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Another Satisfied Customer

Congratulations on the last cover with Sagiv, the aerial fitness guy! I’ve been picking up IN Los Angeles since 2004 or 2005, and I can say I’ve never seen it look better than it has in the last year. It seems like you guys just keep outdoing yourselves each issue. Keep up the good work!

Josh Clark
Via Internet

Time to Grow Up

As a person who has been blessed with health, strength and, yes, living with HIV for 18 years, I feel I'm qualified—yes, proud—to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with [Charles Karel Bouley II] in the face of any naysayers or skeptics to the points he made in “That Was Then ...” [Issue 10.23]. The essence of this piece bares re-stating: It's not up to Mike Huckabee or any other president to stop AIDS transmissions, particularly in the gay community. It's up to us, and we can't seem to get that right. All those things our collective adult self knows we “should” do—in essence, safe sexual practices—really are a matter of choice. If the death and dying took place literally overnight, you can bet there'd be a 1 percent or less infection rate. What that says is that, like the childish community we can sometimes be, too many of us would rather push our vegetables to the side and have our dessert now. It's time to move on and grow up. Holding on to childish behavior in the face of grown-up reality isn't working!

Stephen Jerrome
Via Internet

A Call to Arms

It is foolish and self-destructive to proclaim “HIV Prevention Is a Failure” [Issue 10.24]. As Michael Weinstein elaborates in the article, the Bush administration has blundered badly with its insistent focus on abstinence. But we can do better! Every one of us needs to show personal leadership and do as much as we can: vote for change, get tested and discuss our status. This is an incredible challenge—as we become more successful at treating the symptoms, there will be more people living with HIV and more chances for transmission. Rather than conceding failure, we need to unite around the shared goal of slowing the spread of HIV.

Edward Karst
Via Internet

An Insider Viewpoint

I worked for AIDS Healthcare Foundation for several years as the director of prevention and testing. The shortcomings of professional AIDS activism [“HIV Prevention is a Failure,” Issue 10.24] is a subject about which I have first-hand knowledge. It’s fair to list all the reasons the government and community leaders have failed to achieve lasting gains in HIV prevention, but where is the call for responsibility within AIDS service organizations? These groups are supposed to be on the front lines of the battle, fighting for funding and programs that will best serve the people most affected by this epidemic: those already infected with HIV and those most at risk. AIDS service organizations are supposed to be vocal about issues such as HIV prevention. If the government is failing so badly at HIV prevention, why aren’t AIDS organizations dispatching individuals day and night to vent their outrage in every local, state and federal government office? Why? Because that kind of activism is dead in AIDS organizations. We used to take to the streets in our jeans and T-shirts, with our voices and signs when we needed to rally the community and get the government to pay attention to us. And it worked! But over the years we grew more institutionalized; everyone became real professionals! Activism requires risk, exposure and sacrifice. It takes leadership. And if that leadership is lacking in the very people on the front lines of this battle, how can others be blamed for their incompetence, their apathy? The activist passion and energy that existed within these organizations has been replaced by careerism; passion and vigilance are now directed toward advancing one’s professional interests. It’s no surprise that the Bush administration’s policies have contributed to the failure of HIV prevention. But, AIDS industry professionals have had seven years to watch this failure unfold.

Karen Mall
Via Internet

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