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Living With AIDS
The fight against AIDS, both the disease and the stigma, suffered two blows on Monday, March 7.
Blow #1 is of a national scope - Masters and Johnson release the book CRISIS. Blow #2 is closer to home-
H.B. 1281, The Omnibus AIDS Bill, passed in the Georgia General Assembly.
First, the book, CRISIS. The only "crisis" here is the ethical crisis Masters & Johnson seem to be
suffering from. They have taken data manipulation to its highest form. Masters & Johnson have decided
that because 6% of a small group of sexually active heterosexuals are seropositive, that AIDS must be
spreading by mosquitos and casual contact The test group was not even selected in a scientific mannner.
Masters & Johnson go on to showcase this data with sensationalized chapter titles. They then describe every,
"theoretically possible" means of HIV transmission imaginable. Never mind that these theories have been i
proven insignifigant by extensive investigation of the CDC into the epidemiology of this disease. (M & J
were careful to bury disclaimers in the text.) It is obvious that Masters & Johnson have opted to disregard
scientific method in favor of playing the AIDS hysteria market
Why would Masters & Johnson do this? Because panic sells books. Who cares who suffers? I care! I'm
certainly not rushing out to buy a copy. My time will be better spent reviving my "You can't get Aids from a
toilet seat" speech. I'm sure it will now be needed again. I've considered putting the speech in book form,
but then it probably wouldn't sell. It's based on facts.
Now for the second blow. The Bill. Georgia now has some of the most regressive AIDS legislation in
the country. Admittedly, it could have been worse. The version that originally came out of the house could
have been passed. But the bill still has serious problems, i.e., criminal sanctions and mandatory testing
provisions. And it is noticeably absent in educational provisions. Safe sex is not a defense against the
criminal sanctions. Ignorance of your HIV status is. There is no anti-discrimination provisions. It is
obvious that the state of Georgia wants this disease to go underground. They are sending a clear message to
the public: AIDS is criminal. Good luck if you are trying to get an I.V. drug user to see a doctor!
It will be interesting to see how far up the CDC fist Georgia will go. We used to be ninth in the country
in the number of AIDS cases. We are now seventh. The General Assembly is obviously trying for the
number 1 slot Too bad, because the citizens of Georgia will lose.
Where does this leave the person with AIDS or ARC? We are the ones who will bear the brunt of this
type of hysterical reaction to this disease. We have one option left Educate, educate, educate. Both
ourselves and then the general public. It is clear to me that education is the only way to change the way that
people look at this illness. I have seen it happen. It is not an exercise in futility! It is, however, an
enormous task. A challenge to us all.
Am I discouraged? Yes. Am I defeated? No! We have the power to make a change in the way this
illness affects us, as well as those around us. We must leant to use that power. Our lives depend on it
Two blows have not ended the fight
-Kurt Rahn
Kurt Rahn is the Director of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Association of People with AIDS
(NAPWA).
Reprinted from Alive and Aware.
Updates
Spring AIDS
Action '88
The Atlanta March Committee is organizing
Atlanta's participation in the nationwide Spring
AIDS Action '88. There will be a 24-hour Rally at
the Georgia State Capitol beginning at noon on
Friday, May 6 and ending with the Speakers Rally
on Saturday, May 7 at 11:00 A.M. There will be
numerous speakers during the Rally including
Michael Lomax, representatives from the Feminist
Women's Health Center, NAPWA, LAMPP Project,
Red Cross and more. Entertainment during the 24-
hour period will be provided by Carolyn Mobley,
Angela Motter Band, the Adanta Gay Men's Chorus
and others to be confirmed. A Bloodsisters Blood
Drive is being planned for Friday. Several
organizations will be there with booths exhibiting
their projects and services.
We need your help to make this event successful.
You can help by organizing your friends to be there
for any or all of the 24-hour period in support of this
community-wide effort. Come to the next Adanta
March Committee meedng at 7:30 P.M on
Tuesday, April 26 at the Highland Branch Library to
find out more information and to lend a much-
needed hand. Or call 377-8312 for more
information. ,
The Adanta March Committee is also sponsoring
a letter writing campaign to Governor Harris to
protest the State's handling of this disease. Please
tear this letter out and fill in your ides, then send it to
us. We want to be able to read thousands of letters
on Friday during the demonstration.
