So I'm Late

Its summertime. And that means two things for me. Working hard and reading. I love curling up on the couch and grabbing a book and reading the hot dog days of summer away.

So I got a book today. One that has been out for about two years now but, I never got around to reading it. I'm not too much of a Nonfiction person but, I had to read this one. On The Down Low by J.L.King! Now I've read every fiction book E.Lynn Harris, the homosexual African American author has written but to read one that is the truth. Not maybe, memoirs, or half truth-half make up, is crazy!

I'm only on Chapter 3 but, King doesn't classify himself as gay or straight. He says it his business. He goes on to say that he feels bad for the women and men that he claimed to have loved. The ones who he lied to about his sexuality. He says somethings about how he still loves his ex-wife. How he couldn't go on any longer as a brother on the DL because, he looked at the women surrounding him, the closest ones to him. Like his daughter and other female figures whom he respected.

But then he goes on to say that a DL brother doesn't necessarily fit the mold of a gay man. And after reading all eight of Harris' books in the series, I agree. They can be hidden behind a mask. Or I'll call it a safe blanket. And that blanket comes in the form of their career, their religion, their fraternity, etc. But why is it okay for men to have this blanket when yet so many things are bleeding through.

I at a time considered myself down for the cause. I was all about informing people about AIDS. I spoke out on the fact that some pro-football players are on the DL. I only took that from the reading of Harris' first novel, Invisible Life but, I knew I was right. I just knew that wearing a condom, getting tested, and avoiding AIDS would be so easy. No matter how much you love a person, STAY PROTECTED.

But this was all before I had lost my virginity. It's so easy to say something before you've been in that situation. Not saying, I have AIDS. Not saying, I have anything but, have I ever asked a partner if they've been tested? No. Have I ever asked ANY male I knew how they felt about the DL stuff? No. Have I ever looked at a guy I was dealing with a thought.....mmmmm he's on the Down Low. No. But that doesn't mean they weren't.

I pray none of the men I know have but he went on to say that some people still think it is a gay WHITE man's disease. When statistics today show that eventhough we as African American's make up 13% of the country's populations, we accounted for 48% of new AIDS cases in 2005. (Information taken from UNAIDS study. Is that not enough to scare anyone besides me? I understand that the undercover brothers are normally married. You normally get married in your late 20s early 30s. So, most people on Facebook are outside of this category. But we still need to be concerned.

For all you may know, the guy sitting next to you in your Chemistry class may be interested in the boy who walks into the lecture late everyday just as much as you! Do you think the security blanket these men live under was just thrown over their heads after they got married?

Thoughts became reality in college for most of the DL men. My sisters, my friends, my hearts, hell MY ENEMIES! Wake up. Be careful who you love and who you let invade your bodies. Really be careful. King said he met a man in church! In church yall. They were not physical but he gave the man the keys to his apartment so he could get it on with another DL dude!? Oh and his friend was married with child on the way. The woman had no idea! And of course the man came up with HIV! Be for real. Stand up and wake up. Ask questions. If they don't like it then, screw them! We are all going to die but please, don't die dumb...