Michael Wallace Connett

The HIVe @ Seminary Square

October 3^rd, 2004

Greetings!

This month, in the 23rd year of this grotesque calamity, marks the 13^th year of my personal Journey through AIDS.  More than 20 years and 20 million deaths since the first AIDS diagnosis in 1981, almost 38 million people (range 34.6 – 42.3 million) are living with HIV.  AIDS is an extraordinary kind of crisis; it is both an emergency and a long-term development issue. Despite increased funding, political commitment and progress in expanding access to HIV treatment, the AIDS epidemic continues to outpace our response. No segment of humanity has been spared. The epidemic remains extremely dynamic, growing and changing character as the virus exploits new opportunities for transmission.   This last year was our worst year ever, with 5 Million New HIV Infections (Prevention failures) and 3 Million Deaths (Treatment failures).  As AIDS Quilt founder Cleve Jones said in 2001; “Our hearts may be filled, but there are only two emotions worth expressing at this perilous time: GRIEF and RAGE.  Grief for the millions who have died and are dying.  Rage at the indifference, greed, and stupidity that permit this grotesque calamity to continue.”

Indifference, greed and stupidity are also the three major ingredients in the American recipe for what has come to be known as AIDS Complacency.  A Cultural phenomena against which every major player in the fight against it has warned us continually for as long as I can remember.  Indifference which is rooted in the arrogance that it can’t happen to us, only “the right people”; mainly gays.  Greed fueled by the profits, jobs and paychecks from the new industry and bureaucracy it spawned.  Stupidity that feeds the intolerance, discrimination, stigmatization and demonization that prevents us from using every means available to prevent future infections as well as diagnose, treat and care for those who already have been.

“We need leaders everywhere to demonstrate that speaking up about AIDS is a point of pride,

not a source of shame.

There must be no more sticking heads in the sand, no more embarrassment, no more hiding behind a veil of apathy.  Leadership means respecting and upholding the human rights of all who are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS…”