A-LISTS living positive by paul montero
M U S T PLAY
WELL WITH OTHERS
“Come on people now…smile on your brother. Everybody get together…try to love
one another right now.” It’s a simple concept. And a rather nice folk-rock lyric, too. The Youngbloods were on to something. Although there will always be those who maintain that men “loving one another” is how we got this pandemic in the first place, even my most open-minded neuron seriously doubts that a million people die each year all be- cause two men touched each other’s weenies long ago. In fact, my personal belief is that love and collaborative assistance will be what gets us a vaccine for HIV.
I know what you’re thinking: I need to lay offMister Rogers’ Neighborhood and tune
in to CNN for a while...or perhaps that I may as well join Mangosuthu Buthelezi, leader of Inkatha Freedom Party, in his annual Zulu reed dance—which he is convinced has single-footedly slowed the AIDS crisis. But really, my call to join forces isn’t just some blind wish for world peace with a rainbow sticker on top. I’ve actually thought this through. Hear me out. Clues are everywhere, as long as there are open minds to see them. According to a
recent article on
cbsnews.com, players of online games on the website
fold.it (Foldit) have made sense of the molecular structure of a key protein that HIV needs in order to multiply. They were also able to draft an accurate virtual model of the protease molecule in three weeks. Interestingly, this is a boast that scientists in the medical field have been picking at for years. In any case, this advancement—brought to us by our nerdier brothers and sisters—could possibly aid in developing a vaccine quicker than expected. A Foldit player from the Contenders Group with the screenname Mimi put it best when she said, “It is a team thing. Everybody contributes.” Even the animal kingdom can offer some insight into extending our life spans. Using
a genetic trait called transdifferentiation, some species of jellyfish are able to transform their cells and—even after developing to full maturity—can revert to a polyp stage and then basically repeat life cycles without technically dying. And highly resilient micro- scopic organisms known as Tardigrades—or more affectionately as “water bears”—are capable of surviving extremes such as heat, radiation, drought and even the vacuum of space by going into suspended animation and slowing their metabolism to near zero. They simply wait out any harsh condition until something more pleasant comes along. Imagine the possibilities if we developed either one of these evolutionary adaptations. We could revert to teenagers, control our metabolism and even wait out blunderous presidential terms in suspended animation! I’m just kidding. But seriously, DNA has
been altering and correcting itself for as long as there has been life on Earth. Is it so implausible that it could hold more answers to our cause? One thing that never helps to better a degenerating situation is intolerance. And I
don’t just mean the standard “hey, you’re a homo” kind. When we treat each other badly for silly reasons, especially within our own group which is already oppressed on many sides, we undermine so much of that unifying attitude that is essential to achieving what we all want. I know, I know…none of us likes to hear that we’re closed-minded, easily influenced…or any other term that implies that we’re not in full control of what we believe. But face it, you’ve laughed at mean-spirited blond jokes, Black jokes, fat jokes, Jew jokes and yes…even AIDS jokes. It’s not because you’re heartless. You just needed to blend in with the laughing crowd at the time. And so you temporarily adopted the stigma into your dialect of principles. But you’re still doing it, aren’t you? Every time you judge people and think less of them for what you perceive as a flaw, you lose a chance to contribute your potentially valuable help. Try to really think about your words the next time you have the urge to call your fellow ‘mo a slut, a femme3, a bottom, an old troll, a disease bag, a dyke, a diva or a closet case. Maybe if you focus less on how much better you think you are, and more on how you can personally better a situation for all, you might learn to implement a few tricks toward the survival of our gay little co-culture. We may still be decades away from seeing a truly viable vaccine come onto the scene,
but we’re so close to perfecting our own “scene” and shaping the gay community to fuel unity and camaraderie. Who knows? Your helpful insight could be what finds us a cure! Or it could just be the catalyst that makes you a good person.
FEEDBACK?
livingpositive@ragemonthly.com or
blog@ragemonthly.com
32
RAGE monthly | OCTOBER 2011
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84