"For gay men over 40, it's as if we've come back from a war that was far
away and distant to most Americans even as it was happening -- not
unlike the actual wars we've experienced in this country in the past
decade. All of us who were in the trenches of the AIDS war are today
dealing with the grief and the survivor guilt, even as the war itself
goes on. Many are grappling with deeper scars and something akin to
post-traumatic stress. A lot of it is immeshed in all the other issues
people face, such as mid-life crises and aging. But as John Voelcker
pointed out,
unlike for other veterans of other wars, there isn't a Veterans
Administration or any built-in support system for the survivors of the
AIDS war, nor is there any outlet for mass grieving of the thousands
who've died from AIDS similar to the memorials for war dead or terrorism
victims." -
Michelangelo Signorile, writing for the
Huffington Post.
Read Signorile's
full essay, which includes mention of tonight's
Manhattan panel on AIDS survivorship, where I'm one of the speakers.
Labels: activism, AIDS, Broadway Cares, HIV/AIDS, HomoQuotable, LGBT History, Michelangelo Signorile
