What if we ALL had AIDS?

Once in a while, an advertising campaign comes along that even ‘The Re-Edit’ has to praise for its ingenuity and authenticity. I first saw the engaging campaign posters for “WE ALL HAVE AIDS” plastered on subway stations and then went to the website (http://www.weallhaveaids.com/) to read up on it. The “WE ALL HAVE AIDS” mission communicates one thing: if one of us (in the world) has AIDS, then we ALL do. I commend this message because it has done what none that came before has done; it has actively attacked the STIGMA of being HIV/AIDS- infected and put it in the first person. It shifts the mental paradigm.

Firstly, it flies in the face of conventional wisdom concerning HIV/AIDS prevention/treatment. In the recent past, other campaigns have tried to remove the stigma of HIV/AIDS by showing the “cross section” of people whom the plague has affected; actual HIV victims. While this was brave and innovative, there was still a disconnect. People were able to look into the faces of these people fighting for their lives and know that this disease was real and tangent. However, there was still an “us and them” component to it that made it easy for people that weren’t actually affected by the disease in their daily lives to separate themselves from the atrocity. It allowed the viewer to empathize with those affected, but the urgency to step up and do something -other than perhaps contribute a few dollars to an AIDS charity like AMFAR- was missing. However, giving to a cause simply as a knee-jerk reaction to people dying doesn’t change the “those poor people” mindset. It still allows you to separate YOURSELF from the problem. “She has AIDS and I’m doing something to help HER” is different from saying “I have AIDS and I’m doing something to further the search for a cure for ME”. This campaign takes the “us and them” premise and goes after the “them” component, taking it out of the equation and declaring that the sole community affected by AIDS is “US”. While only some people belong to the “them” demographic, we all belong to the “us” demographic. This shift in mindset is genius and absolutely essential if we are to mount an effective battle against the worst healthcare crisis the world has faced in recent history.

It also negates the idea that the solution is simply to throw money at the disease (which is not necessarily a bad thing. If Reagan had “thrown money” at the disease at its inception, we would probably be 10 years ahead in the search for a cure. But anyway…). There is a listing of all the charitable organizations that you can contribute time and energy to that subscribe to the message of the campaign- everyone from nelsonmandela.org to rosiesbroadwaykids.org and youthaids.org. You can find out how these organizations enact different strategies and touch different demographics in the fight against AIDS. However, the genius in this campaign lies in the T-shirts designed to extricate the stigma that is attached to each HIV/AIDS victim. They enable the wearer to make a simple statement- We ALL have AIDS if even ONE of us has AIDS. There is also another, bolder t-shirt simply proclaiming I HAVE AIDS. The shirts, available at Barney’s, Fred Segal, Theory, Scoop, Louis of Boston and Kenneth Cole New York stores, cost $35- all of which goes directly to the WE ALL HAVE AIDS foundation to further HIV/AIDS education and eradication.

Keeping the AIDS pandemic in the "mental first person" keeps the battle fresh - especially with the rash of other tragedies that perhaps have taken the spotlight off of the fight. When asked does he think that in the United States HIV/AIDS has lost its position as a much-talked-about issue in mainstream America, campaign creator/designer/activist Kenneth Cole responded “Unfortunately, it has because we as a people, I guess, respond more easily to acute disasters than to chronic ones. We deal with them comfortably, be they tsunamis, be they hurricanes or wars of questionable relevance. But we have a hard time dealing with something that isn't packaged comfortably and isn't easily fixed. Especially if we don't find ourselves to be at risk”

How absolutely, unapologetically prolific!

