XPost: la.general, alt.politics.media, alt.business
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https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/01/09/17/8321528-6573905-image- a-6_1547055571738.jpg

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One of the most harrowing moments that occurred while filming
parTy boi, black diamonds in Ice castles, a documentary about
the meth epidemic in young Black LBGTQ communities, was
interviewing the mother of Gemmel Moore — one of the multiple
victims of Ed Buck.

Buck is the political donor indicted this month for supplying
meth on five counts, including the distribution that lead to the
deaths of Moore and Timothy Dean, both Black queer men who Buck
victimized.

“The same day Ed Buck sent for my son to fly to L.A. is the same
day he died of a meth overdose” Moore’s mother, Latisha Nixon,
said.

Unfortunately, Moore and Dean aren’t Buck's only victims, and
Buck’s actions aren’t an anomaly. There’s a rash of sexual
predators targeting young Black LBGTQ men, largely through
dating apps designed for gay men and sex work. This is
contributing to a publicly invisible epidemic plaguing our
community, which I believe is rooted in app technology, a lack
of inclusiveness — and feelings these men often have of being
viewed as valueless and disposable to society.

This mindset is comprehended and perpetuated by white predators
using wealth as barter for those who have nothing.

Crystal meth addiction in Black and Brown neighborhoods is an
epidemic we have to acknowledge as a community and fight, before
it contributes to more deaths and lost lives, and to the spread
of diseases like HIV.

In late August 2017, I interviewed Latisha Nixon for my film,
parTy boi, black diamonds in Ice castles, a documentary about
the meth epidemic in young Black and Brown LBGTQ communities.
During our time together, Nixon said that she was having trouble
getting the media to cover the story one month after her son
died. She attributed the lack of interest in the heartbreaking
story to Buck’s political influence. “I just want people to know
about what happened to my son, so it doesn’t happen to another
mother and her child,” she said.

I was inspired to create the film after several close friends,
all gay men of African descent, like me, overdosed on
methamphetamine (aka Tina); some died. I believe a lot of
addiction stems from isolation. Queer men of color often find
solace in sex and all associated outlets like sex parties and
hookup apps, which can be a gateway to meth exposure.

When some people think of the crystal meth epidemic, they
envision poor white jobless folks out in former factory or farm
towns. On the contrary, meth has become a common and persistent
problem among queer Black and Brown communities in New York
City, along with urban areas across the country.

It is no longer the inexpensive “dirty meth” we associate with
poor white midwestern kids in trailers who mixed it with common
household ingredients like Draino. It is purer and often
accompanied with liquid GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyric acid), an
anesthetic applied before surgery — which can be used to
equalize pure meth, but also can be utilized as a kind of a date
rape drug.

Predators are adding liquid GHB and crushed up meth inside of
lube prior to sex. They are also lacing marijuana before giving
it to victims to consume so that they become addicted or to
induce them into a state of psychosis. Like Buck, predators
often groom desperate Black gay youth and young adults for
prostitution or use it as a lurid tool for fetishizing Black men.

This type of predator perpetuates and/or exploits the crystal
meth epidemic that is plaguing our community. Unlike the opioid
epidemic which became labeled as a national crisis after it
started affecting white middle class households, the meth
epidemic within our community has largely been ignored.

Of the 120 people I interviewed for the documentary, over 80
said that their same-sex partner who also worked as a sex worker
for wealthy white clients introduced them to the drug. Their
partners were usually offered the drug by “Johns” to party and
play (PNP), which spurred them to mutually partake in meth use
for more money. Ultimately, they became hooked on the drug. They
would oftentimes introduce the drug to their communities with no
form of harm reduction knowledge. Then we began to see a ripple
effect. Meth is currently trending so much within Black gay
enclaves that white “Johns” are no longer needed.

Meth addiction is so prevalent, that Black and Brown dealers are
circulating Tina within their own demographics, causing total
destruction within a generation of queer Black and Brown men.

“Mom I don’t know what to do, all my friends are smoking meth”
–Latisha Nixon quoting her son.

When Nixon and I met, we initially bonded over what it was like
to be a “meth virgin,” to have no experience with meth and then
witness a loved one in the throes of this drug.

I personally became involved with the topic when a friend of
mine named Jay called me on the phone and asked, “Mike, can you
help me? I haven’t eaten in three days.” I hadn’t seen Jay in
about a year, and when I met him on Rockaway Avenue, I was
shocked to see how he’d changed. He was a shell of the person I
knew, with protruding facial bones and big dark circles under
his eyes that made him look extremely emaciated.

We sat at the Chinese restaurant as he picked at his General
Tso’s chicken. Later in my house, Jay told me how he became
addicted to meth. Prior to this my only knowledge of crystal
meth was from watching Breaking Bad. I also associated the drug
with rural white America. I saw my friend’s condition and
remembered some of the taglines I witnessed from being on dating
apps like Grinder, BGC and A4A, but I didn’t know the extent of
his problem.

Later, I found a treatment center in the phone book, and the
organization sent a van to pick him up. By the time they
arrived, my friend had returned to his apartment, purportedly to
get his insurance card. I never saw him again. I have since
witnessed this scene multiple times. When an individual is
addicted to meth this way, they lose sight of themselves. It is
a terrible thing to watch.

This new crystal meth epidemic within queer Black millennial
spaces is reminiscent of the crack era of the late 1980s and
early 1990s. During those years, the Black church played a
pivotal role in helping to scourge crack from the communities.
Today, I believe the Black church tends to dissociate from LGBTQ
movements and communities, and hence has not stepped up to help
with this problem.

Just as back then, meth addiction contributes to HIV infection
within our communities. A disproportionate number of Black gay
men are expected to get an HIV diagnosis within their lifetime,
according to statistics by the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention. Many health organizations focused on HIV have not
accepted the way people addicted to meth may be contributing to
the spread of this disease. Once you are addicted, you care
less, if at all, about protecting others and yourself. It’s
almost like saying what’s the purpose of advertising PrEP and
antiretroviral medications if crystal meth is seeking to undo
all advances made in the past six years.

It is time for Black and Latino gay men to start talking about
this “dirty little secret” that has been plaguing our
communities, and to help everyone regardless of race or socio-
economic status feel included. We need involvement from multiple
communities as well as celebrities and politicians. It’s time to
create a rehabilitation center for people specifically dealing
with crystal meth addiction that provides 24-hour care,
including harm reduction tools.

Ed Buck may have been arrested but there are many other
predators like him out there, waiting to take advantage of the
vulnerable and uninformed. It’s time to develop a spirit of
bravery and at this point, a sense of normalcy around tackling
meth addiction, depression, isolation, homelessness, HIV/AIDS,
and sex work.

https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/10/21/ed-buck-was-not- anomaly-black-gay-men-and-lure-meth

TAGS: Barack Obama Homosexual Degenerate Gay Pedophile Democrat
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