REMEMBERING THE FIGHT AND THE NEED FOR AN AIDS WALK

In light of the upcoming Aids Walk here in the Black Hills I have been doing some reflecting on my own life and the changes I’ve seen in the past 35 years since I came out. I remember back in the late seventies and early eighties when “coming out” meant joining the party. Life was a big party. Individual and Sexual freedom was what life was all about. Discovering one’s self also meant pushing the limits and the boundaries of the physical as well as the intellectual, spiritual and emotional. We all had such great hopes for the future back then. And we attacked life with wild abandon. What did we have to worry about? No one was going to get pregnant. The occasional STD was cured with a shot of penicillin. Except for the occasional crazy person and the religious fanatics things were good. Unfortunately when you constantly push the limits, eventually you are going to find them. That is just what happened in the great gay community in which we found ourselves. We started hearing about this new disease that was killing gay men. There were all kinds of rumors. “It was a secret plot. It was introduced by the government to wipe us out.” No rumor was too wild not to advance. What proved to be shockingly true was that because it was affecting primarily gay men it wasn’t taken seriously and too many members of our community were getting horribly sick and dieing. It was allowed to get more out of control than it should have because of societies disdain for us and the political realities of the time. It was the gay community that began the push to get the word out about aids. I was involved in those early days in organizing on college campuses and struggling to find out about “the disease.” The beginning of the aids crisis was a great catalyst for the gay community. It forced us into organizing on a scale we didn’t think possible. And it forced us into reevaluating our lives and our communities. All the while we were watching our friends get sick and die. Too many of them were dieing lost and alone having been disowned and rejected by families and the rest of society. It forced the rest of us into realizing we had to take care of our own because no one else was going to do it. I was one of the lucky ones. I didn’t get aids. Why I was spared, I don’t know. What I do know is that I now have an obligation to first of all to get the word out about HIV and AIDS prevention to prevent another holocaust like the one I, and those of my generation, experienced. The most vulnerable at this point are young gay people who aren’t getting any information in the schools or at home. They are very much at risk for another epidemic. Secondly with the advancement of medication and treatment for aids many people are living with it for years. There are members of our HIV Positive group that have been living with aids for 20 years. This has its own difficulties for the victims. Many are living quiet lives of desperation and loneliness because the rejection and discrimination are still there. Most are also living in poverty because of the high cost of treatment and medication as well as the inability for most to work. The above reasons are why it is so important for us to support the Aids Walk here in the Black Hills especially those of us in the gay community. First of all and most importantly it raises funds to help those living with aids with emergency expenses. And it lets them know that there are those of us who still care. Secondly it raises awareness and understanding about hiv and aids and ways to increase prevention. The biggest thing I realized through all of this is how lucky I am; that I have a responsibility to help those who weren’t as lucky as I; and that “there but for the grace of God go I.” It is very important for everyone to pitch in and help with this cause. Please don't let it devastate another generation.