David Miller, former ACT-UP leader relates aspects of his conversion to Christ in this interview with Dan Wooding. The article begins,
David Miller has long been on of the most controversial AIDS activist in the world, but now there has been an incredible turn-around in his life – he has found Christ as his personal savior.
Miller surprised many at the recent Third Annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church at Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, California, when Pastor Rick Warren asked him to be a keynote speaker at the event attended by about 1,700 delegates from around the world.
I am impressed with the boldness of the Warrens and Saddleback Community Church. Rev. Warren has used his considerable success in ministry to show compassion and do good.
H/t Ann
I know this is an old post but I just had to comment. I’m astounded how much time was spend debating whether David Miller was controversial and this being a suspicious post.
I can tell you all without question, yes he is an extremely ‘controversial’ activist. And the only motive for this story was to share a wonderful story. Anyone who is truly ‘controversial’ will not be picked up a huge amount by the media thus the lack of a tremendous amount found through google searchers. The ‘controversial’ laid not only in ACTUP but the thousands of times he called people out in meetings when their actions did not echo the words someone was speaking. He demanded and demands action and those accountable be held accountable. His tactics are often loud, abrasive and militant which again make him ‘controversial’. The way he met Rick Warren was by doing precisely that – questioning him loudly at a meeting on what he was doing to help fight the AIDS pandemic.
I’m glad to see progress on HIV/AIDS among evangelicals. Of course, WorldNetDaily isn’t happy with Rick Warren. Clearly Warren poses an potential threat to the culture warriors.
Dr. Throckmorton,
The responses I have received from the original question I asked have been stunning. Please do not speak for me and say that I have gotten the message that my experience has been isolated or that my experience does not accurately reflect the way things are. I never said that nor am I sure I believe it to be completely true. I was hoping for responses that would indicate a consistency that people on this blog were involved in causes they support and would verify that my experience was isolated. I was happy to hear of the few who were involved. The person who has doubted and questioned my integrity the most has also said he does not do any volunteer work. I respectfully ask that you post this and I will take my own advice and not write any further about it.
And then Ann said 71570 –
I think Ann as well as I have got the message that her experience was isolated. Her perceptions were based on her own experience and do not accurately reflect how things are.
I was not sure where that was all going and I am not sure it can go much further with any fruit. The topic was the guy who got converted. Any other thoughts on that topic?
No Ann, that is actually not correct. You said
and
These are your words, Ann, I didn’t make them up or take them out of context.
You did make an accusation. You did question the commitment of this community.
And to those of us commenting here you said “I encourage you to become involved on a personal level”, implying of course that we do not.
You are wrong Ann. You have wrongfully accused both individuals and a community.
You tell us, Ann, that by caring your heart is changed. Let us see that changed heart.
Eddy,
It is ok – I just figure that if they were doing what I have been doing in volunteer work they wouldn’t question it, rather, understand it. It was very revealing.
Ann, it was you who questioned gay commenters’ commitment to volunteerism and asked us for evidence
Mike,
You are incorrect – I asked a simple question if anyone on the blog did volunteer work. I received a few responses that some were. I never questioned anyone’s commitment or asked for any evidence or details. Please stick to the words that are used in posts versus the spinning of them.
Ann, it was you who questioned gay commenters’ commitment to volunteerism and asked us for evidence. I think it was fair that we ask the same in return.
Eddy, what insinuations?
Ann,
I think the reason why people are challenging your statements can be found in this assertion:
Inherent in that sentence is the claim that gay people only care about public activism and don’t provide personal care. But that is 1) an insult intended to discredit gay people and 2) wildly far from reality.
If I claimed that in 20 years of feeding the hungry I’ve never met a Christian, I too would be taken to task. Because we all know that Christians are the backbone of soup kitchens, rescue missions, and feeding the hungry. There simply is no debate about that.
So too are gay men and women the backbone of care for people with HIV/AIDS. To suggest that it’s all just for public consumption and not backed up by actual care is to suggest the absurd.
