The press release plugging events being held today to “inspire youth activism” reads, “Youth Celebrate World AIDS Day at Sold Out Event.” This is lovely to see, so we’ll ignore the awkwardness of the word “celebrate.”
But World AIDS Day has always been a clumsy affair. How do you honour a day so dishonourable? Today, the Queerty blog is snarking about the red ribbons on Twitter and Facebook (“nothing says grassroots activist like meaningless Internet gestures!“) but people want to do something, however tiny, on a day that’s all about awareness.
World AIDS Day is a bit like Christmas — a day of hope for everyone to
come together in a spirit of brotherhood and peace, combined with a
lingering greasy distaste for why the hell we’re so incapable of doing
it the other 364 days of the year.
So what’s an appropriate response then? Today, we have many options:
— slash provincial government AIDS funding!
— hang a big red ribbon from your house:
— launch Positive Lite, a cheeky new webzine for HIV-positive people, in the hopes of getting them laid (how inappropriate!)
— write a somber piece about the impact of AIDS on your own family
— stage a protest in New York City at the mayor’s “World AIDS Day bagel breakfast” (though you’ll be arrested for your inappropriateness):
(I know, I’m as shocked as you are — “World AIDS Day bagel breakfast???” What the fuck?)
— stage a protest at a Beijing train station (but be arrested for your inappropriateness)
— pass along those saucy cellphone pics of baseball player Grady Sizemore (hey, you celebrate your way, I’ll celebrate mine)
— release a charity pop single
— or, of course, the most appropriate and directly helpful way to mark World AIDS Day: please give generously to a charity that will help people living with AIDS in your community. It beats the hell out of Twitter!
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