Because HIV is a very important issue for me personally I chose to make my posting debut here on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2006. I’m a long-term survivor. I most likely sero-converted on December 1, 1980, before there was even a word for what I now live with. I found out in 1985 that I had HIV; two years later I learned that I had definitely been infected prior to the end of May 1981. And eventually, based on a review of events happening the previous December and after consulting a 1980 calendar I established the likely date of 12/1/1980 as the date of my infection. I once posted a diary discussing the events of that time (personal and general) and how I came to establish that particular day (or night if one wishes to be technical) as the date of my infection.
A number of events took place today in San Francisco to mark World AIDS Day. There was a bike ride (I rode my bike in it) beginning and ending at the AIDS Memorial Grove. There was also a ceremony there to mark the occasion that I was unfortunately not able to attend. In the Castro District there were buckets of chalk on the sidewalks of Castro Street. People were encouraged to make art on the sidewalk. The picture above is an example. My own contribution is below.
I’m not terribly handy with chalk (better with a camera) but I did what I could.
Used to be that any number of people would post topical diaries here on World AIDS Day; as far as I can discern I’m the only one to do it this year (okay another story did appear while I was writing this post). I can well understand why there’s been less attention to the fight against HIV this year. There recently was a rather important election and it’s reasonable that people here and elsewhere are, for very good reasons, preoccupied with a variety of topics. And these days, again for some fairly good reasons, we tend to assume that HIV is now a chronic and manageable disease.
I would modestly suggest that we should not assume there’s no connection between the election and the progress of the fight against HIV.
The other day I had the honor to attend a class of nurse practitioner students studying at UCSF. One of those students is a friend of mine. He did a presentation and then presented me as the face of the population he was talking about. Here are some things I learned during my friend’s presentation:
It’s estimated that about 50% of all people in the US who live with HIV are over 50 years old.
It’s also estimated that within the next five years that figure will rise to 70%.
In San Francisco about 60% of people living with HIV right now. Once again the figure will continue to rise.
Based on the markers for aging, those who live with HIV have the bodies of people ten to fifteen years older than their actual chronological age.
These things concern me if for no other reason that I’m 65 years old and have lived with HIV for more than half of my life. Needless to say there are more than few people in my situation.
Now I’ll add five words: Vice President Elect Mike Pence.
It’s pretty apparent that Pence, having basically chosen Trump’s cabinet, will be setting the agenda for the Trump administration. Pence is a theocrat and a raging homophobe. It’s been noted here (most recently yesterday) that while Pence was in a member of Congress he suggested that funds being designated under the Ryan White Act to be used for HIV treatment and prevention services should instead be used to turn gay men into heterosexuals. I think it’s not being too harsh to say that if Pence gets his way the fight against HIV in this country will be set back years and perhaps decades.
Part and parcel of the fight you see has involved combating the enormous stigma that faced and to some extent still faces those living with HIV. Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of HIV infections throughout the world happen among heterosexual men and women, HIV is still seen in this country as being a “gay disease.” That’s why the Reagan administration saw fit to ignore the AIDS epidemic until one of his friends, Rock Hudson, announced he had AIDS.
There was far less acceptance of the LGBT community within mainstream America in the 1980s than there is now. And there are STILL places in the US where it is not only unsafe to come out as gay, it’s also unsafe to come out as HIV-positive. Pence’s agenda will almost certainly make that true. That is not only a bad thing for people who are LGBT and people who live with HIV; it’s a bad thing for everyone. Nothing ensures the continued spread of HIV like fear of disclosure. Pence’s agenda is pretty much guaranteed to increase that fear. Beyond that people who live with HIV have a great deal to fear from the Republicans’ intention to repeal the Affordable Care Act, weaken Medicaid and convert Medicare to a voucher system. All of those would have a disastrous effect on those who live with HIV, including people like me who are in apparently good health and who have reliable insurance (my insurance, which supplements Medicare now, comes from my time as a federal employee; I have no doubt that my retirement benefits, including pension and health insurance, will come under increasing scrutiny in the near future so maybe things aren’t all that stable for me either). For more on this angle see Kerry Eleveld's recent post.
There are many reasons why we must fight against the impending Trump administration’s agenda. Increasing homophobia, transphobia and AIDS-phobia are simply three more of those reasons.
Because the federal government may soon cease to be a source of funds for continuing to combat HIV it’s more important than ever that charitable organizations that provide HIV-related services receive our support. Even if federal money continues to be available it is likely to have more and more onerous strings attached to it, as used to be the case until the beginning of the Obama administration.
Because I am who I am and because I live where I live I support the work of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation by participating each year in AIDS/LifeCycle, a charity bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles that takes place in June. Over the past eighteen years I’ve raised over $100,000 and I intend to continue fundraising at that rate until I simply can’t anymore. Yeah, I know, fundraising is annoying and we’ve all had to put up with it through the election season. As much as I hate to have to ask, I’m doing it anyway. I hope some of you will see fit to support my efforts. Or, if you prefer, you might consider making a donation to a local AIDS service organization in your own area. Whatever you do though, don’t forget to observe the day in some fashion and never forget that HIV is still with us.