In The South Bank Beacons' Beam...

If liberty means anything at all,
it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
George Orwell

"AIDS is a war against humanity ... this is a war that requires the mobilization of entire populations." Nelson Mandela

"An Open Letter to America –Unite and Support our Military
Whether you have recently marched for peace or supported the Bush administration and the War in Iraq, many of us, as patriots and as citizens of the world are unsure as to how to respond to war. Many feel regardless of our differences, if we do not rally behind the Commander-in-Chief we are somehow letting the brave men and women that are executing their orders with honorable intent, down.
Many feel that when our front-line troops view, or receive word of, the demonstrations and examples of civil disobedience both in the U.S.and abroad that are certain to occur throughout this war, they will feel disappointment. Just as I urge Democratic Leadership (a term that was used as an oxymoron from late 2000 through 2002) to distinguish for the American people, in their 2004 platform, the difference that lies between supporting a strong, well-funded, well-trained, rapidly-deployable defensive military force, and supporting the War in Iraq, I want our troops to understand that we who demonstrate do not take issue with them.
I protest because our great military deserves a Commander-in-Chief that will direct our military in an honorable way. These men and women should be deployed when we are threatened or attacked, one of our allies are threatened or attacked, or a nation, through the United Nations or the world body requests our assistance and exhaustive diplomatic efforts have failed. Attacking another nation in a preemptive, first-strike manner Is barbaric, and an affront to our intelligence as a nation, an affront to the honor of our military and sets a dangerous precedent for the rest of the world. [more]"

Teens... How Does HIV Impact Them

HIV is not a disease specific to one group, population, or ethnicity. It affects both sexes, all ages, and all socioeconomic groups. Teens are no exception. In fact, some feel teens are a very underserved and unheard group. I have talked to teens, visited their forums, and observed them clinically as well as from a father's point of view.

Here are excerpts from one interview that I feel typifies the teen community and their feelings on HIV.

We will call her Brenda*. She is a sixteen year old from a small Midwestern community. Brenda is the daughter of divorced parents. Both have remarried and get along very well with one another. Both mom and dad play a big role in Brenda's life. She is athletic, stubborn one minute and kind the next. She cherishes her religion and is a good student; in short she is a typical teenager. I wanted to know what she knew, felt, and feared about HIV. _{*Brenda is not her real name}

Brenda: "I really do not think about HIV/AIDS often but when I do it does scare me to think of all the bad things that can happen; especially death. I am definitely not at risk and I feel once I do get a boyfriend that I will be very responsible with my actions."

Guide: How often do you and your friends talk about sex? How often do you think about sex?

Brenda: "My friends and I do talk about sex but not as often as parents think. When it does come up HIV/AIDS and STDs are never really mentioned. I think though we all know the consequences of our actions."

Guide: Does the topic of HIV, AIDS, or STD’s ever come up in conversations with your friends?

Brenda: "The topic rarely comes up in our conversations. Mainly I think so because it is such a sensitive subject and I think we as teens are afraid to express our emotions in front of each other. I don't because of peer pressure and a fear of getting made fun of."

Guide: In school, what have you been taught, if anything about HIV and sexually transmitted diseases?

Brenda: "When I was in health class my freshmen year, we did have a whole unit on HIV/AIDS and STDs. We were all taught about safe sex, protection, consequences, and where to seek help."

Brenda: "HIV/AIDS is a very serious disease and there is no cure. The disease kills all of your white blood cells (immune system) which decreases your chances of living. People most often get it though unprotected sex. Anyone can get this disease...even a child who's born to a mother with HIV."

Guide: In your opinion, what do teens think condoms are for…preventing pregnancy or preventing HIV and STD's?

Brenda: "Mostly I think, teens really believe condoms are to prevent pregnancy."

Brenda: "Living with HIV/AIDS would be very dreadful just knowing that you could have prevented this disease. Also I would feel very alone and scared all the time. I would never feel I have a chance of living a complete life without worrying about something bad happening at any moment."

Guide: If you had a friend who found they were HIV infected, how would you feel?

