Message from our sponsor....
Ok all jokes aside this is a post verbatum from my brother in the blogging game mister Frank Leon Roberts who called the brothers out and we are picking up the phone...I hope you guys read this and understand exactly how real it is...
What does it mean when 19 is considered "middle aged" for a black gay man? The Center for Disease Control has just released the results of its latest five-city study of MSMs (the oh-so-catchy medical term for ‘Men who have sex with men’) and its official: 46% of black “gay” men in New York City, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami are HIV positive. These numbers supersede the results of the CDC’s 2001 five city study which concluded that 1 in 3 black gay men in urban centers were presumed to be HIV positive. Now it’s 1 in 2. The numbers are closing in. The bodies are piling up. This is New York City not Rwanda. The highest increase in infections came from black gay men between the ages of 19 and 24.Let me repeat this for your clarity: 46% of black gay men in New York City are estimated to be HIV positive. Brothers, that’s half of us. 46% is higher than the incidence rate of almost every sub-Saharan African country.-For those of you in a monogamous relationship, take a good look at your boyfriend: the CDC says that one of you is HIV positive and probably doesn’t even know it.
As Phil Wilson (E.D. of the Black AIDS Institute) recently pointed out, no one seems to care. Even though the CDC numbers were released weeks ago “no Black media outlets followed-up with substantive stories to stir discussion. No civil rights organizations organized any marches or called on any policymakers to take action. No Black celebrities sponsored any relief concerts. Indeed, there wasn't even a call to action from a Black gay organization.” -Black gay men in New York City are in a particular state of crisis. In addition to these stastistics, since February FIVE gay black men have been murdered in New York. FIVE in five months. -Why is this not on the cover of VIBE, TRACE, AND ESSENCE? -If it did make the cover would it only be as another way to demonize black gay men? -Why is Oprah's next episode scheduled to be about her run-in with a luxury soap company rather than?-How will young black men respond to these statistics? Will we respond "positively" or will we take this as further confirmation that sooner or later its inevitable that each of us will contract the virus?-I'm 22 years old: The CDC believes that its likely that I'll be HIV positive soon. If you're black and gay and reading this, according to them, you'll will be soon as well. -How do you feel? Do you care?-What scares me the most is that I seriously believe that the release of these numbers will actually cause MORE black gay men to become infected with the virus. I mean lets think about this: I dont know about you but when I hear that 46% of the people that look and love like me are HIV positive, I'm overwhelmed with grief, anger, and hopelessness. These are exactly the kinds of nihilistic emotions that help faciliate the spread of the virus. When black gay men feel as though no matter what they do they're going to eventually end up HIV positive they're much more likely to engage in unsafe sex. -These numbers affirm something that I have been debating with my activist friends for a while now: simply telling people to "protect" themselves is a completely ineffective preventive strategy. BUT NEWS FLASH: Protecting oneself presumes that one has a positive sense of self-worth and identity. People only "protect" that which they have been taught to value. If you have been systematically taught to devalue your life and your body (as black people in the U.S. have always been encouraged to) why in God's name would you "protect" yourself? -Do you understand the point that I am trying to make? Speaking from experience, I think that so many black gay men have been systematically convinced that our bodies are destined for death and destruction that the concept of "protecting ourselves" is no longer effective. Many of us feel like it is inevitable that we will contract the virus. We open up magazines to only find our faces in the HIV ads. We walk into the club and 20 men hand us flyers reminding us that we at risk. We speak to our parents and family and they still associate AIDS with "faggots" exclusively. We open up our inbox and receive a message from the CDC announcing that one out of every two of us is positive. I seriously believe that these realities have a reverse effect: they slowly and gradually teach us that there is no hope, that its not at matter of IF we'll contract the virus but WHEN. -Contemporary efforts to lower HIV rates in the communities in the U.S. most badly hit with the disease (i.e. BLACK PEOPLE) need to more effectively engage and understand what philosopher Cornel West has described as the overwhelming presence of nihilism in these communities. West describes nihilism as the "lived experience of coping with a life of horrifying meanlessness, hopelessness, and (most important) lovelessness." Nihilism is concept meant to describe "Life without meaning, hope, and love [which] breeds a coldhearted, mean-spirited outlook that destroys both the individual and others."