6 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE DECEMBER 10, 1993

'We need a cure, not ribbons,' is rally's message

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time." Four or five video techs are working the crowd. I wonder how many minutes will wind up on the editing floor for those few seconds of air time.

I found myself thinking a lot about symbols. I watched people hand out posters with pictures of friends who had died from AIDS while others were tying black gags over their mouths, the 'silence equals death' equation. We were surrounded by giant metal snowmen, evergreens, candy canes, kiddie railroad trains, all the Public Square favorites, hommages to that biggest holiday symbol of all, Christmas, symbol of love and unity. The purpose for this gathering was a symbol itself, the burial of the red ribbon, that worn-out symbolic gesture of distance and limited interest, 'This is all I can do for AIDS, it's enough.' Marcos Rivero has had enough of symbols. "Fuck the red ribbon, The time for symbols is over," his amplified voice told a murmuring, agreeing crowd.

The mostly quiet march, broken only by occasional chants and the somber beat of Jim Campbell's bass drum, stepped off the Square, down Euclid Avenue, headed to the Federal Building and more symbols. Along Euclid people were filtering out of stores and looking out of windows. It was the usual office-drone-stuck-inside-all-day-and-don'tknow-what's-going-on response, mixed with callous, still uninformed replies like, "Sickening, isn't it?" and, "If they weren't taking it up the ass, they wouldn't have AIDS."

I had to wonder, aren't these rallies for these people as well? Doesn't Joe Bottomline see that his selfish, limited, money-centered worldview will also feel the crunch if more isn't done? What about the responsibility it takes to react and demonstrate and protest for the future health of those who won't take the responsibility to do so?

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"Well, I'm proud that I'm doing this work," says Kenn. "I'm gonna be around when people finally get the message and see that what we've been saying all along was the truth. We're kind of like prophets, preaching what people don't want to hear, but knowing that time will prove us right." How much time? Jim whacks his drum with enough force it tears the head. But he keeps right on, the march keeps on, time is moving

on.

At the Federal Building, Joe Carroccio and Marcos lead a ceremony of burning the newly unveiled AIDS stamp, a pretty red ribbon-big surprise-symbol of twelve years of death and the limit of public acknowledgment. Red ribbons had been passed out earlier and now people shuffled by the coffin, tossing in their ribbons and making silent wishes. Somewhere in the city right then, maybe Tower City, a kid was tossing a coin in a trickling, shallow fountain, making wishes for things like skateboards, Gameboy discs and the latest Pearl Jam CD. Better throw your dime in the fountain and wish for an AIDS cure, kid.

Back at Public Square, worker bees and suits were scattering across the intersections, typical lunchtime crowd. Volunteers from Health Issues Taskforce and the Cleveland Play House were stationed on every corner handing out fliers that outlined things people could do to support those living with AIDS, things other than wearing ribbons. The cards said stuff like 'Always Practice Safer Sex,' and 'Write Or Call My Congress Person,' and 'Talk To My Kids About Sex, Drugs And AIDS.' Smart things. Wise things. Obvious things. Things people still aren't doing or talking about. And it's twelve years later...

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The Lion in Winter. What did two groovy guys from the Big Apple think of Cleveland response to their efforts? Michael was "frustrated that there are still people out there who don't even know what the red ribbon means. I'm getting people asking me 'Does it mean you're gay?' and 'Are you a movie star or something?"," a reference to the ease with which celebrities will hop on board the issue of the day. Michael thinks that New Yorkers are more responsive to literature distribution and AIDS, his point well illustrated by the amount of refusals he's getting. John David gets angry enough that he starts pursuing people a bit, asking one particularly smug businessman why he won't take the info. "I don't have any personal behavior problems," he says. “Oh yeah," John David comes back at him. "Don't you realize there's world-wide epidemic going on?" "No, I did not," and he takes his self-assurance with him across the street. My own smug cynicism wants to say, 'Welcome to Cleveland, boys,' but I know it can't be World AIDS Day if it were only a Cleveland problem.

The next day I'm sinking in garbage. It's not the usual landfill variety of fruit rinds, coffee grounds and leftover meals that never got reheated. It's more a well-meaning, prettified, red-ribbon wrapped package of good intentions and wasted words. It's America's response to AIDS that I'm drowning in. Where is the substance?

I check in with ACT UP to get their response to the day before. "We're real happy with the way things turned out," says Kenn, smiling and still keyed up, though you can tell he's tired. "Things were really crazy after the rally. But I think it paid off. You should've seen the amount of people crammed in here after everything was over. We're all very happy with the turnout."

