Maybe this is a vernacular issue, but are we confusing “pride” with “not ashamed”? by Chuck Willman Over the last few months I’ve noticed a number of gay blogs, Web sites (including those specifically selling “bareback” or no-condom porn), even advertisements for pharmaceutical companies selling their “positive” images of the “new” young, “healthy” HIV-infected person, proclaiming their “HIV Pride.” There are even Web sites for those of us with HIV/AIDS to “hook-up” (which I personally think is a valuable tool, if you’ll pardon the pun, to [...]

Why am I always being told I’m bringing the whine? First Generation by Chuck Willman First of all, we survived the election! So for those of us—and I would think that includes a great many—living on the so-called “entitlement programs” (which we worked for and earned!) we can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Now, of course this doesn’t mean there won’t be changes made to the disability “benefits” a lot of us rely on to exist in the future. It simply means that those [...]

What can long-term survivors teach the world? First Generation by Chuck Willman My name is Chuck Willman. I tested positive for HIV in 1988. In 1995 I had progressed to “full-blown AIDS.” Despite my long battle with AIDS, my only awful and debilitating ailment is peripheral neuropathy in my legs, which makes it difficult for me to walk, especially late in the day. I have been very fortunate not to have had many hospital stays (actually one for meningitis); I am a cancer survivor (not [...]