What are you talking about Eddy? I never made an insinuation. All I said is that I couldn’t completely understand why it was posted. I feel that has been adequately explained now. And the only thing I’m trying to do with Ann is help her understand that there is a possibility she has volunteered with gay people before and simply not been aware of it.
Ann–
Some of the same people who continue to question you on this point are among those who aren’t answering to the three insinuations about Warren’s motives for posting this topic in the first place.
Ann,
I don’t doubt that you believe you haven’t volunteered with gay people, but were you really aware of the orientations of ALL the people you’ve volunteered with over the years?
Ken,
The responses I have received about volunteer work have expressed doubt about what I have posted so I am not going to post anymore about it than what I aready have. I am sorry. If you are interested in any kind of volunteer work there is always a need and I would encourage you to do whatever you can to help others in need.
Like Jayhuck, I don’t know how one would know whether one’s co-volunteers and co-workers are gay in workplaces that are not focused on the issue.
I, too, have volunteered in soup kitchens on occasion, and I had friends who did so regularly. But since gay folks are under constant threat of losing access to housing, jobs, and health care, I think it’s understandable that some would volunteer for causes defending their own welfare first before branching out to help others. You can’t realistically help a disadvantaged person very much if you yourself are being denied equal opportunity and being defamed by neighbors and the media.
Ann,
The volunteer work you described in post 71390, where was it done? At a hospice? A hospital? some type of group home? And if so was it specifically for AIDS patients or where there other long-term/critical care patients?
How did you find the facility to volunteer at (or the patients you helped if not at a specific facility)?
Mike and Jayhuck,
I think it is so great that you did volunteer work and hope if you found it fullfilling. I am sorry that you doubt my claim but that is ok – the people I have worked with are wonderful and come from various walks of life and we all have a job to do. I asked the question because I thought many on here would be active volunteers and that would verify that perhaps my experience was isolated.
Ann,
I have yet to meet or work with an activist for or member of the gay community in this work and have wondered many times where they were in this area of need that they often are activists for publicly but not personally.
I meant to say this earlier, but I’ve often volunteered for “soup kitchens” but never made a deal out of my orientation when I did so. I’m sure the people I volunteered with – most anyway – probably did not know I was gay. So unless you knew the orientation of everyone you’ve volunteered with in the past or present, I wouldn’t say you’ve never worked with a member of the gay community.
I neglected to say in my last comment that the clinic was D.C.’s Whitman Walker Clinic. This was a clinic with about 100 employees (mostly gay at the time, but not now) and several thousand volunteers who overwhelmingly consisted of gay men, lesbians and their female friends — not many heterosexual men.
To reiterate my first comment: I appreciate what Rick Warren and David Miller do, as far as it goes — my main concern was whether Miller has truly been controversial for decades. It seems not — thus far, I see nothing exceptional about his post-ACT-UP work.
As for whether Warren and Miller are heroes, I’d say not — HIV/AIDS compassion may be new in evangelical circles, but it’s extremely old news in mainline and Catholic Christian circles. Evangelicals have a vast amount of catching-up to do, to reach the compassion shown by mainline Christians and by GLBT people of various faiths.
Ann,
I volunteered at Washington, D.C.’s main gay health and AIDS clinic in the late ’80s and early ’90s, at the height of the epidemic — back when ACT-UP existed and AIDS activists actually were controversial. (They certainly are not controversial nowadays, except insofar as some profit on the side from HIV/AIDS remedies.)
I assisted people with AIDS, I provided assistance to the assisters, and I wrote for the clinic newsletter.
In the early 1990s I volunteered for an HIV vaccine study, putting my own good health on the line to receive an experimental vaccine of unknown safety and effectiveness. (End result: The vaccine was ineffective but safe.) Most of the vaccine volunteers, too, were gay (and HIV-negative), as were several of the medical staff.
I echo Timothy Kincaid’s questions and his skepticism regarding your claim.
Please see the questions posed to me and my responses in italics below.
