The phrase "HIV Negative" implies the diagnosis "HIV positive," a precursor to the AIDS epidemic which decimated The stigma, still a force in some sectors of our society, delayed the mobilization for effective treatment when the epidemic first appeared in the early 80s. It took Ronald Reagan five years to even mention the word "AIDS," although the disease had been ravaging our community. His presidency set the tone of the national response: stigma and marginalization, insufficient funding, avoidance of public discussion, delays in research, funding, and education. As the epidemic conducted its scorched earth assault on gay America, the most at-risk population spun about in anger, despair, disbelief, and denial. The last of these, sanctioned by the federal attitude of indifference, was the deadliest. Victims participated not only in their own destruction but -- wittingly or no -- brought about the death of others. (Religious condemnation played its evil part as well.)
You might think that being HIV negative during the awful years before retrovirals made the disease a manageable condition rather than a death sentence felt like a deliverance, but you'd be wrong. "HIV Negative" portrays the terrible toll the disease took on all of us through the lens of a prequel to our short, "The Knowing." It covers the span of time from the early 80s, the honeymoon of Adam and Peter in first love and ignorance of the disaster that was about to befall, to the end of the decade which saw the dissolution of their relationship, the descent of catastrophe on their community, and their differing responses.
And yet, it is not a tale of unrelieved darkness. The bond between the two ex-lovers remains.
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