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9 Lessons Learned From the AIDS Crisis That Could Save Us Now
Sadly, the lessons are being ignored
I remember, as a teenager, first hearing about AIDS. It’s a foggy memory of a news broadcaster talking about Rock Hudson dying. And I remember not knowing who that was, but my mom was distraught, tears rolling down her face.
“Why are you crying, Mom?”
“Rock Hudson was such an idol of mine. I can’t believe he’s gay and has AIDS.”
It left an indelible welt on me that continued to grow and redden with every passing year, sexual awakening, and HIV scare. My dad (like myself, a gay man) kept his orientation secret from my mom during the early 1980s. By the end of the decade, they were divorced, and he was dating his now 30-plus-year partner. There is no doubt in my mind that the shame and fear of AIDS drove both of us to hide our identities.
HIV/AIDS has always been a fact of life for me. It killed some friends and maimed others. And for the rest of us gay and bi men — positive and negative — it has left lasting scars. Embarrassment about HIV prevents many of my friends from talking about their status, even now and even with a sympathetic person. The fear that you are going to die because of who you are is a powerful force, and it doesn’t get any easier if you happen to also be the child of refugees and Holocaust survivors (or any other intersectional group). It’s a lot to shoulder.
Professionally, I’ve devoted my life to building systems for scalable behavior change, notably in the fields of gamification and behavioral design. As a gay man, I’ve sought to apply those skills to issues that mattered to me. Throughout, I’ve been fortunate to have volunteered for and worked on a number of public health and civic-related projects, including numerous interventions for HIV/AIDS. And on a personal note, I was one of the first Americans to go on PrEP after FDA approval in 2012 and have supported hundreds of others in their journey to personal mastery over HIV.
This year, the international AIDS conference was supposed to have returned to the United States for the first time in decades. Covid-19 has made it go virtual. One of the topics that is top of mind for the community is the fact that there are now tools to eradicate…