1. Is the work you are described specifically in the HIV/AIDS community or is it more generally “people in need”?
it is not in any community – it is with people who are ill with AIDS and other conditions
2. Is the care provided of a physical and medical nature, or it is spiritual care? –
it is assisting a medical staff with various layperson duties as well as helping feed, clean, sitting with, taking outside in wheelchairs for sunshine, holding hands, listening, comforting, sometimes laughing with, reading to, watching tv with
3. If this is an HIV/AIDS service, is it specifically from a particular religious viewpoint that would make a gay person feel very uncomfortable to approach?
it is not an HIV/AIDS identified service and there is no religious viewpoint or affiliation
The reasons I ask that is because I find it extremely difficult to believe that in 20 years of providing physical care to HIV/AIDS sufferers you never met a gay volunteer.
I have never met a volunteer who identified themselves as gay, active in a gay community, or gay activists in my volunteer work. This past November it has been 20 years that I have been an active volunteer.
Twenty years ago was 1987 and I can tell you that the vast, overwhelming, almost exclusive volunteers were gay or lesbian.
Wonderful!
Thank you all for your responses – I asked because in the past 20 years of direct volunteering with those who are in need have been some of the most profound and gratifying experiences of my life. I have yet to meet or work with an activist for or member of the gay community in this work and have wondered many times where they were in this area of need that they often are activists for publicly but not personally.
Ann,
There is much implied in this statement and so I want to ask some very specific questions.
1. Is the work you are described specifically in the HIV/AIDS community or is it more generally “people in need”?
2. Is the care provided of a physical and medical nature, or it is spiritual care?
3. If this is an HIV/AIDS service, is it specifically from a particular religious viewpoint that would make a gay person feel very uncomfortable to approach?
The reasons I ask that is because I find it extremely difficult to believe that in 20 years of providing physical care to HIV/AIDS sufferers you never met a gay volunteer. Twenty years ago was 1987 and I can tell you that the vast, overwhelming, almost exclusive volunteers were gay or lesbian.
Thanks to all for these responses – I understand it is a very pesonal decision to do any kind of volunteer work and that comes in many forms and is commendable. I choose hands on work because I feel it makes the most difference for me and those I help.
I liked this article because it brings attention to a pastor who is well known and who realizes there is more to religion than preaching and judgement. I also like it because he has universal appeal and transcends all religions and beliefs and brings people together, regardless of their past or present and solicits their help in this endeavor. He is the real deal and it doesn’t surprise me that people are brought to Christ through his genuiness.
Ann,
Timothy said: “When protease inhibitors were introduced in 1996, the face of AIDS changed. While there are still many sick people, AIDS is often a more controllable disease – at least here in the US where there is adequate medication and healthcare.”
This is true. AIDS isn’t the “death sentence” it used to be. In many ways it has become a manageable chronic disease, like, say, Diabetes. Not a perfect comparison I realize so I hope all of you will forgive me where it misses the mark 😉
Ann,
Thanks for sharing that. I will say that the ONLY people I know here in my small community who work directly with those living with AIDS are gay, as are many who work in the city closer to where I am. Its also my understanding that early on in the crisis it was primarily the gay community that was caring for these individuals and bringing a better understanding of the disease to the country. Does anyone remember the movie “Longtime Companion”?
You are absolutely right when you say that “When one has hands on experience loving someone in need and listening to them and caring for them, your heart will never be the same.” I believe hands-on experience is excellent, but all types of help are appreciated 🙂
Thank you all for your responses – I asked because in the past 20 years of direct volunteering with those who are in need have been some of the most profound and gratifying experiences of my life. I have yet to meet or work with an activist for or member of the gay community in this work and have wondered many times where they were in this area of need that they often are activists for publicly but not personally. Most of the people who help me are from every day life with no zealous religious or activists motivation. There is alway a need and place for those who give money and attend parties and large award functions, etc., however, they purposely remove themselves from the personal attention that is needed. When one has hands on experience loving someone in need and listening to them and caring for them, your heart will never be the same. If anyone feels the nudging, I encourage you to become involved on a personal level and allow yourself to be the blessing that another person needs.