Brenda: "Honestly, I would feel disappointed and embarrassed around her but I would still be there by her side because I would want the same thing if something like that ever happened to me."

Guide: Finally, how do you think HIV positive people are treated by society in general?

Brenda: "When people get HIV infected I think the public treats them like they have a disability. Mostly though not a lot of people can tell that you have HIV, which is a good thing."

Teens are rarely heard but what's on their mind is very important. To understand this group and to best meet their HIV prevention needs, we need to listen and learn. As the interview demonstrates, teens do have concerns about HIV but they also have some misconceptions as well. We need to clear up any misconceptions, deliver our prevention messages in ways with which teens can identify and most importantly listen to their concerns and questions.

I WAS ON www.m4m4sex.com last Saturday at 2 a.m., instant messaging with Everbaltop. "I know about 20 guys who got infected in the past year," he typed. "Everyone's partying and having unsafe sex. That's what these websites are all about."

"Doubt it," he said. "We need to go back to a 'condom every time' like it was in the '80s."

Everbaltop and I argued for a while about whether it was possible, or even desirable, to go back to the '80s. "A condom every time" is over, fear tactics are over, slogans are over, even the "crisis" is over. You can't live in terror of HIV forever, after all.

"Is another whole generation of us gonna get wiped out?" he typed before signing off into the ether.

That's a maddening question to ask yourself at any time of day - never mind trying to answer it. Last October, a group of HIV positive gay men at San Francisco's Stop AIDS Project ventured an answer: No. They did this by launching their own safe-sex campaign. It is pretty much everything that current prevention is not supposed to be: It has a slogan - "HIV is no picnic" - and, more important, its aim is to inspire fear of AIDS in negative gay men. The posters are deliberately ugly, even grotesque. In melodramatic black and white, each shows an HIVer (all four are members of the group, Positive Force) suffering a specific AIDS affliction or med side effect, spelled out in bold no-nonsense type: Diarrhea, Facial Wasting, Crix Belly, Night Sweats. "I don't care how good the sex is or how hot the guy is, nothing is worth what I'm going through now," the men warn. Nothing could be closer to "The wages of sin is death" - or, for that matter, further from the "Safe sex is hot sex" of the '80s.

The ads ran not only in the local gay paper but, blown up big, in the same bus-shelter spaces where ads for HIV meds showing shiny, happy mountain-climbers once ran. A friend told me that the day these posters went up all across town, San Franciscans of all persuasions literally stopped in their tracks and stood gaping. It may have been the first time in a decade that AIDS registered as a dreadful reality rather than a "manageable disease."

Going back to the '80s is no joyride. The "HIV is no picnic" posters upset a lot of people. Some longtime survivors argued that it was demeaning to, even demonizing of, PWAs. Some newly diagnosed argued that it was demoralizing. Some treatment activists argued that it would terrify people away from HIV meds. Others argued that it would trigger violence against people with HIV. A petition was circulated, town meetings scheduled. In short, the campaign is a success: It took a conversation that gay men were having in private at 2 a.m. and imposed it on an entire city.

But will it succeed as prevention? Will young gay men begin to think of getting HIV not as another STD to shrug off with pills but as a devastating disease to be avoided at all cost? And what of the possible collateral damage to people with HIV caused by this fear tactic? Is that the price we pay for saving lives? These are all important questions. But one thing is certain: A handful of HIV positive men who care about not spreading HIV delivered a shock to the system. Short of spiking our drinking water with Prozac - and flooding our self-hating gay brains with feel-good chemicals whose neat side effect is to smoother libido - it's hard to imagine a more effective action in a desperate but do-nothing time.

"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"

...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."

Still as true today as it was when first quoted in the movie "Philadelphia", the breadth of that social death, like the disease, has broadened into every segment of society. While the gay community, already well-versed in being regarded with disdain, rallied quickly to thumb their noses at and ward off that social shadow of death by organizing support systems and programs that would become the models that are imitated yet today, I now see a need to re-focus, energize and re-establish these social supports to be of greater value to the wider audience they now command. It often wrenchingly occurs to me that there are those among us who live in an HIV-closet because they are married/divorced, not Gay, not Male, not Adult or even not totally straight.

