The commentary “Black church has gay blood on its hands” fits in with the prevailing mentality wherein blame is deflected from an individual’s personal behavior and consequences to an innocent bystander.
It states, “Too many ministers and bishops stood from their pulpits and murdered hundreds of thousands of people with their silence and judgment.” Those who died of AIDS were predominantly men who engaged in promiscuous and questionable behavior. Yes, there are today more women with HIV; but many of them are victims of their spouses or sexual partners who carry on secret bisexual behavior. Personal behavior is responsible for such deaths, not Christian ministers. Physicians are better able to explain the other acute health problems gay men in particular suffer because a part of the body designed only for evacuation of waste is misused.
Your blame is misdirected and should be aimed at those personally responsible for their own health failings. The same is true of smokers, heavy drinkers, and others. Please rethink and reflect on who is to blame for so many deaths. I think it is suicide, not murder.
Helen Louise Herndon
St. Louis