digitalphiltrum

Originally posted June 2, 2003

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Cagli, Italy – day 10. Communication withdrawal has set in. We decide that emergency internet access is the only cure. In hopes of connecting to the outside world, if only for a brief amount of time, Rose, Katie, Jenn and I dash out of the Atrium, our home away from home–far away from home–as soon as class ends at 4 o’clock. Our mission must be completed by 5 when the next class will begin. The afternoon thunderstorm is in a temporary lull, most likely building up its strength for the next downpour. A light mist still falls around us and we know that at any moment the storm could awaken, but its a risk we are willing to take. If we didn’t stand out before in this little Italian town,we certainly do now. In Cagli, no one runs. There is no rush to get anywhere or to do anything here. But we are Americans, and Americans run–especially when email is involved. Rushing down the street, I can’t help but wonder how ridiculous we must look. Four American girls darting clumsily through narrow, stone-paved streets, screaming, “Car!” everytime a vehicle edges up on our heels wanting to pass. Our flip-flops smack noisily against the wet street as mud splashes up on our legs. Four awkward, rushed, mud-splattered Americans, desparate for a high-speed DSL reconnection with the people they have left behind at home.

We cross over the bridge to New Cagli, the newer part of town, single-file on what could almost pass for a sidewalk if it was only a few inches wider. Rounding the corner, we reach our destination, a computer retail store that we pretend is an internet café because it is the only place in town with a public internet connection. We burst through the door, panting heavily. Our hair is dripping and our feet are muddy, but we hardly notice–we made it, we are triumphant. And there is plenty of time left to read, compose, attach and send. Davide, the owner of the store, greets us with a warm smile. It is a familiar Cagliese gesture. The people of this town seem to welcome us with patience and love. Our American ways are unpolished, loud and usually rude, though unintentionally so, yet the Cagliese don’t seem annoyed, only mildly amused at our strangeness. And we certainly are strange.

After half an hour of speed-reading and rapid fire typing, my fellow students and I must sever our world wide link and return to class. The brief communication we have achieved reveals the odd truth that, while our absence at home is noticed, life continues to go on as usual. I am both comforted and humbled by this. But there’s no time to ponder–its almost 5. A quick glance out the door and we see that the storm has begun to rage again. Jenn has already darted ahead, but the rest of us remain, staring inquisitively at one another, trying to figure out what to do. Davide senses our dread as we watch the rain droplets smacking heavily against the pavement, and he offers us a ride.

In America, we would be skeptical of this offer, but in Cagli there is no reason to fear human kindness. We accept with a resounding Si! Grazi! (Yes! Thank You!). Davide drops us off in the town piazza just a short distance from the Atrium and we make our way casually back as the rain begins to subside again. There is no need to rush now. Our mission has been accomplished, communication achieved.

On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report on 5 cases of severe pneumonia in previously healthy, young gay men in Los Angeles, two of which had died. By July the CDC had reported that 26 cases of Kaposi Sarcoma, a rare cancer usually only seen in elderly men of Mediterranean or Jewish heritage, had been reported in previously healthy, young gay males, 8 of which had died, all within 24-months of diagnosis.

In its early days, it was called GRID, for Gay Related Immune Disorder, and its cause was unknown. Later it would be linked to blood and renamed Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS. 25 years later the disease has claimed the lives of over 25 million people. At this time, it is the worst world-wide epidemic we have ever known. And while there is a lot of research going on and some great advances have been made in the way of treatments, we are still a long way away from a vaccine or cure. The biggest thing we have to overcome with AIDS though is the ignorance and stupidity.

I can still remember sitting through an AIDS education assembly in the third grade where they told us that we had to be careful about touching other kids cuts or scrapes, and that we could catch AIDS from kissing and public toilet seats. Clearly, we have come a long way in our understanding of the disease and how to prevent and treat it. But not really as far as youd think.

When Loyola was in the process of establishing its gay dorm, Stonewall house, in the spring of 2003, I actually heard people say they didn’t want to live there (or their parents didn’t want them to live there) because they were afraid of AIDS. That just blew my mind. Here are these soon-to-be college graduates, living in the information age, who still believe that AIDS is a “gay disease” and the gay communities problem – not theirs. Absolutely amazing. And of course they know how stupid they sounded, because they would follow it up with, “not that all gay people have AIDS…but ya know, its a high risk community”. High. Risk. Community. As if college itself wasn’t a high risk community for STDs in general.

And you’d be surprised how many people think that, because we have health insurance and because we have drug cocktails that can treat the virus and keep its symptoms down, and because we have condoms that its really not a problem. But thats an American thing – we always fail to recognize things on a global level. Sure, we have those things here, but what about some of the worlds poorer countries — the ones that have just been completely ripped apart by AIDS?

And dont even get me started on the CRWW (christian right wing wackos) who insist that by making condoms and STD education so readily available, we are simply promoting sexual behaviors and spreading AIDS further. I can do nothing but shake my head at that attitude, because – clearly – by teaching abstinence only and failing to offer safe sex education, people will just stop having sex. Im sorry, what was the teenage pregnancy rates in catholic schools last year? yeah…thats clearly working well.

So, for the 25th anniversary of AIDS, I am doing my part to spread the education. Here are some AIDS related links…

An AIDS timeline

AIDS at 25

International HIV/AIDS Alliance