Reading my beloved Newsday today, I was appalled to see that our Mayor was in Iowa promoting moderate Republicans, oh, like himself, as the Republican Party's best hope for recapturing the White House in 2000. Luckily, I read the comics first, every day, so I was better prepared for the thought of someone like Rudy Giuliani as President. Of course, that would never happen. Frankly, having anyone with a vowel ending their surname as President is currently impossible in this great country of ours. A quick rundown in my head, and I cannot think of a single President with a true vowel ending his name--remember, Kennedy ends in a Y, okay?
To the rest of the country, our Mayor is a moderate. But here, Rudy is to free speech and constitutional rights what Godzilla was to Tokyo.
Later in the evening, I attended a benefit concert at Avery Fisher Hall. I was there with some of the men from my discussion group. It was the Concierto por la Vida, a benefit for Gay Men's Health Crisis. I learned a few things tonight, between the musical sensations of Celia Cruz, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Ruben Blades, Tito Puente, Albita, Liz Torres, and many more.
Did you know that HIV infection rates are highest in the Latino community? Did you know that? I did not.
Several people were given awards by GMHC and they had some interesting things to say. Moises Agosto has worked with GMHC for years, and given an award for his service. He looks forward to the day that AIDS has been cured, and wanted each of us to be able to answer the question someone might ask one day, 20 or 30 years from now, "What did you do to fight AIDS?"
You'd have to be deaf to have never heard Rosie Perez. She's been working with GMHC for years also. She's been to demos for years. She's publicly protested our "beloved Mayor", especially when he cut the Department of AIDS Services. That alone made life very difficult for people like my friend V. He's resourceful and has a lot of support. What about those with AIDS who don't? Well, they're lucky Rosie Perez is out there. She was very humble and eloquent when she spoke, telling us how she went from wanting publicity to being infuriated and being forceful and "getting real," at the insistence of a dying friend.
But the most inspiring of all was the young man who told us how the woman who told him his HIV test was positive informed him he would be dead in two years. That was years ago. More than ten years ago. He's still here. Arms raised, he yelled, "I'm still here." He's not just alive. He's living. He's got a lot of opinions, too, and one of the most forceful was his condemnation of the Catholic Church, whose anti-sex, anti-safesex, anti-contraception stance has most definitely led to AIDS deaths. "No one should have to die for their faith." This man is an inspiration. He's a lot of things, but two things ring out clearly.
He's still here, and he wants to be alive.
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