I wear the red ribbon for my uncle James. Thirteen years ago, on this date, he died due to AIDS. He was neglected by his family and put up in a house to live his final days on this planet alone, withering away until he lost his life.

Alone.

Thinking about it makes me furious. Whether or not he could have lived to see this day is unknown, but I would like to think at least adequate knowledge about the disease and treatment might have helped him see a few more sunsets.

For my dear dead uncle's memory, I wore the red ribbon to work today. I fussed with it several times during the day, making sure the loop was perfect and the ends straight. I went about my day normally, attending meetings and the like, then leaving early for my semi-annual HIV test, and then coming home.

I admit that I put up with a lot of shit at work. A lot of it. But today was the straw that broke this camel's back, because of the callous, ignorant, uninformed and prejudiced comments I received just because of the red ribbon I wear to remember my uncle James.

Micro-Manager: "World AIDS Day…I don't know about that. Does AIDS deserve a holiday?"

D.A.W.G.: "Why are you getting an HIV test? Do you have AIDS or something?"

Goofball: "So do gay people wear red ribbons on just World AIDS Day or every day?"

It took every ounce of patience in me to not lose it today folks…really. One chick even had the audacity to try and pull the character assassination card because I wear the ribbon. Was I on my soapbox? No. Was I passing out ribbons or asking people why they weren't wearing one? No. I could easily raise a stink about how a ton of organizations are quick to "think pink" but don't up the hue when it comes to a global epidemic. I could wear myself out with tirades.

Or I can wear the ribbon — for family, for friends, and for the fight.

Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.

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Once again, the blogger community is joining together to raise awareness about the world wide AIDS epidemic. Please click here to view a list that will be updated throughout the day of individuals raising their united voices.

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Check out past World AIDS Day entries on BlackGayBlogger.com.

World AIDS Day 2004
Link and Think. And Re-Think.
Link and Think. Think This Will Happen?
Link and Think. And Think Of A Better Excuse, Chump.

World AIDS Day 2003
Link and Think. But think first.
Link and Think. And Think Again.
Link and Think. The Links Edition.