Heavy Post probably tl/dr
The Gay Men's Chorus performed at the World AIDS Day Memorial service last night. We were really good but, dear god, was it emotional... so you're getting an emotional dump from me today. I"m placing it behind a cut .... so consider yourself pre-warned.
*edit: I had this cut, but that was stupid. You need to read this.*
They talked about the reason that they wanted to have a Memorial Service for World AIDS day... the director, Jeff shared that he'd been living with the disease for 24 years.... he shared how hard it was for him, and how hard it still is. Socially. Professionally. Personally. He told us that he knew that someone had to start a dialogue when someone asked him what the red ribbon he wore on his jacket was for.
Seriously?
Maybe I'm showing my age. Maybe it's a symptom of a society inundated with ribbons for some cause or another. I remember back in the day, when it was almost cool to have a red ribbon. Everyone had one, celebrities, politicians, community leaders... everyone was talking about AIDS... about the need to find a cure... about the need for Constant Vigilance to try to keep the disease from spreading. We could, in our arrogance, see a possible end to the plague, as long as we kept it in focus and kept attention on it.
But it didn't go away.
And then people stopped talking about it... like that creepy guest at the party.... you know the one, they get trashed and start hitting on everything that moves... and everyone ignores them and hopes that they leave quietly if no one pays attention to them.
I didn't work... it's not working. Sure there are people from all walks of life out there living with the disease. But how do we make people talk about it? HOW do we keep ourselves and our friends from contracting it? HOW do we maintain a dialogue, yet not demonize those who have it?
That's important you know... making sure that we remember that those with the disease aren't Dirty... They're not Untouchable ... making sure that we don't allow people to get away with the bullshit of "I'm clean, UB2" ... making sure that those that are newly infected know that there are people that still care about them..
All of the monologues from last night's Memorial spoke to me on different levels... they were the Faces of AIDS.
From the Junkie who just couldn't wrap his head around it.. "How could I get fucking AIDS? I"m not one of THOSE people... " ....
The straight black woman who had met the man of her dreams. The man she was going to be with for the rest of her life. The man she new she was going to marry... She ran off and bought the wedding dress of her dreams... She got buried in it. She didn't know she even had AIDS till it was too late.
The gay man who also got buried in a dress... it was fabulous, but no one saw it... because they really don't have an open casket when you blow your head off. No one knew he was sick. They didn't know what happened. They just knew that their friend had taken his life.
The Mother.... oh god the mother.... the mother heartbroke because you're not supposed to bury your children. That's not the way it's supposed to work.. That's not the circle of life. The denial. The eventual wondering if her death counts... you don't always die from AIDS... Sometimes you die from a Broken Heart.
That was the breaker for me.... I was weeping copiously at this point.
Then they closed out the night with a candle lighting ceremony set to Edie Evans-Hyde singing Imagine...
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
You may say I'm a dreamer.. I hope to god I'm not the only one.
There's a dialogue that needs to be happening. It needs to happen every day. We are all faces of AIDS. Those of us on the fringes, living in the sheltered world of "it could never happen to me" .... Those of us with dear friends fighting this disease on a daily basis... 23 year old boys with shingles so bad it even hurts to be hugged... Those of us who still live in a world where there's hope that with enough attention, enough focus, we can still find an end to this disease.
I've been writing this since 9am EST.... It's now 1:48pm EST.... I have to perform again tonight, a fundraiser called "Saving One Life" benefitting the LGBT Network of West Michigan. I hope you look at your life and see what you can do in your community... it doesn't have to be money, it can be your time... your heart... your voice.
Your Love.
*edit: I had this cut, but that was stupid. You need to read this.*
They talked about the reason that they wanted to have a Memorial Service for World AIDS day... the director, Jeff shared that he'd been living with the disease for 24 years.... he shared how hard it was for him, and how hard it still is. Socially. Professionally. Personally. He told us that he knew that someone had to start a dialogue when someone asked him what the red ribbon he wore on his jacket was for.
Seriously?
Maybe I'm showing my age. Maybe it's a symptom of a society inundated with ribbons for some cause or another. I remember back in the day, when it was almost cool to have a red ribbon. Everyone had one, celebrities, politicians, community leaders... everyone was talking about AIDS... about the need to find a cure... about the need for Constant Vigilance to try to keep the disease from spreading. We could, in our arrogance, see a possible end to the plague, as long as we kept it in focus and kept attention on it.
But it didn't go away.
And then people stopped talking about it... like that creepy guest at the party.... you know the one, they get trashed and start hitting on everything that moves... and everyone ignores them and hopes that they leave quietly if no one pays attention to them.
I didn't work... it's not working. Sure there are people from all walks of life out there living with the disease. But how do we make people talk about it? HOW do we keep ourselves and our friends from contracting it? HOW do we maintain a dialogue, yet not demonize those who have it?
That's important you know... making sure that we remember that those with the disease aren't Dirty... They're not Untouchable ... making sure that we don't allow people to get away with the bullshit of "I'm clean, UB2" ... making sure that those that are newly infected know that there are people that still care about them..
All of the monologues from last night's Memorial spoke to me on different levels... they were the Faces of AIDS.
From the Junkie who just couldn't wrap his head around it.. "How could I get fucking AIDS? I"m not one of THOSE people... " ....
The straight black woman who had met the man of her dreams. The man she was going to be with for the rest of her life. The man she new she was going to marry... She ran off and bought the wedding dress of her dreams... She got buried in it. She didn't know she even had AIDS till it was too late.
The gay man who also got buried in a dress... it was fabulous, but no one saw it... because they really don't have an open casket when you blow your head off. No one knew he was sick. They didn't know what happened. They just knew that their friend had taken his life.
The Mother.... oh god the mother.... the mother heartbroke because you're not supposed to bury your children. That's not the way it's supposed to work.. That's not the circle of life. The denial. The eventual wondering if her death counts... you don't always die from AIDS... Sometimes you die from a Broken Heart.
That was the breaker for me.... I was weeping copiously at this point.
Then they closed out the night with a candle lighting ceremony set to Edie Evans-Hyde singing Imagine...
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
You may say I'm a dreamer.. I hope to god I'm not the only one.
There's a dialogue that needs to be happening. It needs to happen every day. We are all faces of AIDS. Those of us on the fringes, living in the sheltered world of "it could never happen to me" .... Those of us with dear friends fighting this disease on a daily basis... 23 year old boys with shingles so bad it even hurts to be hugged... Those of us who still live in a world where there's hope that with enough attention, enough focus, we can still find an end to this disease.
I've been writing this since 9am EST.... It's now 1:48pm EST.... I have to perform again tonight, a fundraiser called "Saving One Life" benefitting the LGBT Network of West Michigan. I hope you look at your life and see what you can do in your community... it doesn't have to be money, it can be your time... your heart... your voice.
Your Love.