Page 32 - Act Up News Today

Epidemic, there still wasnt a single pill to take to combat any of it. so the idea that there was even a kernel of hope was something that needed to be kindled at that time. the film opens up right then in 87 which is daunt of aids treatment activists and the idea that patients themselves would have to take into their own hands real fundamental elements of the science and try to bring the entire medical establishment into the future in a way to combat the epidemic. >> looking at these videos tha...

A culture emerges around the process of creation around a community. >> absolutely. i think, you know, the essential lesson for me of act up is contrary to a big concept we are talking about today. theres the whole it gets better project. if you reach out and talk to someone across an internet space, you can improve their lives. you can wait and it will improve. its not how the world works. nothing gets better unless you make it and that its very difficult work. i think a lot of the people in th...

Disease, you cant really run candidates for city council. like, you are not going to have a majority way of getting things done. >> right. right. >> you have to choose another way. how did act up develop their philosophy of how they were going to change? >> i think the first thing we should remember is that an hiv diagnosis back then meant prognosis of 18 months. everything was run on this urgent campaign. there was no time to wait. by the sixth year of the epidemic when act up first formed, six...

...with new projects every week and big savings every day. so you can do what needs to be done. today. more saving. more doing. thats the power of the home depot. show the yard whos boss with this echo blower for just $159. talking about act up, occupy wall street and how it changes. >> one of the lessons from act up was direct action. thats what we did. occupying a public space where there arent spaces of public decent. you get people of empowerment. its important to free up imagination to th...

Director and producer of the documentary "how to survive a plague." you are featured in the film because before you were a political journalist, you were a member of act up. >> i was. >> david, can i start by saying, i think the film is a masterpiece and i want everyone who is watching right now to do whatever it takes to go see it. its an incredible piece of work. i was completely overcome. emotionally, spiritually overcome by the film. its a nice piece of work. >> thank you so much. >> now, i ...

Nowhere. it will end up killing us. all right? >> see this mark on my forehead? its going spread. its going to kill me. you coming to my funeral because you are the man responsible. you are my murderer in your shirt and tie. >> really intense scene from a sit-in at the pharmaceutical company. the first thing they say is we are here to demand, a very specific demand. how do you respond when occupy made the decision to reject the demands? >> this is the 21st movement -- 21st century movement. in a...

Launched hasnt ended. what we are trying to do right now is create space for many social struggles in existence right now in different groups that are better situated to make the demands. we stand in solidarity and develop analysis. the idea that a year in right now, we are coming up with this analysis and rolling it up for people. we should be mindful that, how do you deal with mofia capitalism. a time our government is incapable of dealing with the grip of global capital. >> i add to that. we ...

And independent where people get lost in the shuffle, right? the other thing i want to say is we do do our research, power of the power list. jeremy writing a piece, act up, 1989, die in. right? >> right. >> at the stock exchange a week ago, thats where we were. we are studying civil rights, but the challenges are different. i think chain of equivalences. multiple social movements where you have a movement that continues past putting people in power. bringing in about change because this is long...

Diseases. but they are showing up at their door. i want to talk about demands. it seemed to me and that gets into the occupy question, right? these actions seem to have specific demands. theres one action where they go to st. vincent where a security guard beat up a few gay and lesbian patients. we are going and we demand a meeting. we are going to occupy until we get it. someone comes out and gives them medicine. a speck demand. how crucial was that? >> it was absolutely essential. if you look ...

>> and akin and then they ask him to talk about the russian group that got thrown in jail. >> talking about -- >> the riot. >> the riot. >> meow. >> i will say you know exactly what george bush would say in this situation if he were candidate for president. >> whats that? >> do a sister soul party and my party needs to can its act up, isnt what were about, talking about real thing. >> this is easy. >> george w. bush. >> yeah. >> exactly. >> the thing is -- this -- >> this is easy because its kin...