“Friends have warned me to be careful of disclosing my HIV and not tell random people. We’ve all heard the countless horror stories of abuse, ignorance, violence … so what the hell is going on? Why do I have this nagging feeling the gay scene is losing touch with what’s really important – compassion for the safety of your fellow man. Have all the 24 hour clubs, drugs and alcohol finally talking their toll or was it ever their in the first place? … You can’t get away from the fact that wearing your heart on your sleeve leaves you vulnerable. So, I’ve decided to turn my positive diagnosis on it’s head and shout it from the roof tops. If you don’t take full responsibility and call the shots, then who will? HIV/AIDS is a global issue – far greater than you and me – it’s a matter of life or death and you might not be as lucky as me.”
— Clint Walters, out HIV-positive activist. Walters died at his home in Clapham,
South London of a heart attack at the age of 31 last Sunday
