Some men on the DL celebrate it as an act of defiance that frees them from the hidebound restrictions of society. Others see it as an inevitable reaction to the homophobia often found in black communities. Both perspectives fail to acknowledge that choosing to spread the risk of HIV virus to unsuspecting mates is the moral equivalent of terrorism. Careless jumping from partner to partner differs little from entering a crowded bus with explosives strapped around your waist. It may take longer for your victims to die, but you're blowing them up nonetheless.
However misguided their methods, suicide bombers have at least deluded themselves into believing they act on behalf of a cause. Down low men who carelessly spread disease can make no such claims. While homophobia is loathsome and inexcusable, it is not a license to kill. Blaming personal dishonesty and reckless behavior on anti-gay attitudes is like using racism as an excuse to rape and steal: It simply doesn't make sense.
Men on the DL aren't the only members of black communities with an apparent aversion to monogamy. To growing numbers of African-Americans, personal responsibility has become an inconvenient notion that gets in the way of getting one's groove on and "keepin' it real." Messages expressing the need to practice safe sex and attend to the needs of our families have not found receptive audiences, hindered in part by the contradictory example of too many prominent black men.
Jesse Jackson has fathered a child out of wedlock. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume fathered five children out of wedlock when he was a very young man. NBA forward Shawn Kemp has fathered seven children out of wedlock. The popular rapper known as Ol' Dirty Bastard has fathered 13 kids by "at least six" women, according to a recent VH-1 documentary.
While heterosexual straying is not so closely linked to AIDS, it is still cheating, and contributes just as much to the breakdown of African-American families. In that sense, straight philanderers are as DL as their secretly gay counterparts. Down low? Actually, low down is more like it.
| The Washington Post's Jabari Asim goes there in "Down Low"
Also see: Jose Antonio Vargas' Washington Post article "HIV-Positive, Without a Clue"
posted in articles on August 11, 2003 5:24 PM | t (0)
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On behalf of the Society, I would like to invite Jose Antonio Vargas and Jabari Asim to participate in our HIV Panel Discussion, "Black Men on the DL" in April of next year. I would like their email addresses so that I can send them a letter providing them with the appropriate information. Their participation
and possible contributions will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Mandy J. Roberts
Vice President
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