San Francisco's ACT UP boldly proclaims "AIDS IS NOT OVER, AND NEITHER ARE WE!

via Daily Kos

Last night at 18th and Castro in San Francisco's Historic Castro District, San Francisco's ACT UP, (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) unveiled banners telling Pink Saturday Celebration goers that AIDS IS NOT OVER AND NEITHER ASE WE! According to one ACT UP member, this is ACT UP V2.0. When asked "why now" he said "Statistics show AIDS Deaths are up, new infection rates, especially among the young, are on an up tick.  People are ponce again dieing, at the same time ADAP (AIDS Drug Assistance Program) is being cut, as well as education and prevention programs.  There is a general apathy in the community towards these risky behaviors, and it is time to pick up the sword again and fight for our brother and sister's lives!"

Along with the banners, ACT UP members were seen distributing condoms and bleach and doing AIDS education among the mostly young celebration goers.

ACT UP working with OccuPride

Among the banners displayed were ones stating H9OMES FOR PEOPLE, NOT PRISONS FOR PROFIT,  and C0MMUNITIES ARE NOT COMMODITIES -OccuPride 2012, showing that obviously the ACT UP members have joined forces with the new OccuPride group, and this was a joint action. OccuPride (bayoccupride.com) is a group that popped up a few months ago to protest the commercialization of the San Francisco Gay Pride Events, and seem to have as their goal to strip back the Pride Events and make it more about promoting Community, than about $5 Rainbow Colored Bud Lights, a Celebration of Community not a glorified Beer Bust is what we would like to see, one Occupier told me.

read more here