Ann,
I have done some volunteer work in my own community, but I’m hoping to do more work in the medical field once I’ve completed my nursing degree. I feel called to hospice work as well – not sure where God will take me.
Ann,
I do not currently do AIDS work.
I was for a while in the 90’s involved in a lobby group that advocated for HIV/AIDS impacted people and I have done sporadic volunteer work. I also spent the final month of a friend’s life living with him and his partner – not easy physically or emotionally.
When protease inhibitors were introduced in 1996, the face of AIDS changed. While there are still many sick people, AIDS is often a more controllable disease – at least here in the US where there is adequate medication and healthcare. There are fewer hospices and while services and care are still needed, response has become less about immediate care for the dying and more about long term maintenance, education, and prevention.
Nonetheless, it’s nice to get a reminder. And perhaps I should think about seeing where I could help out again.
As an odd side note, often the ones who do the most hands on physical help are also the ones who are most subject to criticism from the church. For all of the cries of “blasphemy” that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence get, I know that each of them have put more time, energy, and effort into fighting AIDS than I have. And in small cities (or at least this was true in the 80s and 90s – I don’t know now) it is the drag queens that funded whatever local AIDS services existed. I will admit at times that I’m embarrassed about being lumped in with the Sisters or drag queens… but when I think about the compassion and care they give to others, I should be honored that anyone would think of us similarly.
Jayhuck managed to take my positive musings about Warren’s motives, add two words of agreement, and then spin into a generalized lambasting of evangelicals.
At least, I think it was generalized. Jayhuck: were you questioning the timing and the motivations of the Warren’s (LOL…all 3 of ’em…the pastors with Warren as a last name and our own Warren) or was that simply a pronouncement about the greater evils of evangelicalism that my positive statement compelled you to make? (LOL! It seems to me that most every time I’ve said something totally positive that can’t be picked apart…suddenly it’s time to use my post as a springboard to launch into a reminder about those others, the ones with the bad motives. Hey, gotta have that negative spin!)
BTW: You commented on the part of my statement directed to Warren yet, oddly, you failed to address the portion where I referenced you. “Makes me wonder what they presumed Warren’s motives were.” You joined two others in vague insinuations about Warren’s motives. The post where you joined in reads:I echo Mike’s comments in part; that Miller has accepted Christ is certainly a wonderful thing to me, but placement of the news here seems a bit suspect. Is there an implication beyond the fact of his conversion? You said: “I wonder the same thing.”
You feel that placing the news here seems a bit suspect. Why and what did you (do you) suspect?
What ‘implications’ did you wonder about? Where did the ‘implications’ come from?
ANN:
I haven’t done any hospice work. Have lost several close friends and numerous acquaintances. Those I know now are all managing rather well through the help of their medications…for many of them, their status isn’t public knowledge. My best friend’s partner is positive. I have one friend who grows resistant to the drugs or something…it seems that every year or two, he starts declining…several times I was sure he was ‘at the end’…and, suddenly, he’s robust again and reports they’ve ‘found a new cocktail’. So, lots of contacts and commiseration, but no hospice work.
I’m not sure at all but I suspect that some who blog here might be HIV positive. For many, it’s a very private and delicate subject. This may be why your question is going unanswered. Like I said, though, I don’t know.
My point in calling this bold was to reference Rev. Warren’s handling of the AIDS issue when other Evangelical churches are focused on homosexuality as a social issue. Having Miller speak is not the main issue, but rather his use of his considerable influence for good.
I have asked this question before and got no response so perhaps that is my answer but I would like to ask it again just to make sure – does anyone who posts on this blog do any direct volunteer work with individuals who have aids – for example, in a hospital or hospice?
