WHY is crystal meth and HIV more prevalent in gay America at this comparatively late stage in its evolution, long after the rise of affirmative action policies, gay rights advances and the stigmatisation of homosexuality to the point where "homophobe" is an epithet itself feared by most rational people?

�?nbsp;Last updated September 28, 2006

"FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real"

HOMOPHOBIA remains a dynamic phenomenon largely because gay rights leaders and liberal commentators have constantly evoked a victim mentality rather than empowering gays to take responsibility for their own lives. Ad nauseum, they tell gays to look only outside of themselves for the roots of every ill that plagues their community; to reflexively blame their haters and aggressors in mainstream society for their problems rather than to confront their own underlying problems and demons; and to view themselves as the oppressed
and powerless victims of a perceived power structure. This status renders many gays incapable of seeing themselves as intolerant and even homophobic when, quite often, the reverse is true.

Furthermore, gay society has been taught to angrily reject astute observations like those of Larry Kramer and Michelangelo Signorile, who have publicly lamented how internalised hompophobia, reckless behaviours, community neglect and mindless self-absorption have decimated gay life, rendering it a shallow, sex-driven and materialistic world fueled by addictive substances, in which many look out only for themselves and regard others as disposable commodities. This victim mentality has served only to disempower generations of gay men.

This section explores why gay men, particularly in North America, must reclaim their power and true place in society; to look within and unravel the underlying causes of powerlessness which are compensated for with addictive substances like alcohol and crystal meth, with many acquiring HIV in the process...

1984, George Orwell's literary classic, depicts a future  in which the entire population - not only minorities like blacks and gays - has surrendered its power to its leaders who control and exert their authority by feeding off their fear of a contrived enemy in an endless, manipulated war. A future where truth and emotional expression is forbidden and punishable...

Today, the Western Hemisphere passively absorbs an endless bombardment of manipulated fear in the dumbed-down guise of "infotainment"; is subjected to the erosion of freedoms and liberties in the name of a so-called "war on terror"; unquestioningly accepts the sinister presence of armed police, troops, armoured tanks and surveillance cameras in public areas; and voluntarily ingests chemicals, food additives, antibiotics and street drugs such as fluoride, aspartame, Prozac  and methamphetamine which progressively dull the brain's receptors responsible for creative, emotional and intuitive expression, rendering the user into a sensually dormant state of fear and helplessness.

Internal power is lost when fear/negative energy consumes the mind and diminishes the ability to feel and to express positive emotions (desensitisation). Fear paralyses the mind and affects our capacity to think clearly and positively, prevents us realising our creative potential, and leaves us open to control and manipulation by external forces. Each person controlled by fear effectively takes mankind a step nearer to George Orwell's nightmare vision...

“Today, America would be outraged if UN troops entered Los Angeles to restore order. Tomorrow they will be grateful. This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened their very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver
them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their wellbeing granted to them by the World Government."
~ Henry Kissinger [1991]

The 2006 Warner Bros movie, V for Vendetta, set in London's near future, isn't just a metaphor for the dictatorship emerging under Britain's increasingly authoritarian leadership; it is representative of the methods and ambitions of many who control governments across the world. Fear is their tool, and everything they do is based around fear. At one point in the movie, Natalie Portman's character, Evey, says, "I wish I wasn't afraid all the time". Yet most people are afraid, most of the time...

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done."
~ Julius Ceasar

We fear the past, present and future. We fear the unknown, we fear not having enough, losing what we have, not having what we want. We fear what will become of us and those that we care for. We fear what others think of us and what they don't think of us. We fear, fear, and then we fear some more, and that is the design of governments because we are controllable through the manipulation of all that we fear.

No Fear = no control.

"It takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship, but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings."
~ Sandra Day O'Connor [Former Supreme Court Judge]

By the same equation, by understanding the source of his fear the meth abuser becomes self-empowered and his addiction can no longer control him.

In understanding the causes and triggers behind North America's infatuation with crystal meth - the underlying sense of hopelessness, nihilism and powerlessness, fear that leads to so many gay men to use, and the cultural backdrop that has allowed meth to prevail and thrive - we begin to see clearly why we are inclined to:

�?Behave disrespectfully and indifferently towards ourselves and each other;

�?Get sucked into self-destructive modes and patterns of behaviour;

�?Have difficulty forming, developing and sustaining loving and fulfilling relationships.

Equipped with this knowledge we can, if we choose, implement the change in our thinking and behaviour necessary in order to heal, move forward and radically empower, transform and enrich our lives, ending the cycle of trauma, desperation and helplessness so many of us find ourselves trapped within...