Whatever Happened to AIDS?
– © 2003 Bill Burleson

Coming of age in the late 70's meant, as a queer man, I enjoyed the golden age of gay sexuality: discos, bathhouses, and a new feeling of freedom to enjoy the harvest of both the gay liberation and the free love movements.

Living in the 1980s meant facing my own and my community's mortality.

In 1981 AIDS hit with headlines and panic in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities, in the pages of Newsweek, if not in the White House. The country was fearful of just what the scope of this new epidemic would be. The fear was well justified: since 1981 almost a half million American's have died of complications from AIDS. We now live in a country where it's estimated that 850,000 to 950,000 now have HIV. Although there has been progress in treating HIV/AIDS, there is still no cure.

Yet one would think there is a cure. In my job as a HIV/STD prevention worker for the Red Door Clinic, I talk with people in support groups, at bars, treatment centers, and cruising areas. What I find is a complacency bordering on self-destruction.

To be fair, one could be excused for thinking there has been a cure; that HIV/AIDS has gone the way of typhoid, polio, and the passenger pigeon. What was once front-page news as we saw people waste and die -- the famous, not so famous, young and old alike -- is now receding from the nightly news and the public consciousness.

Yet in the United States about 40,000 people are newly diagnosed with HIV every year. In Minnesota, new cases since 1993 varied from a high of 355 to a low of 283, and in 2002 there were 305 people diagnosed with HIV. The Red Door Clinic has tested, and had positive test results from, pretty much the same number of people every year for the last ten years. The epidemic marches on at an amazingly steady pace. So why aren't we still moved to action?

One reason is medical advances have made HIV/AIDS less of a threat for immediate death. Life spans of people with HIV/AIDS have increased. Indeed, some would argue that it is now like diabetes, a chronic and manageable condition. All true, and that's certainly good news for those living with HIV/AIDS. On the other hand, I wouldn't wish diabetes on my worst enemy. Besides, HIV is a crafty little bug, and the drugs seem to have a limited window of usefulness before a person's HIV evolves a defense, meaning some HIV positive people are running out of useful treatments. Another problem is some of the drugs have major and bizarre side affects. These are powerful drugs, and no one should ever have to find out what it is like to take them by the fist full. So while treatments have changed and improved, HIV/AIDS remains a terrible, deadly disease.

I would guess part of the reason for complacency is that it's hard to maintain an air of crisis for an extended period of time, even though it truly is a crisis. We all get tired of hearing about it. We all get tired of hearing about anything if you hear it enough. But if we, the public, have a short attention span, we're like elephants compared to the media. Crisis de jour appears to be the mission of the popular press. We can tune in at 5 and hear OCD coverage of whatever is the fancy of the day: OJ Simpson, Elian Gonzales, Tonya Harding, J-Lo's dress; need I go on? These stories have the virtue of pulp novels in they have a beginning, middle and an end, at which time the cameras return home and the object of the story is left in the dust bin of history. AIDS has no end to the story, at least not yet.

As opposed to tabloid news stories, ignoring HIV/AIDS has real consequences. Like I said, some individuals are tired of hearing about it, which is fine. However, some people are tired of protecting themselves from it, which is not fine. We need to pay attention to HIV/AIDS, both as individuals and as a society. It must again become a priority. And the media has to do its part. We need to hear and remember the message of living safe from HIV/AIDS at least as much as we hear and remember the messages "Dude, you're getting a Dell" and "Just do it."

What can you do to address this issue? Get mad. Practice safer sex. Demand attention. Practice safer sex. Speak up. Practice safer sex. Lastly, get yourself tested for HIV. If everyone knew their status, then we all could protect each other (and take care of ourselves) better.

We can prevent HIV/AIDS. We can protect ourselves. We can live full lives complete with a satisfying sex life without dying. If you don't know how, find out. AIDS is not going away; we can't pretend it will by ignoring it. Questions about HIV? You can reach Bill at the HIM program of the Red Door Clinic at 612.348.6641, or visit www.cdc.gov/hiv

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