Eddy,
Could it be he’s excited that people will see that a person can be converted to Christ and still have compassion for people with AIDS? Could it be that he wanted to show the difference in how the Rick Warren presented the gospel and what a difference that made? Makes me wonder what they presumed Warren’s motives were.
Very possibly! 🙂 Although, I’ve known good Christian people who have been active in fighting AIDS and caring for people with the disease since it reared its ugly head on this continent. Sometimes it seams as if Evangelicals, many of whom are only now, 25 some years later, starting to become involved in the care of these individuals, are trumpeting their own horn for doing so.
I certainly hope the Church hasn’t gotten so bad that this is an aberration in need of emphasis!
Warren, could you just explain your point? Is there something we are missing?
Eddy, Ann,
Perhaps that is why. As I noted in 70363, Rick Warren’s approach to HIV/AIDS lends itself much more to the spread of the gospel to those impacted by this disease than does, say, the official position of the Assemblies of God:
Obviously, the AoG’s comments are as lacking in factual basis as they are in compassion or basic humanity. Because SOME innocents get AIDS then it is not NECESSARILY a DIRECT JUDGMENT from God (only in the smite-the-homosexual instances, not the innocent victim instances).
And even Paul Cameron and his crazy “prove the fags are evil” methods didn’t claim that only 2% make it to 65 (I think he said 9%). Whoever wrote the AoG’s position had one goal: don’t just claim that homosexuality is sin, argue that homosexual PEOPLE are evil and vile because they choose to be.
Is it any wonder that I’m not convinced of the benign nature of the AoG’s involvement with the APA letter?
If the head of the AoG came to an AIDS activist, heterosexual or not, proclaiming “the love of God”, his contempt and callous cruelty precedes him and plugs the ears of the listener. Rick Warren started with his message of concern and care and only after this message was heard did he bring his message of salvation. It was Rick Warren’s kindness that unplugged the ears of David Miller, not harsh cries of divine punishment.
Several have questioned why Warren brought this topic to the table. Could it be he’s excited that people will see that a person can be converted to Christ and still have compassion for people with AIDS? Could it be that he wanted to show the difference in how the Rick Warren presented the gospel and what a difference that made?
Eddy,
That’s what I’m thinking 😉
Significant error in my post 70412. When I concluded by saying they made the pink triangle (pointing up) a gay symbol, I should have said they made it an AIDS symbol. The pink triangle (pointing down) was already a fairly well established symbol in the gay community.
My blunder takes me back to the very first post on this thread by Mike Airhart…wondering whether David was “still same-sex attracted” and commenting that “Gay people are converted to Christianity, Judaism and other faiths all the time. Timothy noted that the article doesn’t speak to homosexuality; from my further readings, I still don’t know how David contracted AIDS. Nothing speaks to his orientation, past or present, other than that he has a wife. …And that’s OK. I don’t need to know. It’s enough that I was reminded that AIDS is not synonymous with gay. (My first friend who died of AIDS was both gay and an IV-drug ‘experimenter’. But, since then, my exposure to those who have died or who are being treated has only been gay or bisexual men–or women infected by a gay partner. I tend to forget the more global picture.)
About David Miller (from his bio at the biotech firm that Timothy alluded to):
David Miller is a Board Member of the AIDS Institute (http://www.theaidsinstitute.org), the nation’s leading advocacy organization for federal support of people with HIV/AIDS and their providers. David also serves as Co-Chair of the New York City HIV Planning Council Advisory Group, which oversees the distribution of Ryan White CARE Act grants. David also serves on the Bronx HIV CARE Network and the Cornell Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group Community Advisory Board for the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease. David is an active member of the Campaign to End AIDS (http://www.c2ea.org) and is the HIV/AIDS Treatment Education Coordinator at Health People Inc, one of the largest AIDS Service Organizations in New York City. David was a longtime member of ACT UP NY and has participated in numerous demonstrations for access to essential life-saving medicines and nutritional supplements for people living with HIV/AIDS. He is a member of the National Association of People with AIDS (http://www.napwa.org). David is currently the CEO of BioSource Therapeutics, Inc. (http://www.nutraplete.com)
———————–
David Miller takes the word ‘activist’ to a higher level than most. I am amazed that we spent most of this thread nit-picking over whether he was controversial or if he was even of any significance. (Side note: he ‘participated in numerous demonstrations’; the demonstrations were often radical and controversial–public nudity, desecrating a host; so, yeah, even if he happened to miss those two demonstrations, he’s way more controversial than anyone I know.)