-By saying that black gay communities are in a nihilist state i'm not simply arguing that we are all "depressed" or "feeling down." Instead, I'm suggesting that as a result of institutional racism, sexism, and homophobia many of us no longer give a fuck about whether we live or die. -I will not be posting another blog topic until 15 black people respond to this. Enough is enough. I dont care if you just say "I feel you"---I need to know that you care enough about my mind and body (as well as yours) to speak. Tell me that you want to live. Tell me you are a black woman that cares about the life of her brother, ex-boyfriend, or friend. Tell me you dont believe this is true. Tell me that you think there's an answer. Tell me you just came back negative and you will stay that way. Tell me you just tested positive and you're excited about the promise of the future. Tell me you remember someone who died of AIDS that looks like you. Tell me you are living with HIV. Tell me you care. -As Audre Lorde once eloquently reminded us, "your silence will not protect you."
What does it mean when 19 is considered "middle aged" for a black gay man? The Center for Disease Control has just released the results of its latest five-city study of MSMs (the oh-so-catchy medical term for ‘Men who have sex with men’) and its official: 46% of black “gay” men in New York City, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami are HIV positive. These numbers supersede the results of the CDC’s 2001 five city study which concluded that 1 in 3 black gay men in urban centers were presumed to be HIV positive. Now it’s 1 in 2. The numbers are closing in. The bodies are piling up. This is New York City not Rwanda. The highest increase in infections came from black gay men between the ages of 19 and 24.Let me repeat this for your clarity: 46% of black gay men in New York City are estimated to be HIV positive. Brothers, that’s half of us. 46% is higher than the incidence rate of almost every sub-Saharan African country.-For those of you in a monogamous relationship, take a good look at your boyfriend: the CDC says that one of you is HIV positive and probably doesn’t even know it.
As Phil Wilson (E.D. of the Black AIDS Institute) recently pointed out, no one seems to care. Even though the CDC numbers were released weeks ago “no Black media outlets followed-up with substantive stories to stir discussion. No civil rights organizations organized any marches or called on any policymakers to take action. No Black celebrities sponsored any relief concerts. Indeed, there wasn't even a call to action from a Black gay organization.” -Black gay men in New York City are in a particular state of crisis. In addition to these stastistics, since February FIVE gay black men have been murdered in New York. FIVE in five months. -Why is this not on the cover of VIBE, TRACE, AND ESSENCE? -If it did make the cover would it only be as another way to demonize black gay men? -Why is Oprah's next episode scheduled to be about her run-in with a luxury soap company rather than?-How will young black men respond to these statistics? Will we respond "positively" or will we take this as further confirmation that sooner or later its inevitable that each of us will contract the virus?-I'm 22 years old: The CDC believes that its likely that I'll be HIV positive soon. If you're black and gay and reading this, according to them, you'll will be soon as well. -How do you feel? Do you care?-What scares me the most is that I seriously believe that the release of these numbers will actually cause MORE black gay men to become infected with the virus. I mean lets think about this: I dont know about you but when I hear that 46% of the people that look and love like me are HIV positive, I'm overwhelmed with grief, anger, and hopelessness. These are exactly the kinds of nihilistic emotions that help faciliate the spread of the virus. When black gay men feel as though no matter what they do they're going to eventually end up HIV positive they're much more likely to engage in unsafe sex. -These numbers affirm something that I have been debating with my activist friends for a while now: simply telling people to "protect" themselves is a completely ineffective preventive strategy. BUT NEWS FLASH: Protecting oneself presumes that one has a positive sense of self-worth and identity. People only "protect" that which they have been taught to value. If you have been systematically taught to devalue your life and your body (as black people in the U.S. have always been encouraged