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AIDS—Part II
This is the second in a
series of four articles on the
educational sessions sponsored
hy AID Atlanta.
The second discussion group
focused on people with AIDS
and was led by Glenn McGahee
(organizer of the AIDS Support
group). There was heavy empha—
sis.on the need to encourage
people with AIDS to communi—.
cate more with their families.
He stressed the need for
openness. The fear of rejec
tion by family and close
friends has seldom been jus
tified. Also, keeping the
illness secret between an AIDS
patient and one family member.
has led to undue stress on the
family member. One.is entit
led by law to. confidentiality
while dying, but the cause of
death may subsequently be made
public..
The diagnosis of.AIDS .is a
process that may take many
months, and is based on pneu—
mocystis carenii pneumonia,
Kaposi Sarcoma, or having 2 of
16 specific infections. The
process is slow, uncertainties
abound, and researchers and
physicians cannot keep up with
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IN LITTLE FIV-E POINTS
the many new diagnostic deve
lopments •
Gay supportive friends have
been slow to understand an
AIDS patient's reluctance to
continue his life pattern as
before. The American cul
ture's reticence in dealing
with death from cancer carries
over into the discomfort in
dealing with AIDS. Even well-
meaning . friends and relatives
have found it difficult to
communicate openly with AIDS
patients on such matters as
dying and preparations for
dying, although the AIDS
patient may indeed want to
discuss .them.
Fatigue and intermittent
bouts of diarrhea leave one
disinclined to go out as
before, even with friends.
Weight loss, open sores, and
ensuing scars increase self-
consciousness. Loss of ap
petite and nausea lead to se
vere weight loss; there is a
running battle to keep weight
on and food down. It is
starvation that actually kills
most AIDS patients.
Plenty of'rest, a positive
mental attitude and elimi
nation of stress help to
maintain health. All of the
individual infections are
treatable within themselves if
caught in time. Therefore .
having a competent physician
is vital. con't p.6
Stroh's Addresses
Gay Employees
Stroh's Breweries has en
acted an affirmative action
plan that protects the rights
of their gay employees.
The move was the result of
negotiation' by the National
Association of Business
Guilds, said Susan Martin,
past president -of the Atlanta
Business and Professional
Guild.
'The NABC 1 has decided to
approach the companies in the
"Fortune 500" and ask them to
enter into a dialogue about
how their gay employees are
guaranteed that they will not
be discriminated against be
cause of their sexual orienta
tion .
The program is carried out
by the Corporate Outreach Com
mittee of business guilds in
cities throughout the country.
"We contacted Coca-Cola and
Delta here in Atlanta. They
declined to talk to us at this
time, but we feel confident
that we will be able to talk
to them about this important
issue in the future," Martin
said •
r _
Gay Father's Coalition, Inc.
•N
MEETINGS
1st & 3rd Sundays
8:30 - 10 pm
Rm 113
Unitarian Universalist’s Church
Cliff Valley Way
for more info: call 892-0661
THE NEWS, December 20, 1984 Page 5
ETC
La Cage
After some negotiation pro
blems with the producers of
"La Cage Aux Folles", the At
lanta Campaign for Human
Rights and AID Atlanta were,
able to purchase 1100 seats at
the opening night performance.
"'La Cage' is sold out ex
cept for the tickets that we
arid AID Atlanta have avail
able," said ACHR co-chair,
Lainey Richardson.
The tickets, for opening
night Tuesday, January 29, are
$30.00 and can be ordered by
call 262-6748.
"La Cage" is a musical bas
ed on the French film about
the mis-adventures -of two
lovers who own a night club on
the French Rivera. The book
for the play written by Harvey
Fierstein while the music and
lyrics came from Jerry Herman.
The Broadway production, won 6
Tony's last year, ' including
best musical, along with reams
of critical and popular
praise.
The back to back success of
"Torchsong" and "La Cage" have
brought tremendous amounts of
attention and publicity to ac
tor, director, writer Harvey
Fierstein and to the gay com
munity. Fierstein's many talk-
show interviews and Tony ac
ceptance speech openly
acknowledging his lover's,
support have drawn almost as
much comment as his two hit
plays.