"Third Girl From the Left"

Third Girl From the Left- Martha Southgate


What of dreams deferred? Langston posed this question to us a couple of decades ago. What happens to a dream deferred? I’ll tell you what happens to it- it keeps on living, the chances of it being realized becoming less and less likely with every passing day. And in between those days, life continues. Coming from someone who “SHOULD HAVE BEEN” one of the dancers in the Michael Jackson ‘Remember the Time’ video (looong story!), I understand somewhat the tragedy of the deferment of dreams. As you become less attached to the idea of achieving your vision or fully realizing your talent, you become more distracted by the insidious 525,600 minutes that become a year which, if you’re not careful, becomes a decade. The only redeeming factor would be if that decade bought forth SOMETHING that made the deferment of that dream all worthwhile. While “Third Girl From The Left” starts out as just your requisite “black lit” love story, its theme speaks more to dreams and aspirations- the yearning, the energy it brings into your life, the internal pride and passion that continually fuels you, the internal sadness that comes when you realize that perhaps what you THOUGHT would be your destiny is really going to be something else, the re-definition of what becomes important to you after the ‘death’ of your dream, and a new paradigm of what your life-your dream- will be going forward.

Side plotlines of experimental lesbianism, conformity, mother-daughter relationships, racial strife, family heritage and love in all its forms become woven into the tapestry of this earthen tale of three generations of women in one family in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Southgate infuses camp, humor and self-referential parody while giving us a glimpse into the examination of each woman’s dreams and the realization/and or deferment of such. It makes a statement on the power of the movies to change a life (the title comes from daughter Angela’s “cameo” appearance in a Pam Grier blaxploitation movie as ‘Third Girl From the Left’), to renew familial pride (leading granddaughter Tamara to pursue a career in filmmaking and create a loving documentary), and to soothe psychological scars (patriarch Mildred escaped the painful remnants of the Tulsa race riots with weekly trips to the town’s movie house). Southgate offers one of the most interesting fusions of history and fiction I’ve read. She shows a reverence for the acting/moviemaking crafts and the passion that those who pursue them possess while simultaneously challenging the reader to further reach for his own dreams.

Open Mike- "Yelling at God"

For years I’ve been quietly weeping
I’ve been hoping against the obvious
Praying against the inevitable
Shaking my head at the ugliness we do, the unconscionable

I’ve been praying for my people
And crossing my fingers for things to turn out right
I’ve been quietly singing hymns and psalms and Old Negro Spirituals
And putting my heart and soul into every syllable

I’ve put on a happy face and smiled through the pain
And tried to realize that for every 3 sunny days
There has to be at least one day of rain

And I’ve done what I was supposed to do
And gave what was expected of me to give
And learned what was necessary
And listened to how a Christian is supposed to live

But through all of this giving and singing and praying and being and hoping…

I’ve tried my best to stifle this voice
That wailed at the idea of men damaging little boys
I’ve stroked it softly when it cried from its gut
When it heard about little girls in Thailand getting fucked
I’ve tried to reason with it when it couldn’t gage
How wonderfully creative people in the first world could still die of AIDS

How we could allow the savagery of clitoral circumcision
And be satisfied with international cultural tunnel-vision
How it's ok that people who sleep with their own sex have provisions
In our laws designed to keep them second-class citizens
How those poor souls were never served anything uglier and meaner
Than a ball of hell packaged with the beautiful name Katrina
How we don’t question what’s REALLY the matter
When given the choice of ‘Vote or DIE’- and we choose the latter

And so sometimes I find myself laying on my back staring at the ceiling
YELLING AT GOD!!!

Screaming like I have a right to question Him
Not in decibels full of contempt without fear of retribution
But in a blind, awkward and earnest attempt to obtain a viable resolution

Because MY God couldn’t be watching all of this go on and do NOTHING…

So my faith is being tested at a time when it could be stronger
‘Cause my patience is growing shorter and my emotions longer
And there’s only so much giving and singing and praying and being and hoping that I have left
Before I have to personally address these injustices and get something off my chest

And who knows what would happen then…

In the meantime, I’ll continue to try to lower this voice that speaks volumes of despair
And hope that sometime soon my God will take over and get us away from there…

Questions for the Zeitgeist- December 2005

1- Is anyone REALLY surprised that Sheryl Swoopes is gay? I hate to generalize, but a female WNBA player coming out is about as shocking as celebrity hairstylist Jose Eber taking off that beaded cowboy hat and proclaiming HIS homosexuality...

