way.
Not to mention all the losses, some so painful that I am reluctant to even think about how devastating it's all been. At one point I was engaged to the max, running into the local AIDS Hilfe office with the latest alternative news articles out of the US, passing on info, and the uncertainty and distress was--- indescribable. And invested my feelings and everything I felt into a young man who was like a brother to me, and had become infected. What began as a pen pal correspondence became very personal in a platonic way. I felt he was the brother I should have had. We even met twice, and he was just awesome, the sort of person you wanted to protect. I 'accompanied' him all the way to his untimely death over twenty years ago, and came close to a nervous breakdown. It broke my heart.
The local media pay lip service to the day every year, and lately, it's all been about heterosexuals being at risk. Which they are, of course. But they only use that as a tag line to discuss the fact that it's the gay and bisexual people who carry it into the 'normal' population.
Well, have been around long enough to say that I really don't know what 'normal' is. Some people, in fact a lot of people, are capable of falling in love or attracted to all sorts of other people, same sex, opposite sex, other races, creeds, it doesn't matter. It's just a question of chemistry.
So it bothers me that the 'journamalists' continue to use their little labels, and catergorising people into boxes that make it comfortable for them, but really aren't applicable to reality.
I can't even count how many times I'd be out on a Saturday night in my salad days, and looking for Mr. Goodbar, and thinking I'd found 'HIM'... only to go downtown on Sunday morning and seeing Mr. G. out on the main drag with wifie and kiddies in tow, and would get this sinking feeling and become very angry and feel used.
Barstards never wore a wedding ring, of course.. And the world thought they were 'normal'. I had another visit from a young man who came as a proxy visitor from my best friend, and was bisexual, and trying to decide who to marry, his gay partner, or his girlfriend, and it was like being on Mars, talking to him. He was genuinely conflicted, and loved them both. Shortl after his visit, he married his girlfriend, and a few weeks later, developed AIDS. He died two weeks after the diagnosis. It was, as one says, a shock to the system.
And it has never changed. My last attempt at finding 'happiness' wasn't all that long ago. And whaddaya know... after a very nice two hours, I learned he was married, his wife had a drinking problem, he was unhappy in his marriage, he'd enjoyed his afternoon with me. And wanted to continue seeing me.
I was outraged. And gently sent him to the place 'where the pepper grows', as we say. He was nice and all, but wow, just wow.
I've since given up. So much of the problem lies in hypocrisy. But I've never been a player when it came to that.
It's scandalous that so little was acheived by science in all that time. And it was a frightening time at the beginning, and horrible in every way.
Not to mention all the losses, some so painful that I am reluctant to even think about how devastating it's all been. At one point I was engaged to the max, running into the local AIDS Hilfe office with the latest alternative news articles out of the US, passing on info, and the uncertainty and distress was--- indescribable. And invested my feelings and everything I felt into a young man who was like a brother to me, and had become infected. What began as a pen pal correspondence became very personal in a platonic way. I felt he was the brother I should have had. We even met twice, and he was just awesome, the sort of person you wanted to protect. I 'accompanied' him all the way to his untimely death over twenty years ago, and came close to a nervous breakdown. It broke my heart.
The local media pay lip service to the day every year, and lately, it's all been about heterosexuals being at risk. Which they are, of course. But they only use that as a tag line to discuss the fact that it's the gay and bisexual people who carry it into the 'normal' population.
Well, have been around long enough to say that I really don't know what 'normal' is. Some people, in fact a lot of people, are capable of falling in love or attracted to all sorts of other people, same sex, opposite sex, other races, creeds, it doesn't matter. It's just a question of chemistry.
So it bothers me that the 'journamalists' continue to use their little labels, and catergorising people into boxes that make it comfortable for them, but really aren't applicable to reality.
I can't even count how many times I'd be out on a Saturday night in my salad days, and looking for Mr. Goodbar, and thinking I'd found 'HIM'... only to go downtown on Sunday morning and seeing Mr. G. out on the main drag with wifie and kiddies in tow, and would get this sinking feeling and become very angry and feel used.
Barstards never wore a wedding ring, of course.. And the world thought they were 'normal'. I had another visit from a young man who came as a proxy visitor from my best friend, and was bisexual, and trying to decide who to marry, his gay partner, or his girlfriend, and it was like being on Mars, talking to him. He was genuinely conflicted, and loved them both. Shortl after his visit, he married his girlfriend, and a few weeks later, developed AIDS. He died two weeks after the diagnosis. It was, as one says, a shock to the system.
And it has never changed. My last attempt at finding 'happiness' wasn't all that long ago. And whaddaya know... after a very nice two hours, I learned he was married, his wife had a drinking problem, he was unhappy in his marriage, he'd enjoyed his afternoon with me. And wanted to continue seeing me.
I was outraged. And gently sent him to the place 'where the pepper grows', as we say. He was nice and all, but wow, just wow.
I've since given up. So much of the problem lies in hypocrisy. But I've never been a player when it came to that.
No comments:
Post a Comment