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Dear Governor Harris: !
The government of the State of Georgia has been extremely negligent in its treatment of the AIDS crisis.
There are presendy 1,234 reported cases of AIDS in Georgia, 30 of them are children. We are currendy
rated 8th in the nation in the number of AIDS cases, yet the state is 35th in the amount of money
appropriated per Person With AIDS. Only 70 per capita in AIDS-related spending has been
appropriated as compared to a 650 per capita average in the country. You cut the requested amount of
2.6 million dollars for AIDS spending by the Department of Human Resources in fourth. Alabama
spends almost 30 times as much money per PWA as the State of Georgia! These statistics are an
outrage and I, as a resident of this state, demand an immediate change in the policy of this
administration with regard to AIDS appropriations and education.
The AIDS crisis has affected me in this way
I demand that you make the following changes in the response of the State of Georgia to the AIDS crisis
Signature City of Residence
I want to commit to be at the 26-hour Spring AIDS Action '88 to protest this state's policy on AIDS. I
will be at the Capitol from A.M./P.M. to A.M./P.M.. This letter will be read at the
rally with names withheld and then forwarded to Governor Harris with your name if signed.
Please add my name to your mailing list For more information:
NAME: Cathy Wollaid 377-8312
ADDRESS: AnnLeverette 378-7734
Phone:
The Quilt:
Stories From
The NAMES
Project
In 1987, a small group of volunteers set up shop
in a San Francisco storefront They posted a "wish
list," containing items they desperately needed:
sewing machines, needles, chairs, worktables, extra
hands. Their goal was to revive the old fashioned
notions of quilting and the quilting bee, and create a
lasting memorial to those who have died of AIDS.
The result weighs over 7 tons, covers the size of
three football fields, and is the largest on-going
community arts project in the nation. It is The
NAMES Project Ouilt.
Now in THE QUILT: Stories From The
NAMES Project (A Pocket Books Hardcover, May
11,1988, $22.95) the beauty and spirit of the Quilt
lives on. The book is a keepsake edition in full-
color photos and text of The NAMES Project Quilt,
the national AIDS memorial. The QUILT is
dedicated both to preserving the memory of those
who have died and increasing national awareness of
the disease.
Created by friends, parents, lovers, siblings and
co-workers, the 3' x 6' panels that make up The
NAMES Project Quilt have arrived from 48 states
and five foreign countries. Each panel is unique
with its own meaning and memories, each
celebrating a life, and the love and hope of those
who have made the panel. Fashioned with paint,
applique, stencils, and embroidery, some contain
mementos of the person's life, including clothes,
photographs or locks of hair. Some are bright
celebrations of fur, feathers and glitter, still others
are stark and solemn, bearing only a name or initial.
THE QUILT: Stories FromThe NAMES
Project is at the same time a visual book and
moving narrative. Full-color photographs
throughout highlight the panels that have become
the moving and passionate memorials to those who
have died of AIDS. The accompanying text
captures the grief and courage symbolized by the
panel makers and volunteers involved in this
endeavor steeped in American tradition.
This spring The NAMES Project Quilt will travel
to some 20 American cities where its message of
love and remembrance will reach tens of millions
and help raise funds for local support groups
providing direct services to people with AIDS. The
May publication of the book coincides with the
national tour to further focus attention on the
NAMES Project Profits from THE QUILT:
Stories From The NAMES Project are going to the
NAMES Project and will help raise funds for local
support groups providing direct services to people
with AIDS. THE QUILT is written by Cindy
Ruskin, designed by Deborah Zemke with
photographs ty Matt Herron.
AIDS VIGIL & RALLY
AT THE
STATE CAPITOL
28,000
AMERICANS HAVE
DIED
NATIONAL SPRING AIDS MOBILIZATION
HAVE YOU BEEN SILENT LONG ENOUGH?
24 hour
Please return by May 1 to AMC, P.Q. Box 5585, Atlanta, GA 30307.
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NOON FRIDA Y MAY 6 to MIDDA Y SA TURDA Y MAY 7 ■Speakers ■ Music ■ Booths • Workshops
Sponsored by Atlanta March Committee • For more info 377-8312
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