Page 2 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE September 18, 1992

Editorials

The second decade of the epidemic

It was on June 5, 1981, that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published the first reports of unusual occurrences in Los Angeles of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. On July 4 of that year, unusual outbreaks of Kaposi's sarcoma in San Francisco and additional Pneumocystis cases in New York were reported by the CDC.

Mainstream newspapers reported the stories briefly. The gay press in the besieged urban areas provided more urgent coverage with headlines of "gay cancer" and "gay pneumonia," that would haunt the community for several years.

By early 1982 the growing epidemic was known as GRID, for Gay Related Immune Deficiency. The CDC never accepted that terminology and, after similar immune deficiency cases that affected hemophiliacs were reported, finally selected the acronym AIDS, for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, in July of 1982.

At this stage of the epidemic, selecting a neutral name was the easiest task that faced medical professionals. In mid-1982 there was still no understanding of why so many gay men were involved, nor of how the disease was transmitted. By September, ten years ago, the reported cases exceeded 1,000, with more than 400 deaths.

The fear, devastation, and confusion that rocked the gay community in the early 1980's grew into a building of support services for our own people, and outrage at government inertia. As years passed, and thousands died, it was the gay community that became organized, informed and mobilized to assist unacquainted medical personnel and confused people who thought that AIDS could never happen to them. Nurses less often quarantined sick gay men, leaving food outside the hospital room door. The compassion and understanding offered within the community, especially by lesbians, was extended to all the "unwanteds" who suffered from the disease. It was the lesbian and gay community where straight sufferers turned to for information, assistance and comfort.

Now, well into the second decade of the epidemic, we find that the number of cases continues to grow. This is truly a monumental, worldwide challenge that will last for many more years. Yet, the transmission of the virus (or viruses, according to poorlyresearched reports) that invades and neutralizes the immune system can be prevented. We can save those who are not infected! There are documented procedures that stop or kill the disease while it attempts

to pass from one person to another! We're talking about SAFER SEX.

Are you following these procedures? Are you practicing safer sex?

Or do you fall back on one of the excuses (called "myths" by the Health Issues Taskforce) that exposes you or your partner to an incurable disease?

AIDS is preventable . . . if you don't catch the virus. No one is above this disease. It is now documented in every part of the world, threatening men, women, young, old, straight, gay, everyone. Each one of us must do our part to stop the onslaught.

Depending on what survey you read, the number of cases may be dropping among gay men in their 30's, or rising among gay teenagers, or going out of control among women. These are just snapshots--showing only part of the world at just one instant in time. We all need to change our patterns, our behavior, our concern for others to see this challenge beaten.

Follow the guidelines for safer sex, always.

Constantly remind others about the threat of this disease and how it can be prevented. People are lazy and drop back into bad habits. Let's make sure we save as many as

we can.

When bubonic plague swept through Europe, no one knew about germs and carriers such as mosquitos. We have the knowledge about how HIV is spread. We know how to prevent its spread. Make sure others know. Make sure we all do our part in this global war.

[Some of the historical information was taken from Randy Shilts' 1987 book And The Band Played On. If you've never read it, you should. It is a powerful, exhaustive history of AIDS and political infighting through 1985, and a wry look at life during the heady times that presaged the epidemic.]

Are you really comfortable?

This year marks the fifth annual celebration of National Coming Out Day, held on October 11. The call is always for each of us to "take the next step" in our coming out process. The Chronicle frequently encourages you to be more "visible."

As you can see from the letters, some people do not agree. But we believe that in the long run it helps both the individual and the community. In response to the many, especially in the "bedroom suburbs" and rural areas of Ohio, who claim that they are comfortable being gay to themselves without flaunting it, we say "hypocrite!''

Are you comfortable, sitting on your front porch, when a neighborhood kid drops a football and is called a faggot or a sissie by his friends?

Are you comfortable in your office, when a woman you admire is called a dyke or an amazon behind her back by men who can't score with her?

Are you comfortable when you read yet another story of a "lonely" teenager who was different from his peers and committed suicide?

