Peter Staley

AIDS Activism Wows Sundance

By Peter Staley on January 25, 2012 10:12 PM | No Comments

I got the chance to see AIDS activism wow a crowd at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, during the premiere of HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE on Sunday. Garance Franke-Ruta and Ron Goldberg, veterans of ACT UP New York, were also able to attend. In a spooky coincidence, it was the 20th anniversary of the day TAG, the Treatment Action Group, was formed. TAG's early work is prominently featured in the documentary.

Seeing it on a big screen kinda blew my mind, and judging by the audience response (two standing ovations), I wasn't alone. I can't walk ten feet in this town without someone wanting to talk about the impact the film had on them. Most (especially those under 45 years old), had never heard about this history before, and it deeply moved them. They also thought the film had many lessons for today's activist movements, including Occupy Wall Street.

Director David France and his team should be very proud of doing the near impossible -- carefully honoring a remarkable moment in history that could fill dozens of books (and hopefully will). Many of those we lost and loved appear in the film, and can now be remembered again. As the late Bob Rafsky put it so eloquently during an amazing scene in the film, "when the living can no longer speak, the dead may speak for them."

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How to Survive a Plague, ctd.

By Peter Staley on January 19, 2012 12:27 PM | 2 Comments

In December, 2008, a journalist named David France came over to my Brooklyn apartment and told me about his dream of making a documentary that honored the history he witnessed of AIDS treatment activism in the late 80's and early 90's. From the heady-optimism of ACT UP's Treatment & Data Committee, to the painful split of ACT UP & TAG (the Treatment Action Group) just as the plague years were at their worst in the U.S., and finally to the remarkable research breakthroughs that made the death rate decline by 70%.

Three years later, David's film is done, and will be premiering at Sundance in Park City, Utah this Sunday. I finally got to see it Tuesday afternoon at a screening with David Barr, Sam Avrett, Gregg Gonsalves, and Catherine Gund. David France and his entire crew, including Joy Tomchin, Howard Gertler, Dan Cogan, Woody, Tyler, and seemingly dozens of others, should be incredibly proud. HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE honors this remarkable slice of history.

First things first -- doing justice to the entire history of AIDS activism, including the inspiring international work of today, would take a miniseries -- make that a megaseries -- lasting at least 30 hours long. Even then, there would be thousands of important stories left out. This medium -- film -- just can't capture it all. France's 100 minute documentary is just a small slice of this history. But there's no doubting that slice's significance, and as importantly, its potential to inspire others.

I found it almost impossible to view the film objectively. It brought me back to those years like nothing else I've seen (how could it not, since France decided to portray a handful of personal story arcs, including mine). Amazing found footage of early ACT UP meetings on Monday nights at The Center captured the wild mix of camaraderie, joy, anger, and empowerment that made us the epicenter of Gay America in the late 80's, and for all Americans, the social movement of its day. It took thousands of deaths before we were angry enough to hit the streets, and I remain amazed by the movement's resilience during the carnage that followed.

I suspect that this film will reopen old wounds for some from the infighting that led to T&Ds split from ACT UP, and the founding of TAG. We largely fell into two camps at the time, and for the most part, the film tells the story of those on just one side of that divide. But any story focused on treatment activism will never capture ACT UP's expansive body of work. I eagerly await Jim Hubbard and Sarah Schulman's UNITED IN ANGER: A HISTORY OF ACT-UP, which will begin to fill out this history even more.

Both of these films have a huge wall of resistance to climb - sadly, most folks don't want to hear about AIDS these days, even most gay folks. That said, in this day and age, they are desperate for some inspiration, and for stories about people telling truth to power, and changing history for the better.

HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE does this. See it.

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How to Survive a Plague

By Peter Staley on January 9, 2012 1:21 PM | 3 Comments

This seems to be the year of the AIDS documentary. It's about time. I'm still shocked by how many twenty-somethings have never heard of ACT UP. We can't let this remarkable history slip away.

First, there is WE WERE HERE, a highly moving retelling of what it was like in San Francisco when the crisis hit. Folks are betting that it will get nominated for the Oscars later this month, and possibly even win for best documentary. Then there's VITO, about the life of Vito Russo, one of my heroes during the ACT UP years. It's making the rounds at film festivals right now. There's also great buzz about UNITED IN ANGER: A HISTORY OF ACT-UP, which is in final editing by Jim Hubbard and Sarah Schulman, and should premier in New York soon.

And finally, Sundance recently announced the 16 documentaries selected for its film festival starting late next week, out of about 1,000 films submitted. One of them is David France's HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, described as "the untold story of the intensive efforts that turned AIDS into a manageable condition - and the improbable group of (mostly HIV-positive) young men and women whose amazing resilience broke through a time of rampant death and political indifference."

