30 January 2009
Thursday's Event
It hasn't completely sunk in despite the facts that it happened over twelve hours ago and that I knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later. Maybe when I come to complete terms with it, I might make sense out of it and find the silver lining. Right now, all I see are the clouds. It isn't completely all about what transpired today. I take into account all that has occurred over the past five months that led up to the moment. The only thing I keep coming up with is that I have lost more than I can express and there are only two or three people who can fully understand how deeply this is affecting me.
19 January 2009
A Passing Phase Or A Taste Of Things To Come?
Looking over the list of parties happening in the city over the course of this inauguration week/end, keeping in mind the Big Concert On The Mall yesterday, and knowing that the biggest Rock Star President Of Probably Ever will be sworn in tomorrow, one cannot help but think of all of the celebrities crawling all over our fair District. And then one is led to think, will D.C. become the next celebritropolis?
The beauty of the District is that we see so many powerful and famous people here that we're pretty jaded over the Cult Of Personality. I can't see why rockers, big ballers, Hollywood royalty, or any other person accustomed to the spotlight wouldn't feel comfortable playing in our little sandbox. They can come here and have pretty good assurance that they won't be hassled by the locals.
Yet this is Washington, D.C. We are known for our politics, our conservative lifestyle, our ... antisocial attitude. That's not really the petri dish of adulation and worship that private-life stars require to survive. It is that subconscious need to be harassed that keeps the rich and famous in places like New York City and Los Angeles.
Besides, do the citizens of D.C. really want any more prima donnas roaming around all leash-less and whatnot? It's bad enough that we have the President, Vice President, members of Congress, members of the City Council, various ANC commissioners, and transplants from NYC, LA, SF, Dallas, so on and so forth. How much more ego can be shoehorned into our 68.3 square miles of heaven?
Perhaps Barack-N-Roll will be the final piece in Washington's long, yet unspoken, quest for respect from the world's social elite. Perhaps with his coming, our city will attract the same level of snobbery that infests the boroughs of New York City and Milan, the districts of Paris, and the neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Or perhaps, when this inauguration is over the kings and queens of culture will return from whence they came ... only to return for hearings in front of a Congressional board or as elected (or appointed) members of our Federal government.
The beauty of the District is that we see so many powerful and famous people here that we're pretty jaded over the Cult Of Personality. I can't see why rockers, big ballers, Hollywood royalty, or any other person accustomed to the spotlight wouldn't feel comfortable playing in our little sandbox. They can come here and have pretty good assurance that they won't be hassled by the locals.
Yet this is Washington, D.C. We are known for our politics, our conservative lifestyle, our ... antisocial attitude. That's not really the petri dish of adulation and worship that private-life stars require to survive. It is that subconscious need to be harassed that keeps the rich and famous in places like New York City and Los Angeles.
Besides, do the citizens of D.C. really want any more prima donnas roaming around all leash-less and whatnot? It's bad enough that we have the President, Vice President, members of Congress, members of the City Council, various ANC commissioners, and transplants from NYC, LA, SF, Dallas, so on and so forth. How much more ego can be shoehorned into our 68.3 square miles of heaven?
Perhaps Barack-N-Roll will be the final piece in Washington's long, yet unspoken, quest for respect from the world's social elite. Perhaps with his coming, our city will attract the same level of snobbery that infests the boroughs of New York City and Milan, the districts of Paris, and the neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Or perhaps, when this inauguration is over the kings and queens of culture will return from whence they came ... only to return for hearings in front of a Congressional board or as elected (or appointed) members of our Federal government.
06 January 2009
Looking For An Answer
Anyone who has lived as long as I have, especially in Washington, D.C., will know a few people who are HIV Positive. (If you don't, you haven't asked the right questions. And I hope you were safe.) There would be a decent probability that you could have gotten involved, per chance fallen in love, with someone who is HIV Positive.
This got me thinking.
I went online and I did some searching. It doesn't take long ... actually one search on "DC HIV POZ Group" to find a group of Positive people who can come together, talk about their struggles, and just generally enjoy the company of others who know what they are going through. But after a couple of hours of searching, I couldn't find one single group ... not one in the city with the highest HIV rate in the country ... for people who love people who are HIV Positive.
This confounds me.
Yes, I understand how difficult it is for people to realize that they are HIV Positive. I know the things that go through their minds. I know the pain, the anger, the despair, that they go through. I know this because I've had the consolatory discussion with more than my fair share of people I love.
But what about me and people like me, people who love those who are HIV Positive yet don't know how to act around them?
(Don't read too deeply into my last sentence. I'm speaking for the voiceless.)
It honestly does amaze me that, in the HIV Capital of our country, there is not one single support group for those who love or fall in love with someone who is HIV Positive.
Am I the only one who thinks this is ... wrong?
This got me thinking.
I went online and I did some searching. It doesn't take long ... actually one search on "DC HIV POZ Group" to find a group of Positive people who can come together, talk about their struggles, and just generally enjoy the company of others who know what they are going through. But after a couple of hours of searching, I couldn't find one single group ... not one in the city with the highest HIV rate in the country ... for people who love people who are HIV Positive.
This confounds me.
Yes, I understand how difficult it is for people to realize that they are HIV Positive. I know the things that go through their minds. I know the pain, the anger, the despair, that they go through. I know this because I've had the consolatory discussion with more than my fair share of people I love.
But what about me and people like me, people who love those who are HIV Positive yet don't know how to act around them?
(Don't read too deeply into my last sentence. I'm speaking for the voiceless.)
It honestly does amaze me that, in the HIV Capital of our country, there is not one single support group for those who love or fall in love with someone who is HIV Positive.
Am I the only one who thinks this is ... wrong?
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