Joe's running around in an oversized pair of ACT UP stamped boxers and a sweatshirt. Nice welcoming touch to their new digs, I think. He's spilled juice on his pants and they're drying on a radiator. The boxers are part of the ACT UP collection-nice looking white sweatshirts, t-shirts and boxers, with ACT UP logos. They're a source of revenue for the group.

Their workspace looks great. Kenn's pride shows as he tells me what work's been done getting the place in shape. Joe sanded and refinished most of the floors himself. A mammoth copier occupies the bulk of one room, source of the paper they generate. The copier and the fax are vital lifelines for ACT UP. Joe's careful about expenditures like copy paper, Kenn says. Outrageous copier-rental fees drove ACT UP New York into Big Financial Mess.

It's the end of a long three months of planning, Kenn says. "This was a major demonstration for us. For three months we worked on this, but the last three weeks were the most intense."

Both Joe and Kenn still seem charged by the previous day. But there are worries about the upcoming Monday night meeting. Where will they put all the people they're anticipating will show? For once, it's a concern they're happy to face.

Joe's a bit wound up, he seems made of perpetual motion. He's bright and he knows his facts. It's impressive. Later, Kenn will show me video of Joe on Live on 5, where he intelligently plows through Roy Weissinger's efforts at General Public Perspective. You can be sure that very little of Joe winds up on the editing floor.

I want to know what motivates people like Joe and Kenn to get involved through ACT UP. "ACT UP," says Joe, leaning in the doorway and testing his jeans for dryness, "is the only organization that gets things done. It's because of ACT UP that drug prices have come down. We're not a support group. We're trying to get in front of this thing. ACT UP is real angry, real vocal. That's who I am. Now we have to push for House Bill 3310, the Barbara McClintock project. This is our chance. Now that's it's been introduced we may never get another chance."

Kenn's activism grew out of "a lot of time on my hands. And I wanted to make change. Gay rights didn't seem as important as people dying." ACT UP is Kenn's first involvement with grassroots politics. "There's room in ACT UP for everyone," he tells me. "That's the great thing about it. Everybody comes in thinking that all we do is get arrested. But then they see that we do so many other things. We don't want to get arrested all the time, but if it's necessary then there are those of us ready to do it. Right now we'll be focusing on getting the word out about McClintock and there will be plenty of work around that. There's always something that needs to get done beyond chaining yourself to a building."

A couple days later and I'm still swimming in garbage. But the waters have receded a bit because now there's hope. Now I know that someone's out there, throwing out the lifeline, screaming and yelling to save my life, to save your life. Scrape past that shallow red veneer a bit and you'll see them. They're out there every day, not just a single agreed upon officially correct day. How long before the rest of us bury our symbols and get hip to the fact that every day is AIDS Day in our world?

AIDS Day in other cities

World AIDS Day was observed around the country and around the world on December 1 with a variety of events.

In Los Angeles, volunteers in "body condoms" paraded through downtown streets in the "Great L.A. Condom Put-On," sponsored by the Los Angeles County Health Services Department. Signs read, "It's your right to use us tonight."

In New York, ACT UP members protested the unveiling of the AIDS stamp. Tennis tournaments were held in memory of Arthur Ashe. Liza Minnelli appeared at a United Nations performance that was broadcast worldwide, singing "The Day After That,” a song she has recorded to raise funds for the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Many prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, went dark for 15 minutes in silent acknowledgment.

A letter written to San Francisco middle and high school students by a man living with AIDS was read throughout the city. It was also read aloud at a news conference at the school district's headquarters, one of several events held in the Bay Area to mark

World AIDS Day. Flags flew at half-mast in Oakland. Volunteers at the San Francisco Food Bank prepared food baskets for HIV positive people. And several churches rang their bells 13 times to represent the 13 years of the epidemic.

In Washington, President Clinton marked the day with stamps, speeches and symbolic gestures, visiting AIDS patients in a hospital and pledging to fight an epidemic that has brought out "the best and the worst in America." His appearance at Georgetown University was marked by a 70-second interruption by an activist who challenged Clinton on his AIDS record. The same activist, Luke Sissyfag (his legal name), had heckled Health Secretary Donna Shalala and Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders at an earlier event.

Overseas, the day was marked by many nations. Condoms were handed out on street corners from Berlin to Bulgaria to symbolize one way to slow the spread of the disease. In Paris, activists used a crane to hoist a giant pink condom over the 75-foot obelisk in the Place de la Concorde. ✓