Yours truly was interviewed for this one, and I can't wait to see the final film. I've only seen some short clips thus far, and it looks very powerful. I'm flying out to Park City, Utah to see the premiere, and join the Q&A afterwards. It's my sincere hope that this small flood of AIDS docs will teach younger generations about those remarkable and surreal early years, and inspire future activists for all the work that still needs doing.

Here's David France talking about his film:

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If Only My Dog Could Vote

By Peter Staley on January 9, 2012 11:41 AM | 1 Comment

True story. I was watching Sunday morning TV, and paused the program on my DVR to get some tea in the kitchen. Then Stella started barking. Normally, she barks at something outside, but for the first time ever, she was barking at the TV. I had to laugh when I saw who she was barking at, and grabbed my video camera. Enjoy...

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That's a Lot of Vivid Dreaming

By Peter Staley on January 27, 2010 4:40 PM | 6 Comments

It seems Gilead is selling tons of Atripla these days:

Gilead 4Q Profit Rises 43 Percent On Atripla Sales

Gilead Sciences said yesterday its profit climbed 43 percent in the fourth quarter due to rising sales of its three-in-one HIV drug Atripla. The company said sales of Atripla, which was approved in the U.S. in July 2006, jumped 50 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2008. It said Atripla became its best-selling drug during the quarter, as revenue surpassed that of an older drug, Truvada. Gilead said its profit rose to $802.2 million, or 87 cents per share, from $560 million, or 59 cents per share.

Atripla is a 3-drug combo pill that includes Bristol-Myers Squibb's Sustiva, a potent non-nuke that often causes vivid dreams (and more rarely other central nervous system side effects) -- thus the headline of this post.

Gilead is now the biggest seller of AIDS drugs in the world, selling a whopping $5.84 billion of antivirals last year.

I certainly hope they're giving back to affected communities -- generously and often. We all know Gilead has long-standing grants and charitable giving programs, but they should grow in proportion to their HIV sales. I've seen no evidence that they have.

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Studies Show Huge Drop in Meth Use Among Gay Men in NYC

By Peter Staley on January 11, 2010 2:00 PM | 17 Comments

We did it! In 2004, gay men in New York City decided to confront what had been our dirty little secret up until then -- crystal meth had become our party-drug du jour.

We forced the city council to appropriate funds for anti-meth campaigns designed by our own community groups (like the one pictured here). We held packed community forums to discuss what the drug was doing to us. And most importantly, we started talking to each other honestly about the downsides of Tina. We helped those among us whose lives were being destroyed -- getting them into treatment, begging them to stop, and caring for each other much as we did during the darkest days of the AIDS crisis.

I've been waiting for many years for some good science that would show if any of this helped. Did we start to turn away from meth in 2004 and the years that followed? The study results I've been most anticipating are finally trickling out.

The CDC started the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) system in 2003. This system keeps an eye on behaviors known to spread HIV, surveying MSM ("men who have sex with men," i.e. gay men), IV drug users, and heterosexuals living in areas with a high rate of AIDS. They did the first survey of gay men in 2004 (November 2003 to April 2005, to be exact), and found that in New York City, 14% reported using meth within the last 12 months.

The CDC finally ran NHBS-MSM2 in 2008, their second survey of gay men, using the same techniques as their first survey, thus allowing researchers to look at trends over time. Meth use stats for individual cities have yet to be published, but I contacted the principal investigators in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to get their new numbers, and was pleasantly surprised.

In 2008, only 6% of gay men in New York City reported using meth during the previous 12 months. That's a 57% drop from the percentage reported in 2004.

There was a similar drop in San Francisco, which ran many of the same meth prevention campaigns designed for New York City. They reported a meth use rate of 13% in 2008, dropping from 22% in 2004. Los Angeles still has work to do, with a much smaller drop -- 13% of gay men reported using meth in 2008, vs. 16% in 2004. Meth will always be a local battle, and each community's response, or lack thereof, can affect local use.

For gay men in New York City, we responded loudly and convincingly when the worst of this crisis hit, and now we have some evidence showing it worked. I remain deeply proud to be part of a community that so lovingly takes care of its own.

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Told ya

By Peter Staley on December 2, 2009 2:03 PM | 2 Comments

A prediction from a little over 13 months ago:

"...the next big change in the guidelines will come within two years, and recommend starting treatment when CD4's fall below 500."

AIDSmeds.com has a great overview of the latest updates to the HIV treatment guidelines.

It was also cool to finally see Kaletra demoted from a "preferred" to an "alternative" option for those starting treatment for the first time (except pregnant women, where it remains a preferred option). Kaletra is sold by Abbott, and they're still screwing us with that 400% price increase on Norvir. I never understood why more docs and patients weren't trying more lipid-friendly options like Reyataz. Now they will.

