Petrelis Files

Bilerico's Tranny Victim
Offends People With AIDS

[Correction: Blaze is not a tranny. I made a mistake identifying him as such. My apologies.]

On top of staying well and alive as long as possible, people with AIDS have also had to challenge the medical establishment and society's view of people with HIV infection as victims. Two of the brave PWAs who risked much to create the empowerment movement were Michael Callen and Dan Turner, both deceased, and you can read their words about fighting the victim label and mentality here.

Someone who clearly is ignorant about preferred language to describe people with AIDS is tranny victim Alex Blaze over the Bilerico.com site. He writes today about free speech issues and cites some of the obnoxious behavior of the Phelps' clan:

But, ever since they started protesting soldiers' funerals instead of AIDS victims', states have been cracking down on their actions.

Blaze is totally within his constitutionally-protected rights to defame the memory and fight of PWAs like Callen and Turner, just as I am protected in labeling Blaze a tranny victim. Care to wager that Blaze would not take kindly, along with a lot of other transgender people, to be called tranny victims, so maybe using that phrase will drive home a necessary point to the editors at Bilerico.com.

And the point is, people with AIDS are fighting every day for our lives and we don't need the added stigma of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender bloggers saying we're victims.

Today's use of the AIDS victim label is not the first time Blaze has chosen to use it. Here he used it in January 2008:

And where was Dan Abrams's disgust when the WBC was protesting the funerals' of AIDS victims back in the early 90's? Back when they were only going after us gays, they couldn't get all that much attention.

Another time was in May 2009:

Before that, there was limited coverage of his protests of AIDS victims' funerals in the queer and alternative press.

Bear in mind, Blaze is not the only one at his site to use this offensive term. Commentators do too, as did one back in June 2006:

I wouldnt want you to hit me with your purse so I will make like an AIDS victim and GO.

Check out another commentator's cavalier use of the term in April 2008:

Unless it was about Aids fund raising and "Gift For Life" which was a wonderful program the industry I worked in for so many years began for AIDS victim benefit my public life [...]

It's ironic that Bilerico.com is expending great energy to correct the storm of anger because of a controversial transphobic essay it ran, and removed, last week. Editors of the site are implementing even stronger than-existing language controls related to transgender people and topics, but I doubt they would even consider asking contributors to use the preferred language of people with AIDS over AIDS victim.

By the way, noted longtime openly gay HIV positive Hispanic civil right leader Dennie DeLeon passed away today in New York City, and I wish to mark his passing. I also wish to point out that the NY Times's obit doesn't use the word victim once. Neither did the AP obit. Same goes for NBC4 in New York City and their obit for DeLeon.

Let's the record show that in 2009 a supposedly progressive LGBT web site with political correct credentials to spare, is using a phrase offensive to PWAs, while at least three corporate media outlets display much more sensitivity and education than the Bilerico.com editors.