International AIDS Day.....personal and political thoughts. For my dear friends Bill Kraus who died in January of 1986 and Stan Criollos (who died of fulminating hepatitis). 2 lovely men, both fighters for social justice. It was amazing when we met each others mothers and realized how similar we were (Bills was a midwesterner like my Mom and Stans mother was an immigrant who started in the fields of the central valley but worked her way into her own beauty parlor-and thus all 3 determined themselves solidly middle class). Stan and I would never had been able to go to college today-we were lucky to have free state education when we were in school. Bill, too was educated above his class background. Stan grew up in the central valley of CA, Bill in Ohio, myself in the Pomona Valley originally. Stan was a fighter for Latino and gay rights as well as global social justice. In addition to our involvement in gay rights and AIDS, Bill worked in El Salvador and I in Nicaragua. We all were involved in the Harvey Milk Club, where we produced Can We Talk, the first AIDS information pamphlet which was eventually translated into dozens of languages. We brought down a Department of Public Health which had hidden a report that showed a startling incidence of people with AIDS symptoms (10% in 1984-40% by 1986). We were involved with joint Gay/Latin (some both, some one) in the Mission fighting police brutality. We fought for rent control (HA!) and school integration-remember that? When they died I didnt make even a minimal recovery for years. This is not to forget the hundreds that we all knew personally who died and whose funerals we attended (sometimes 2-3 a week). Or friends not as close, Chuck, Cap, Simeon, Russ, Eric, Jimmy, Jay............and of course Randy Shiltz. I was in grief group where eventually all the male members died, including the therapist. One thing that Bill, Randy and I had in common-the fight within the gay community over releasing AIDS information was bitter (we felt any information was good and might protect people-others felt it would increase homophobia, some were worried it would hurt gay businesses). Consequently, for our efforts, Bill, Randy and I were targets of the keep it quiet opposition and regularly had people literally spit in our faces in the streets. Randy, if you remember, was denounced by other gay press people. While this was going on, I worked at SFGH, including the AIDS ward and saw people die on a daily basis, had a bad fluid exposure myself years before there was a test, and was constantly trashed by other gay health workers for being vocal in my criticism of the Department of Health (who were actively covering up information). I was uninvited to a lesbian sponsored forum for my stand on information. Those were hard days, but hardest was losing my compañeros, men who I fought with, loved and laughed with. People I thought I would spend my old age with (in the rest home-the wrinkled palms). Thank God we have treatment-my brother and his partner have lived years and are well. But too many are gone. More than that, millions have HIV in poor countries (poor by colonialism). A good friend lives in Africa and sees the poor treatment available even to those with some financial resources. WHO recommendations lag far behind what is protocol in wealthy countries. There is a lot of work to do. We old activists are tired and somewhat heart weary. We look to the younger generation to take up this fight along with so many others. BILL KRAUS, STAN CRIOLLOS-Presenté
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 22:40:35 +0000
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