In my first post about HIV/AIDS the other day, I mentioned an HIV poz guy who was misquoting me on Facebook. The difference between what I actually said ( and meant) and what he claims I said is small but very significant. He is accusing me of blaming HIV poz guys, and in reality, I am calling for the whole of the gay community to be held accountable for rising HIV rates. The whole of the community is responsible and lowering the rates of transmission is the responsibility of the whole community as well. I’d like to share my thoughts about what it means for the whole of the community to hold itself accountable, and some ideas about why we don’t now and so,e f the obstacles that stand in the way.

In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, the strategies were clearer. Stay alive; learn as much as you can; organize and demand the government and the pharmaceutical companies treat everyone fairly. There was a little bit of effort put towards eroticizing safer sex, but that went away as AIDS funding was not allowed to be used for such purposes, and prevention efforts shifted towards being tested and getting on meds if you are positive. And we learned that condoms were safe. Condom use meant the difference between life and death, and as we watched our friends and lovers die fairly horrific deaths, life seemed worth it in ways I can’t even begin to describe.

Condoms weren’t always easy to use. In fact, I’d say that condoms make sex really difficult, but I won’t harp on that in this post,