The web, crystal meth and the gay community

We often forget that good things can often be used for evil purposes. I was reminded of this truism while reading an article in the New Yorker about what seems to be a resurgence of sexually transmitted diseases among gay men. Some numbers quoted in the article to support the view that there is a resurgence:

• In New York City, the rate of syphilis has increased by 400% in the past five years; gay men account for virtually all of the increase.
• In Chicago in the late ‘90s 15% of the syphilis cases could be attributed to gay men; now it’s 60%.
• In this new century, the number of new diagnoses of HIV have remained relatively stable for the general population, but have increased in every year for gay men.

The author, Michael Specter, attributes the resurgence to the web and crystal methamphetamine. The web because, in the words of the writer of “Avenue Q”, “You can get sex within minutes. Anonymous. No names. No commitments. No connections.” The crystal methamphetamine causes you to lose all common sense, so that anything goes, including unprotected sex.

I’m sure that you get several pieces of spam every day touting Viagra and similar products or offering to meet your every sexual desire. But, this is probably only the tip of the iceberg. Specter reports on his using Google to turn up dozens of sites “devoted specifically to uniting men for the purposes of immediate, anonymous and, often drug-induced sex.” Even Craig’s List is being used for this purpose. And, of course, I just remembered that the first industry to make money on the web was the porn industry; so I shouldn’t be too surprised at this segment of the porn industry using the web.

What is surprising, however, is that many of the people combining the web and methamphetamine are people in their 40s and 50s who saw so many of their friends and partners die from Aids. The question is why. Larry Kramer, a New York City gay activist, asks, “What could motivate a person who has lived through the worst of the epidemic to cast off the safe-sex practices that have protected him for years?” There is some evidence that, like most of our problems, it comes down to self-esteem; the body has aged, you are no longer a hot, young stud. The crystal meth gives you back your youth for a day. Like most quick solutions, it will not solve the fundamental problem of liking who you are now and living in today’s world.