Several have questioned why Warren brought this topic to the table. Could it be he’s excited that people will see that a person can be converted to Christ and still have compassion for people with AIDS? Could it be that he wanted to show the difference in how the Rick Warren presented the gospel and what a difference that made? Makes me wonder what they presumed Warren’s motives were.
I take exception to Jim’s statement: “I suggest talking with real people and stop relying so much on Google and the cyber world for what are usually half truths.”
1) We are actually having our discussion in the cyber world. 2) The words you are reading come from ‘real people’. 3) Google is nothing more than a terrific search engine; think of it as a very helpful librarian…if you sift through your results, you can find information that is more reliable than what you’ll get from most ‘real people’. 4) The information that appears in ‘the cyber world’ all comes from ‘real people’. 5) Practical Application: I’m sure Warren learned of this story via the cyber world. Is Jim’s suggestion that we shouldn’t be talking about it at all? If we’ve agreed to talk about it, what then? Is he suggesting that I run out, explain the topic to ‘real people’ and come back with their take on the topic? What does he suggest we do when we encounter something we don’t have much information on? Stay uninformed? Discuss based on incomplete preconceived notions? Ask the guy on the street?
“the phrase “Silence = Death”
Yeah, I remembered that phrase but honestly didn’t remember anything about the triangle being turned around. It doesn’t look like it caught on – certainly didn’t make much of an impression.
I’m still confused over the meaning of the post, beyond someone finding Christ. To me that is a big deal itself, but why would it be considered “bold” of Rev. Warren to have him speak?
Well guys, we’ve all looked and the only items of controversy we’ve found is:
David Miller was in ACT-UP, controversian in its own right
David Miller both sits on a board AND makes his living selling a product aimed at the HIV community, some find that controversial
I think he is, no doubt, influential in the AIDS arena.
I wish him and his wife well and am glad that they have found Christ.
David,
I echo Mike’s comments in part; that Miller has accepted Christ is certainly a wonderful thing to me, but placement of the news here seems a bit suspect. Is there an implication beyond the fact of his conversion?
I wonder the same thing!
Eddy,
Please stop trying to correct people when you are only partially informed.
I do apologize – all of the articles I read on the subject said that ACT UP adopted the pink triangle – none of them said anything about turning it. And personally, when I did have GLBT symbols in my possession, the pink triangles were pointing down.
Anyway – you are correct – I was only partially informed – BUT I didn’t say anything about their coining of the phrase, silence = death – for the record. AND, they did NOT make the pink triangle a gay symbol.
I suggest talking with real people and stop relying so much on Google and the cyber world for what are usually half truths. -Jim
The attached links discuss the flipping of the pink triangle. The first link shows the original posters for ‘Silence = Death’ with the triangle pointing up.
The second link is to an article that states that ACT UP turned it on purpose. It shows the more typical graphic with the point facing down.
http://www.backspace.com/notes/2003/04/07/x.html
http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/pink_triangle.html
With all that said, one of the articles suggests that the “Silence = Death” committee preceded ACT UP by a half-dozen years. So, it’s unclear when Miller entered the scene. What is clear, though, is that he was quite an activist and frequently took on the local, state and federal government in his efforts to secure treatment for those living with AIDS.
If you narrow your search as I suggested above, you’ll skip past the conversion story links. Otherwise, a little google trick is: if you’re looking for history, jump to page 10 or so in the found links. Get a sense from there what timeframe you’re in and if you need to go deeper, jump past another few pages of results.
