|
Page 7
|
 |
Tapestry,
1995.Tapestry
June 26, 1995
Tapestry's apartment, Lower Haight, San Francisco
James is one of his roommates
Tapestry: I've done health care for AIDS patients and people with ARC. I've seen wasting syndrome. I've helped people to the bathroom. I've changed bedpans. I've watched people go blind. I don't want to say I'm numb to it, but I know. And at this point I feel like before I let myself get to any of those points, I will take myself away from the world. That could change. But I don't hold it as a high possibility. Lying in a bed hoping to get better does not seem like a viable option to me. I would be much happier to jump on a Harley at 150 mph with all my lights on and blaring over a cliff and be done. Or just go camping someplace, and casually get lost. Of course there are going to be people left behind, but they'll know that it was my choice to go. I prefer to give my friends the option of thinking that I went out the way I wanted to as opposed to going out because my body gave up. I don't want people spend time worrying about my dying when they've got a lot of living to do. It seems like a strange thought, but it's there. If I'm going to die, I'm going to die, and it's not for you to worry about. You still have to live. If you learn anything from a person, learn how to live. Don't go saying, "I really wish I could have," and, "If I had been younger." I hate when people do that. "Well, if I were younger..."You had the chance. You opted to build a career.
MW: How do you feel government and health institutions view you?
Tapestry: They don't. No wait. I should take that back. They're just beginning to recognize queer youth. They still don't really recognize Blacks, which I am. They hardly do any research on people that aren't white, and male, and gay. Which negates a whole lot of people. There's a lot being done for youth, but in order for those services to really work, there are other things that need to be covered as well. It's nice that there's a place for a young Latino male to go, but how much research is done on Latinos so that it will be effective for him? How many women have a place where they can go and have effective services, particularly young women? These issues are only beginning to be addressed. Many women of color probably won't get their issues addressed until these other things are taken into consideration. The government is doing something, but it's not doing enough. I sit in front of the CBC and see younger and younger men and women coming in, holding a piece of paper that says the same thing mine did, that they are positive.
» This completes 1995. Continue reading 2000
Back to top