Yet, when AIDS hit a few years later, the same words of warning sounded almost prophetic. Upon publication, Faggots was dismissed by many as puritanical and self-loathing for its criticism of gay men's obsession with vanity, promiscuity and recreational drug use. We have the ultimate in freedom – we have absolutely no responsibilities! – and we're abusing it. Following a man in his late 30s (based on Kramer himself) who is seeking out a loving, long-term relationship in a sea of hedonism, the novel has a clear message: gay men need to start loving each other instead of being so obsessed with getting fucked up and (literally and figuratively) fucking each other. I spent a few quiet afternoons reading his 1978 debut novel Faggots, a satirical (yet clearly autobiographical) look at the lives of gay men in 1970s New York City that he wrote just before AIDS made him a figurehead of American activism. However, the ghost of Larry Kramer very much remained in my own head as I made my way through a Pride month unlike any other. But "these times" looked very different on May 27th than they did on May 29th, or June 2nd, or pretty much any day since.
I thought the fearlessness Kramer showed in the face of HIV/AIDS might teach us all a little about surviving in these times. (If you don't know much about Kramer, please change that immediately by watching the documentary Larry Kramer in Love and Anger - currently available on Crave and HBO Max.) Kramer's legacy was forged during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, during which he played a pivotal role in combating governments and institutions who could not give less of a fuck about the lives of the marginalized people that disease was killing. When I decided to put this column on a brief hiatus, I was working on a reflection on the life of legendary gay activist, writer and shit disturber Larry Kramer, who passed away of pneumonia on May 27th.
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