HIV/AIDS — Susan Corso's Blog

Ampersand Gazette #62

Susan CorsoMay 13, 2024Dr. Susan Corso, iAmpersand.org, Ampersand Gazette, susancorso.com, Tony Amato, writeherewritenow.institute, The Subversive Lovelies, Gemma Eclipsing, Jezebel Rising, Jasmine Increscent, Jacqueline Retrograde & Jaq Direct, HIV/AIDS, Sarah Schulman, Frank Bruni, Pamela Paul, Jen Silverman, Betrayal, forgivenessComment

Day 15 The Hokey-Pokey Pop Quiz, or, There Is No Them

Oscar Hammerstein II is one of my heroes. His characters Will Parker and Ado Annie sing a song in Oklahoma! with a lyric that goes “With me it's all er nuthin'.” Then he straight-up asks Ado Annie, “Is it all er nuthin' with you?” The Trump Pandemic seems to me to be asking the same question of each of us. It’s a Hokey-Pokey Pop Quiz. Are you putting your whole self in? I am.

First Things First—Secrets, Silence, Stigma, Shame

Composer and author Michael R. Jackson, author of Off-Broadway musical hit A Strange Loop, says it all, “It is your self-hatred that will kill you,” he said. “Secrets, silence, stigma, shame—that is the virus.”