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Don't Let 1 Be Like 8

By Peter Staley on October 27, 2009 12:27 PM | 1 Comment

Prop 1 in Maine is a week away. Let's not lose this one like we lost Prop 8, by sitting back, hoping for the best, and only becoming active after the vote.

You can do something now. Donate online to No On 1 (I did, months ago). If you can't afford a donation, they have various ways to volunteer, including calling potential voters from your own phone (for those outside Maine, the Courage Campaign is organizing these national calls). No On 1 is also providing free hotel space and car-pool options to those who join their ground campaign:

For the final long campaign weekend we're going to give you a FREE place to stay in a local hotel if you can work at least two volunteer shifts.

All you need to do is drive or rideshare to Maine to help protect marriage equality. Our friends at Drive at Equality have made it easy to sign up on their website.

We've never been this close to victory -- but with the polls showing this race dead even, we can't do it without your help. Can you take a short trip to make history?

http://www.driveforequality.org

It doesn't matter if you have a car or not - when you sign up at the Drive for Equality website, just check a box on the form for a rideshare request to post on our interactive board. You'll join the dozens of volunteers who are coming to Maine to be a part of our Get Out The Vote team, and the thousands of Mainers who are volunteering to protect marriage equality here.

Every person who volunteers will fill a critical role on our team-- we need to talk to hundreds of thousands of Maine voters in the final days of the election and make sure they vote NO on 1 and protect our state's marriage equality law.

Will you join us here and make a big difference?

http://www.driveforequality.org

No experience is required, and we'll help you make the trip by providing your housing and by helping to match drivers with riders. If you are traveling as a group, or in a carpool, we will try to match you in a shared room with your group. All that we ask is ALL participants sign up at the Drive for Equality website.

You can help us defeat Question 1 and protect marriage equality in Maine. In just 7 days, voters in Maine will choose the direction of the national marriage equality movement.

The polls are close, but we can win if we have enough volunteers to turn out all our voters. You can make the biggest difference by driving (or riding in a carpool) to Maine for all or any part of GOTV from Friday the 30th through Election Day on the 3rd.

Sign up to Drive for Equality to Maine. Your short trip will make a big difference.

http://www.driveforequality.org

Darlene Huntress
Field Director
NO on 1 / Protect Maine Equality

P.S.-- Can't make it to Maine but want to help from home? Join Call for Equality, our virtual phone bank program, and help contact voters from your home or office. All you need is a phone and an internet connection to make a difference. Sign up here:

http://protectmaineequality.org/callforequality

If you need a little extra push to get involved, join the half a million people who have been inspired by Philip...

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ACT UP, "Terrorist Group"

By Peter Staley on October 23, 2009 12:40 PM | 4 Comments

Now the Catholic League has dittoed the futile smear campaign tying Kevin Jennings to ACT UP. Bill Donohue, their president (or according to Kathy Griffin, "one man in a room with a computer"), describes ACT UP as a "homosexual urban terrorist group."

Gotta love it. For the record, ACT UP never hurt a fly. We were studiously nonviolent. That said, would a pie in Donohue's face count as nonviolent? Oh, come on... please... pretty please?

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Wingnuts Target Jennings & Harvard's ACT UP Exhibit

By Peter Staley on October 22, 2009 11:11 AM | 2 Comments

They're running out of ammo. The right-wing nuts that have been trying, and miserably failing, to bring down Kevin Jennings, Obama's "safe schools czar," are now trying to use ACT UP as a smear (see WorldNetDaily). It seems Kevin was one of many supporters for a currently running exhibit at Harvard titled ACT UP New York: Activism, Art, and the AIDS Crisis, 1987-1993, which the wingnuts are calling "radical porn" (click on the exhibit poster for a closer look). Even worse, he may have even been a member of ACT UP way back when. The horror!

You see, by wingnut logic, that means Kevin actively supports each and every thing every past member of ACT UP has done (or will do), including the condom on Helms' house (yup, they mention this), dropping the Eucharist (also mentioned), and saving millions of lives (oops, they missed this one).

This is another Jennings smear which really isn't one. ACT UP membership was and always will be a badge of honor. Just as the wingnuts have lost the battle to smear the memory of Harvey Milk, they will fail in their efforts to tarnish other glorious moments in our history.

We will not be shamed.

(hat tip, Rex Wockner)

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Peter Staley

AIDS and gay rights activist; Founder & Advisory Editor, AIDSmeds

AIDS Activism Wows Sundance

How to Survive a Plague, ctd.

How to Survive a Plague

If Only My Dog Could Vote

That's a Lot of Vivid Dreaming

Studies Show Huge Drop in Meth Use Among Gay Men in NYC

Told ya

Don't Let 1 Be Like 8

ACT UP, "Terrorist Group"

Wingnuts Target Jennings & Harvard's ACT UP Exhibit

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