AIDS a Hoax
"AIDS is a fraud" says Tony
Robins, a humanistic
behaviorist and director of
the Robins Research Institute.
Robins made that statement
at a recent session here in
Atlanta.
Robins is known for his
famous firewalk in which he
has used neurolinguistic
programming and several other
techniques which have enable
1000's to walk over jiot coals
without any tissue damage.
The statement was made in
the preparation speech Robins
gives for the firewalk. He
also commented that he feels
doctors tell people ' they are
pre-AIDS which forces them
into a decision to develop a
full-blown case of AIDS. He
says this also happens with
other diseases.
Robins believes we have it
in our power to decide not to
have diseases or to have them
and uses the firewalk to prove
that if you can walk oh coals
you can do anything.
"Poster Boys"
In the veritable sea of ca
lendars available there is a
new one that should get your
attention, because it is pro
duced by a local gay merchant,
John Sullivan, of The Boy Next
Door •
Sullivan has collected
twelve of Roger Rutherford's
Boy Next Door "Poster Boy's"
$nto a calendar.
The calendar is available at
the Boy Next Door for $6.50.
For the truly extravagarrt,
•framed, numbered and signed,
16x20 original prints of each
of the "Months" are available
for $50.
Twinkees and Troll
Winning an expensed paid
trip to The Bar on Peachtree
might not sound like a big
prize to you, but on the new
gay board game - "Twinkees. and
Trolls," it's a pretty big
deal.
The game, which is avail
able at The Bar and Trader
Tom's, T's & Things, and The
Boy Next Door starts out in
the clo-set and players work
their way around the country
visiting different gay bars
and loca-tions.
.The object is to get points
by picking up Twinkees. You
lose points by picking up
Trolls.
According to Dennis Wirz-
zman, the owner of The Bar,
his is the only Atlanta bar
listed on the board.
Wirzman, met the creator of
the game, Gregg Mayfield while
at the Odessey in Asbury Park,
NJ.
Mayfield told Wirzman about
his idea for a new gay J>oard
game.
When he returned home, May-
field decided since Atlanta
wasn't included on the game,
he would include The Bar as a
square, as a consolation.
So when you are traveling
through Hollywood you might
, land on a square- that says.
"Quiz Show contestant. You win
expense paid trip to The Bar
on Peachtree - in beautiful
Atlanta, Georgia".
Sodomy in La.
An attack on Louisiana
state's crime against nature
law, which crimirializ.es sex
acts, between consenting adults
in private was filed in early
December in federal district
court.
The suit was filed by the
ACLU of La. and Lambda Legal
Defense and Education Fund,
Inc., with support from the
crescent City. Coalitiori, and
the Louisiana Gay Political
Action Committee.
The Louisiana statute, the
origins of which date to 1805,
defines crime against nature
as "unnatural carnal copula
tion," which has been inter
preted by the Louisiana Sup
reme Court to mean oral or
anal sex. Such acts between
consenting adults in private,
including married couples, are
felonies with a maximum penal
ty of a $2000 fine and/or five
years imprisonment.
James Kellogg, attorney for
the suit, said t,he sodomy law
was used as an argument
against the New Orleans gay
rights ordinance. "The statute
is the legal foundation for
discimination against gay
■ people," he said. "Many gays
. are easily victimized and si
lenced by the knowledge that
their private sex lives are
illegal in the state."
The suit, allotted to fede
ral Judge Robert Collins, says
the law violates the constitu
tional right to privacy, and
separation of church . and
state.
Named as defendants are Or
leans Parish District Attorney
Harry Korinick, Louisiana At
torney General William Guste,
and Governor Edwin Edwards.
The plaintiffs are two les
bians, two gay men, and an un
named heterosexual couple. The
suit was brought as a class
action on behalf of all homo-,
sexual adults and married
heterosexuals in Louisiana.
V.