to) why in God's name would you "protect" yourself? -Do you understand the point that I am trying to make? Speaking from experience, I think that so many black gay men have been systematically convinced that our bodies are destined for death and destruction that the concept of "protecting ourselves" is no longer effective. Many of us feel like it is inevitable that we will contract the virus. We open up magazines to only find our faces in the HIV ads. We walk into the club and 20 men hand us flyers reminding us that we at risk. We speak to our parents and family and they still associate AIDS with "faggots" exclusively. We open up our inbox and receive a message from the CDC announcing that one out of every two of us is positive. I seriously believe that these realities have a reverse effect: they slowly and gradually teach us that there is no hope, that its not at matter of IF we'll contract the virus but WHEN. -Contemporary efforts to lower HIV rates in the communities in the U.S. most badly hit with the disease (i.e. BLACK PEOPLE) need to more effectively engage and understand what philosopher Cornel West has described as the overwhelming presence of nihilism in these communities. West describes nihilism as the "lived experience of coping with a life of horrifying meanlessness, hopelessness, and (most important) lovelessness." Nihilism is concept meant to describe "Life without meaning, hope, and love [which] breeds a coldhearted, mean-spirited outlook that destroys both the individual and others."-By saying that black gay communities are in a nihilist state i'm not simply arguing that we are all "depressed" or "feeling down." Instead, I'm suggesting that as a result of institutional racism, sexism, and homophobia many of us no longer give a fuck about whether we live or die. -I will not be posting another blog topic until 15 black people respond to this. Enough is enough. I dont care if you just say "I feel you"---I need to know that you care enough about my mind and body (as well as yours) to speak. Tell me that you want to live. Tell me you are a black woman that cares about the life of her brother, ex-boyfriend, or friend. Tell me you dont believe this is true. Tell me that you think there's an answer. Tell me you just came back negative and you will stay that way. Tell me you just tested positive and you're excited about the promise of the future. Tell me you remember someone who died of AIDS that looks like you. Tell me you are living with HIV. Tell me you care. -As Audre Lorde once eloquently reminded us, "your silence will not protect you."
posted by The Foxybrown Show at
9:18 AM
3 Comments:
That's deep. Thank God someone is speaking up about protection and "safer sex" when society still seeks to osctracize those of us who are different. When we say, we hope you're safe, Foxy, those aren't just words. I think about those statistics whenever I hear them. And it's terrible. I'm with you. I'd be glad to take a stand with you and say to every gay man, black, white, hispanic, european, whatever, that to value our lives are to protect ourselves against disease and society.
That's deep, scary, horrifying, amazing.. shall I go on? This is something i think about eveyrday, in the back of my mind, because it's not just affecting the gay community, but all of us! Every one of us needs to value our lives, straight, gay bi, tri WHATEVER! This is serious, and I don't think people understand how serious it is. We need to step up to the plate, be more responsible, and take value in urselves, our lives, and show that we care.... about us and our people.
I think you really tapped into something when you wrote about how black men are so preconditioned to believe that their lifespan is limited anyway that they don't take the necessary precautions - not just necessary for homosexuals but for anyone who is not practicing abstinence.
For me, that's the saddest part.
And then there's the societal pressures. It's becoming more socially "acceptable" to be homosexual but I still perceive a stigma around the black homosexual and the black male homosexual in particular.
I can only empathize with the black male to an extent because I know there are challenges he faces in this society that are specifically designed for him. To be a *gay* black male ... wow. That's something I can only step back and learn about with an open mind and heart. I can't begin to fathom what your experience must be like.
But I do care.
I have a friend who is black and HIV positive. He won't call himself gay though he knows he contracted the virus from a man. I think that's another part of the problem. Our community has a lot of brothers on the "down low." They struggle enough with just being honest with themselves about who they are, they're not mentally ready to accept further the challenge of being responsible about it.
It's heavy, man.
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