I’ve personally never heard of David Miller, and most of what I find in Google relates to his religious conversion, not his activism. He could have quite a history, but I’m not aware of it.
Likewise, I’ve not heard of the pink triangle symbol being turned one way or the other by Act-Up or anyone else. Its use today, as mentioned, stems from the system used by the Nazis to categorize prisoners in concentration camps.
I echo Mike’s comments in part; that Miller has accepted Christ is certainly a wonderful thing to me, but placement of the news here seems a bit suspect. Is there an implication beyond the fact of his conversion?
Jayhuck-
Please stop trying to correct people when you are only partially informed. Search “pink triangle”, “ACT UP” and you’ll find your way to the story of ACT UP turning the triangle to point up and the coining of the phrase “Silence = Death”.
“ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) adopted the triangle but with the point facing upward to symbolize the need for an active response to AIDS and to the continuing oppression of glbtq people.”
Eddy,
I don’t believe the pink triangle was ever turned – and ACT UP didn’t really MAKE it a gay symbol, the Nazis did.
Here’s a small excerpt from a Wikipedia article on the subject:
“One of the oldest of these symbols is the pink triangle, which originated from the Nazi concentration camp badges that homosexuals were required to wear on their clothing. It is estimated that as many as 220,000 gays and lesbians perished alongside the 6,000,000 Jews whom the Nazis exterminated in their death camps during World War II as part of Hitler’s so-called final solution. For this reason, the pink triangle is used both as an identification symbol and as a memento to remind both its wearers and the general public of the atrocities that gays suffered under Nazi persecutors. ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) also adopted the inverted pink triangle to symbolize the “active fight back” against the disease “rather than a passive resignation to fate.””
They were definitely a controversial group – one that I understood on some level, but also fundamentally disagreed with.
Best I can tell he was a founding member of ACT UP in New York and was extensively involved in efforts to cut the red tape that withheld AIDS treatment drugs from those that desperately needed them. Some reports call him the leader of ACT UP for ten years or so but the New York ACT UP has always been known for an unconventional regard for structure. In any event, his controversies likely included participating in several demonstrations that garnered media attention. Among them were a naked protest in NYC and a march to a Catholic Church where a host was desecrated. If David was a founding member of ACT UP, he was part of the group that turned the pink triangle so it pointed up and made it a gay symbol…and created the slogan “Silence = Death”.
ANN-
I applaud your last post for its sweet simplicity!
I typed in David Miller/Aids Activist and a lot of references came up. Hope this helps.
Tim,
Really? I’m having difficulty finding anything on him. What about him is controversial?
I’m having the same problem. I’m going to keep looking though.
Timothy, thanks for pointing that out — I’d overlooked his wife (blush). And I share some of your skepticism about Miller being controversial. I’d never heard of him.
Does anyone who posts on this blog do volunteer work with those who have AIDS?
Mike,
As best I can tell, Miller may be heterosexual and it appears that his wife shares in his religious conversion:
While this article says nothing whatsoever about homosexuality or reorientation, it does illustrate that much of what is keeping those impacted by AIDS from finding a home in the church is it’s active campaign of hostility. Rick Warren is one of the few who have set aside their judgment of the sufferers and committed to simply providing care as Christ commanded. It is not surprising to me that this resulted in someone within the HIV/AIDS community finding an access through them to God.
Whether dealing with gay people or the HIV/AIDS impacted community, it would benefit the Church to note that Hating The Sin is a message that alienates those whom Christ commanded that it serve – those in need.
“David Miller has long been one of the most controversial AIDS activist in the world”
Really? I’m having difficulty finding anything on him. What about him is controversial?
The article does not make clear whether David Miller is still same-sex-attracted.
If the conversion is merely a religious one, then while I’m happy that Miller is finding spiritual growth, this story is unexceptional. Gay people are converted to Christianity, Judaism and other faiths all the time. Unfortunately, the conservative media have been persistent in suppressing news about the faith and values of same-sex-attracted people.
Do you see this changing, perhaps?