How comfortable are you when you're invited to the company picnic or Christmas party and have to decide if you should bring a "guest" or go alone and endure the comments again?

And what about the family gatherings where the well-meaning relative has a “nice

Guest Opinion

[opposite-sex person]" they'd like you to meet?

How comfortable are you when your circle of "friends" launches into yet another discussion of dating, marriage and children? How much do you contribute? How much do you reveal?

How comfortable were you watching the Republican National Convention with its definition of "family values" provided by rabid homophobes who claimed they were speaking for God?

Being guilt-ridden, ashamed and subservient are not required conditions for life on earth. And they're not healthy. Ask your therapist!

Taking the next step in your coming-out process can be small or large. Maybe signing a petition. Maybe a long overdue talk with your favorite aunt. Maybe a request that your company include "sexual orientation" in its non-discrimination policy. Maybe hanging a rainbow flag in your window. Maybe using your full name when making a contribution to a gay cause. Maybe telling Mom.

The overwhelming majority of those who have "come out" and stayed out will encourage you to join them. There is a wonderful feeling in not having to hide anymore. The cumulative effect is also important, offering encouragement and role models to all those still afraid.

gay people's

HRONICLE

Vol. 8, Issue 3

Founded by Charles Callender

1928-1986

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Martha J. Pontoni, Patti Harris, Kevin Beaney, Brian De Witt, Scott Hare.

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Be proud of who you are. Gay men and lesbians have a long and impressive history. The only shame is on those who seek to intimidate us with mis-information, ignorance and deceit. Take your next formal step on October 11th. And don't stop walking.

Next month: political choices.

Gay men still walk a tightrope over the chasm of AIDS

by Glenn Rowe

In 1992 gay men across America continue to walk a tightrope trying to avoid being destroyed in the AIDS epidemic. With every step, the rope seems to stretch further out before us. With every new development, the rope seems to shift beneath our feet and we wonder if we can ever feel truly safe again.

We have seen our friends and lovers plunge from this tightrope, dying horrible deaths. We have heard the chants of Jesse Helms and other fascists eager for our destruction. We struggled to keep our footing, fighting off despair, believing that sometime soon, things would begin to make sense again, that the tragedy would not go on forever.

Now, at the Amsterdam AIDS conference, the world's leading AIDS experts

recognized a new strain of the killer virus, one that is not detected by current HIV test methods. If they have already identified 30 such cases, how many more are going undetected among people living in squalor in Africa, Asia... and the inner cities of the United States?

AIDS struck. We modified our behavior: fewer partners and safer sex. And as the epidemic exploded, we changed more dramatically. But now, this new horror. A form of HIV that won't show up on a test. Meaning: even if you wait for Prince Charming, even if you abstain from sex for a year while having ten negative HIV tests done, you can never be sure your sex is truly safe. Even if you practice the safest sex ever, he might still harbor this "invisible" AIDS virus. There will always be the chance that the condom will break and this insidi-

ous "stealth virus" will swim through a gallon of water-based spermicide with Nonoxyl-9 to infect you. No matter how careful you are, you can never erect a perfect defense against this enemy.

Is it any wonder that gay men discuss AIDS with an increasing feeling of despair? No matter how dramatically we modify our sexual behavior, it seems this virus finds an infinite number of ways to hunt us down.

Of course, we know in our minds that this disease is a threat to all people everywhere, that a set of damnable circumstances sent the killer after gay Americans first. But we know also that gay men were the first Americans to fall. For a heterosexual American, the personal risk of contracting AIDS is at a level gay men were

facing ten years ago. For some of us, myself included, our identity as homosexuals is inextricably linked to the threat of AIDS; the plague came before we had our first orgasms. In our hearts, we cannot help feeling that we are still on the cutting edge of this misery. And I wonder, if I, a 24 year old suburban guy in Ohio, can feel such dread, what must my middle-aged gay brothers in New York or San Francisco feel? They didn't come of age knowing the killer was out there; they built their identities, turned their heads, and found that half of their friends were dead or dying in less than a decade.

A brave few of us can commit to abstinence; a reckless few shut their eyes and

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