Bill Weintraub:

Why are we even looking at this, given how many of these articles we've seen over the last six years?

Because it's an article out of one of the most modern and secular countries in Europe, where the religious right is virtually non-existent.

Remember that in America, "homophobia" is often blamed for any increase in HIV infection or indeed any problem within the gay male community.

But Switzerland is hardly a hotbed of homophobia.

Northern Europe in general is very tolerant, with Germany having a gay mayor of its capital city Berlin; yet as the article says, "this [increase in gay male HIV infection] is a phenomenon that other western European countries are also having to come to terms with."

Let's take a closer look:

1. "The number of new HIV infections among gay and bisexual men in Switzerland has almost doubled over the past three years."

That's a big increase.

The epidemiological term for this is "incidence" -- the rate of new infections -- and it's up about 100%.

Over time, as we saw in the post titled Gay HIV rate skyrocketing, the predicted effect of those sorts of increases will be gay male HIV prevalence rates -- the total number of gay men infected -- of 58%, 60%, 75%, and even higher.

2. "Over the years better prevention has reduced infection rates among drug users and immigrants, but since 2000 new HIV infection rates among gay and bisexual men have continued to rise."

Drug users and immigrants have responded to prevention programs.

Gay men haven't -- even though they've been targeted.

3. "It is felt that large numbers are tired of the prevention messages that spoil the party atmosphere of certain evenings."

Here the reporter dances around the issue.

The "party" is anal.

It's anal penetration which is the problem.

4. "Also, improvements in anti-retroviral treatments allowing those who test positive for Aids to live longer have deluded people into thinking that Aids is an illness that can be treated."

Interesting.

Those oh-so-rational Swiss don't pretend that anti-retrovirals are a cure.

Those who think they are, they say, are "deluded."

I wish someone, other than me, would say that here in America.

5. "according to a study by the gay association Dialogai, in general higher numbers of gay people suffer from anxiety, drug addiction, alcoholism and depression than among the general population."

Also interesting.

This is a study coming out of a gay group, not the religious right.

And it tells us that "anxiety, drug addiction, alcoholism and depression" are higher among gay people.

Why would that be?

In such a progressive, modern, European nation?

Homophobia?

No.

Particularly not because though the article doesn't say this, what we've seen in other studies is that the rates of new infections are likely to be highest among young gay men.

That's because cohorts -- groups -- of men who are older have already been "saturated" with the virus -- most of those whose behavior puts them at risk for infection have already been infected.

So the highest "incidence" of HIV infection is among young gay men.

Yet the Swiss gay group Dialogai attributes this rise in infection to high levels of "anxiety, drug addiction, alcoholism and depression."

Which begs the question: why are these guys anxious, why are they depressed, why are they using substances to deal with those problems?

If it's not the unrelenting hate coming from the religious right which the gay establishment in America blames for all gay ills -- then it has to be something else.

If you're not dealing with homophobia, and you're a young person living in a well-ordered, prosperous, capitalist / social-welfare state -- what's getting you down?

To me, the answer is obvious: it's the anal.

Having one's sex life, and indeed one's identity, center on an act which is dirty, dangerous, and above all degrading, is fundamentally depressing.

Add to that high levels of promiscuity, which make it very difficult to find and hold onto a life-partner, and it's no wonder that these guys are anxious, depressed, and using drugs.

Particularly because they're never offered an alternative.

Instead, the gay male establishment, as we saw in The Dutch Experiment, supports anal and promiscuity with all its might and main.

Given that reality, what do the Swiss prevention authorities recommend:

"Rather than wishing to change existing campaigns, the office wants to ensure that all organisations combating HIV/Aids for this particular target group apply the same approach."

That's sad.

They're not going to change the "existing campaigns," even though they haven't worked in six years.

Why would they work now?

Remember, these men and this age group in particular have been bombarded with "safer-sex" messages since they were teens -- if not earlier.

They know how HIV is transmitted.

They know about condoms.

But they're putting preservation of their gay = anal identity ahead of the preservation of their lives.

Which is what the gay establishment tells them to do.

And has since 1985.

So more condom campaigns are not going to do it.

Instead, next year or next month or next week we'll be reading another of these reports.

Whether it's in Switzerland or the US or Shangri-la it's not going to matter.

So long as gay male life is centered on anal, HIV incidence and prevalence and that of other STD will continue to rise.

And YOUR life -- your ONE sweet life -- will remain at risk.

Bill Weintraub

© All material Copyright 2006 by Bill Weintraub. All rights reserved.