Through my membership in several internet groups focused on living with HIV , I've gotten a lot of support, comfort and ideas. I'm wondering if such a group would be of service here, in the Tri-State? At the very least, it would help keep "what they don't want to hear(about)" out of the NEGATIVEs group discussions. One of the other ideas I'm strongly drawn to are POZ Parties and I wonder if a monthly "Evening/Afternoon at the HIVe" is something that could be done successfully here as well? Imagine a bee-line for an Afternoon HIVe at Coney Island, Devou Park or Sunrock Farm?!?

Over the years, I've encountered several gay priests and religious and had no problems with their sexuality and choice of vocation. The thing that gave me pause, however, was the amount of "action" some of them seemed to be getting. It will be interesting to see if and how Mother church will now confront the issue of the unexpectedly and rather high incidence of HIV/AIDS amongst her CELIBATE? ranks? I can't wait to hear Dennis Jansons ' 2 cents worth on that! If you missed it, he was "Right ON" in regard to the Arch Bishops current dilemma... (I'll bet Bishop Muench is glad to be in New Orleans!)...

Todays news of an imminent end to the boycott in the aftermath of a highly probable settlement in the racial profiling case certainly has tongues a waggin' and cerebral gears a grindin'... Although not to be taken as "Much ado 'bout nothin'", I passed it off as more "Wishful/Hopeful Thinkin'" by the anti-boycott forces. But then I stopped to consider what could happen...

I like to think that I am not so extraordinary that I am going to have a life experience that no one after me will also experience. That was the basis of "The AIDS Benefits Handbook" which was my bible as I began the journey 10 years ago. Unfortunately there was no similar Guidebook for Coming Out back in the early 70's. My calling is to education and my talent is to write. I've lived in this area, on both sides of the river, all my life... And I wondered; Will the coalition fall apart??? Who will be the first to fold??? If CincinNASTY winds up with and settles for just enough of the pie to satisfy her current appetite, how much longer will it take for her to regret waiting for the whole one??? What more can be done???

Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 22:09:10 EST
Subject: Rainbow Talk: Cincinnat boycott

Hello to all,

I've been looking for the words to express why it is important for our
community to support the boycott against Cincinnati. Well, my friend Sam
Robinson from StandUp4Democracy did the job quite well. He gave me
permission to forward the post below. Please find it in your heart to at
least consider the possibility of standing together with our
African-American allies.
Louise
*****************************************************************************
Citizens for a Just Cincinnati, Stonewall Cincinnati and Cincinnati Black
United Front have all called for economic sanctions against Cincinnati.
Each group has its own demands but there is some agreement:

* There is a need for real reform of racist patterns and practices within
the Cincinnati Police Department, including effective non-departmental
oversight of citizens complaints and review of police processes.

* Cincinnati must repeal Article XII of the city charter. It prohibits the
city from enacting any rules or laws to protect gay people from
discrimination in housing or employment. Article XII gives Cincinnati the
dubious distinction of being the most anti-gay city in the US.

* Cincinnati must provide opportunities for meaningful participation in
local economic life for African American, working class and other minority
cultures. The city must fight policies which create, enforce and support
economic apartheid. It must fairly fund programs which have been setup to
target longstanding economic inequities.

Informing others about the boycott movement in Cincinnati is one way to
support human rights at home. Citizens for a Just Cincinnati has asked
musicians and entertainers not to come here. Stonewall Cincinnati, a human
rights/gay rights organization, has called for sanctions against travel and
tourism, asking, "How can any organization that promotes non-discrimination
come to Cincinnati if it is true to its own principles?" Cincinnati Black
United Front continues its calls for a downtown Cincinnati boycott.

Here are a few groups that have publicized their plans to meet in
Cincinnati during 2002. Please consider contacting them. Ask if they're
willing to support human rights by honoring the boycott movement in
Cincinnati.

