Editorial: Connecting the Dots

A substantial amount of space in this edition of Positive Living is dedicated to an interview by AIDS Project Los Angeles treatment advocate Glenn Gaylord with a self-proclaimed "bare-backer."

The HIV-positive individual interviewed in the article, dubbed "Mr. X," may not represent the HIV/AIDS community in Los Angeles, but he is a part of it. While actions that he and Gaylord discuss throughout the course of the interview are exceptional -- applying chiefly to Mr. X and his sex partners -- the issues discussed in the interview affect us all. It is a thoughtful interview that merits your attention.

A substantial amount of space in the April edition of Positive Living was dedicated to coverage of sexually transmitted diseases, with emphasis placed on the current outbreak of syphilis in L.A. County among men who have sex with men. The syphilis problem, too, merits your ongoing attention.

The link between the barebacking and STD stories is not hard to see. But the story that is not discussed here is the story that perhaps affects the greatest number of people: most people with HIV/AIDS are not barebacking and most people with HIV/AIDS are not placing themselves at risk of contracting syphilis.

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