HIV/AIDS cases increase among gay men again....

[Liberal Veteran]

"The number of gay and bisexual men diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, climbed for the third consecutive year in the United States in 2002, fueling fears that the disease might be poised for a major comeback in this high-risk group."

This really pisses me off. After watching so many people die from this hideous disease and all the work and progress the gay community made on this issue, it just annoys me to no end that the message apparently has been lost or ignored on the younger generation that didn't have to live through the devastation of the AIDS crisis in the early 80's through the mid-90's.

Back in those days, Silence=Death. Now it would appear that Complacency=Death.

The idea that the expensive anti-viral cocktails make HIV a non-issue is laughable and pathetic. They are hard on the system and the side-effects can be horrible. They require a mental discipline to maintain adherence or they stop working due to resistance in non-adherent patients, and they don't work for everyone. In addition, drug resistant HIV is spreading and people are finding they are resistant to certain classes of anti-virals at diagnosis.

I really don't know whether to be sad or angry. And to be honest, I am don't know if I have the strength to go through this again. I have buried so many people who never had the advantages modern anti-viral therapy gives a lot of people and I can't help but be feel that at least the majority of people I buried were infected before we even knew what was HIV was.

Oh well, time to start passing out the free condoms again and preaching safer sex. Looks like there is no rest for the weary.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

1. Oh, God, not again

This was bad enough the first time.

[MotorCityMan]

3. Here we go again

So many young(er) gay men think that this is curable now and no big deal. Very sad. I came out in the early 80's in Detroit, and the "gay cancer" was just starting to hit. Got educated on it in a hurry.

This is horrifying news, especially to those of us that have seen so many people die of this.

[bitchkitty]

2. So depressing -

Since the new drugs can expand life and essentially turn it into a chronic disease (although now we know that the drugs are their own nightmare), some young people feel that it's not the danger it once was.

Most of my close friends from the 80s are dead. This is so sad.

[Liberal Veteran]

4. I can think of one way to drive the message home....

Of course no one in their right mind would agree to this, but they it would really drive the message home if some of these people were required to live as if they actually had HIV for a month or two.

Make them take fake meds everyday that caused stomach upset and diarrhea and vomiting and skin rashs and make them get up every single day at exactly the same time to take the meds.

A month of that, hell a week of that would convince people that it simply isn't worth ignoring the risks.

[jonnyblitz]

5. or be a caregiver for somebody in the final stages

Most of the guys that I know that are poz these days are in their early to mid 20's...a few have been poz since their teens. Most of take their bazillion pills and they are healthy by all outward appearances though they have their bad days. I can remember one death after the other in the 80's and it was always in your face if you lived in SF. Eventually all these protease inhibitors are no longer going to work since the virus mutates and becomes immune. I think we are in the eye of this storm. Stand by for Part II...sad but true.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. You know....

AIDS has changed so much in the straight community. Lemme tell you, the days of sport fucking are gone, gone, gone. Oh, I am sure there are a few pockets of "resistance" out there, tenaciously denying the facts(I speak only of the US), but I can say that as a single straight man, this sure ain't the 70's or early 80's. Period.

By and large you either ain't gettin' none, and if you do (on those incredibly rare occasions), it's "No Glove, No Love".

What puzzles me is why, since the gay community in the US has been so hard hit by this disease, do the young men not grok the implications that are so clearly laid out in front of them? I know denial is an incredibly powerful coping mechanism, but really...

[Liberal Veteran]

7. I wish I could explain the mindset....

...that avoids the facts and puts people at risk.

Maybe if I could, I would be able to find a way to get the message to people in the gay community.

[Giverney]

8. Agreed

I'm a straight person, but don't understand why it is increasing.
Especially in this country.

In Africa it's more understandable, becuase getting the communication out there on how the disease is spread is the hard part.

but if by now, you live in the US, are sexually active, and DONT understand how to get AIDS, you are more secluded than anyone I know.

How is this possible? Everyone who reads anything or watches any tv station knows about AIDS. How is it possible that it's increasing?

...

[Liberal Veteran]

9. A variety of factors.....

1. The "invulnerability" of youth.
2. Esteem issues.
3. Misinformation (denialists that say HIV doesn't cause AIDS)
4. The idea that HIV is manageable and not a death sentence due to antiviral medications.

and (this might start a flame fest, but it is based on my own observations)

5. The co-mingling of alcohol (and to a lesser extent, drugs) with the typical male sex drive in gay bars. Mind altering substances and easy access to sex are not a good combination.

[ibegurpard]

10. Young people have grown up with it.

It's always been there for them...they can't remember a time when it didn't exist. It also doesn't have the same stigma that it did in the early years of the epidemic. Young people in general (not just gay men) have a tendency to not fully realize the ramifications of some of their risky behavior. I don't know what can be done to change this. I think perhaps the gay community has to stop worrying about being "judgemental." By judgemental, I'm not saying that we should blame victims of AIDS for their plight...I'm saying that we should take a stand against dangerous behavior and not be afraid to condemn actions that can put people at risk. It's not a question of right or wrong, moral or immoral...It's a question of life and death.