2002 Ohio Middle School Association State Conference
Cincinnati Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Hotel
April 18-19, 2002

ABC's 67th Annual Convention
The Association for Business Communication
Hyatt Regency Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
October 23-26, 2002

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
Building Communities of Hope
NAMI 2002 Annual Convention
June 26-30, 2002
Cincinnati Convention Center
Cincinnati, Ohio

National Association of Biology Teachers
2002 National Convention
October 30 - November 2, 2002
Cincinnati Convention Center
Cincinnati, Ohio

Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals
The 2002 International Conference and Exhibit
Cincinnati Convention Center
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
April 3-6, 2002

2002 MTNA National Convention
(Music Teachers National Association)
March 16 - 20

RPMDA,
Retail Print Music Dealers Association Convention,
Hyatt Regency
May 8 - 11

BONUS ACTION:
Rev. Damon Lynch III asked his audience at the Cincinnati Summit on
Economic Sanctions to convince white artists and musicians to boycott
Cincinnati, "If we can get just one Garth Brooks concert not to come ... if
we can get just one 'NSync concert not to come, it's over. So I say to my
white friends: You need to start working on Garth."
******************************************************************
"There is Magic when I choose to see you as Spirit having a human
experience." Claire Johnson 1999

--Rainbow News --AMP Alert ends

We can only hope that the coalition holds together until all of the partners goals are achieved. In conjunction with all the loss business downtown: Ain't opening day just a week away?? Who's zoomin' whom?? Here's a thought: I read or heard somewhere that Mayor Lukewarms desired solution to the LGBT Communities goal to repeal Article XII/Issue 3 is for the community to mount a petition drive similar to the one that started the whole damn thing to begin with. I'm kinda guessin' that if everyone who works downtown, lives downtown or has an interest in downtown and its economic well-being and future would sign up ASAP, it would be a healthy start to such a petition drive. If the downtown hotels, or any other business for that matter, need something for their staffs to do during the lull, send a few to the square at lunchtime to help gather the signatures needed to "Save Downtown-CincinNASTY!, USA"!!! And Then, the rest of the Tri-State community/Regional Partners should sign and send support petitions to the Court of Public Opinion! The perspective from this view is: If it is true that indeed, whatever is good for the Queen City is, indeed good for the whole region does it then not follow that what is shameful for the Queen also sheds shame on her whole realm???
________________________________________________________________________

Subject: Broadway Series at the Aronoff/Taft

Response I received from Stonewall Cincy regarding boycott and upcoming
Broadway series...

From: "repealissue3"
> Stonewall Cincy stands by it's position that we don't want enlightened
> individuals and groups coming to this city until the Repeal of Article 12
> aka ISSUE 3. Both the Aronoff and any of the hotels fall under that
> umbrella.
> We welcome you anytime after that.
> ----- Original Message ----- Sent: 22 February, 2002 Subject: Broadway Series
> I live in Lexington, KY (home of a Fairness Ordinance- hooray!), but have
> one question for you:
> I've never subscribed to the Cincy Broadway Series, but have attended
> various individual performances since Article 12 (Les Miz, etc.). The
> recently announced 2002-03 season has me very excited (The Producers,
> Contact, Lion King) I am torn between my love of the arts and the intent
> of this boycott. Okay, at last, I'll get to my question:
> Should I not come (read: "tourist") to Cincy as a patron of the arts in
> order to support this boycott? And another: as part of the boycott, are
> gay residents similarly boycotting Cincinnati by not attending cultural
> events?
> I promise not to stay overnight or spend any "tourism" dollars while in the
> city, as I would buy matinee tickets and safely make my way home to
> Fairness-friendly Lexington.
> -Michael

Please do, Spring! And if you absolutely have to have something, see something, meet with colleagues,... and your only option is Cincinnati-ya gotta do what ya gotta do! After all, the majority of the HIV/AIDS Expertise in this area is clustered at University Hospital. I suggest that you Buycott Support of the Arts, and then support the Boycott while you're here and: www.staynky.com !!!
Come enjoy the many riverfront activities here on The South Bank... Like to catch a nice dinner on your way down the road? May I suggest... on The South Bank:

Pg Created 03/22/2002. Last Revised/Up-dated: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 2:41 PM