2- I’m all for equal access to fashion- you know, “fashion for the people”- but where is it going to end? First Told Oldham defected, giving rise to Isaac Mizrahi for Target, Karl Lagerfeld/Stella McCartney for H&M, and now…Fiorucci for Target!!! Yes, perennial Italian fashion powerhouse Fiorucci (as in ‘Sister Sledge’s “He’s the Greatest Dancer”---Halston…Gucci…Fiorucci!!!) has partnered with erstwhile up-and-coming fashion merchandiser Target to bring back- among other things- their signature “cherub” imprint and skinny jeans! Now, don’t get me wrong---its GREAT to see the cherubs again after all this time (and the fashion fag in me wants to cop the Fiorucci “hot lips” T-shirt

and pair it with some Evisu denim and rare Nike patent leather Uptowns), but all of this high/low-fashion collaboration begs the question---what’s next- Diane Von Furstenberg for Wal-Mart? Wrap dresses for EVERYONE!! (affecting my best Oprah imitation- “and YOU get a wrap dress, and YOU get a wrap dress, and YOU and YOU and YOU…!!!). Ironically, Von Furstenberg has already stepped outside of the apparel mart and (in cahoots with VOGUE) into the telecom business. Her new “couture-tech” line, which includes the DVF Mobile (a gussied-up Samsung SPH-A680 cameraphone)
and an accessory called the CityBand makes carrying the essentials (cellphone included) easier. Now if only Dirk Bikkenbergs would hook up with Century 21…but I digress…

3- Didn’t Charlize Theron adapt the Halle Berry School of Drama script hook, line, and sinker- by following up a fantastic Oscar win with a STUPID super(s)hero flop? Will Felicity Huffman do the same once she wins the Oscar for “TransAmerica”?

4- Now that they’ve finally ADMITTED that they have split (of course, The NY Post’s Cindi Adams scooped this MONTHS ago), can we finally admit that we never really cared about Nick and Jessica anyway?

5- With all of his drug struggles, his debilitating fight with Multiple Sclerosis AND his triple by-pass surgery, didn’t Richard Pryor’s death come as more of a relief than a tragedy? He was THE King of Comedy, hands down…


6- After all of this time and given all of the controversy surrounding Darwin (whom the American Museum of Natural History has just recently bestowed a rather extensive exhibit), isn’t it time for people to just pick what side of the fence they’re on (creationism versus evolution), stop arguing and just leave it at that?

7- Along the same "Get over it" lines... With all of this back and forth over whether to bid your fellow man "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays"- in the spirit of political correctness, why don't we just wish everyone a "Happy and Merry ChristmaHanuKwanzaakah" and call it a day?

8- Would Anthony Hamilton (whose new CD "Ain't Nobody Worryin", drops December 13th) be getting the props he deserves if he were, shall we say, more conventionally attractive?

9- With Cillian Murphy (“Breakfast on Pluto”), Felicity Huffman (“TransAmerica”), Eric McCormack (“Will and Grace”), Heath Ledger/ Jake Gyllenhaal (“Brokeback Mountain”), riding really high right now, how are Hollywood actors WHO ARE ACTUALLY GAY putting food on the table?

10- Even with the campaign to convince the producers otherwise, wasn’t Jennifer Hudson ALWAYS the best choice to play Effie in the film adaptation of

???

11- With a drug overdose inside and with over 2,000 people clamoring to get in the already crowded 3,000 person capacity space ON ITS OPENING NIGHT, is new uber-club PACHA (Ricardo Urgell’s first North-American addition to his 25 nightclub empire) poised to become the new Studio 54? Underage celebrities in various states of consciousness and sobriety, dancers gyrating in glass-enclosed showers overlooking the dance floor and cocktail waitresses sporting nothing but body paint…Sounds like a SCENE!! Now all the crazies from Suede (which is closing in January) and transplants from Aer will have someplace else to go… Get some at http://www.pachanyc.com/