Yet the far more important question is one which we can answer far more unambiguously. That is: is the execution of HIV+ individuals something one might associate with AIDS activists, either past or present? Here the answer is a resounding no.
"Strain" is classic Law & Order; a factual inspiration which is likely to appeal to a "progressive" audience (i.e. people who are concerned about crystal meth, HIV/AIDS, and the politics of direct action) that leads to a story that – at the most critical juncture – reverses the facts.
Rainbow Armies
The Rainbow Army we see in "Strain" is an activist group which hands out condoms and enjoins gay men to practice safe sex and avoid crystal meth. Like Fin’s gay son Ken says, "They do good work." As presented in the episode, they come across as a fairly dull, white, male and healthy incarnation of an AIDS activist group.
Gabriel Thurman explains his motivation for joining the group as follows: "I came of age hearing about how so many gay men died in the 80s when there was no treatment. And now it’s happening again, because of crystal meth."
Let’s leave aside the fact that this kind of "entertainment" irresponsibly plays into the false belief that the AIDS epidemic ended in the 90s, or that gay men have not been dying in considerable numbers since "the 80s". Instead, let us take a moment to remember the period to which Thurman is referring, because in a sense that’s the backdrop to this story.
The 1980s were a time when AIDS activism was born, only to peak in the early 90s. If resources were devoted to preventing HIV, if funds were made available for researching new medicines, and if this research was at times done in an ethical manner, it is quite simply because of this AIDS activism – including the very kind that the “Rainbow Army” is supposed to allude to, but also taking much more radical and flamboyant and queer forms.
While some AIDS activist groups do still exist, a web search for "Rainbow Army" only turns up a pro-military rainbow bumper-sticker available from GayMart (oh what a sad sign of the times that is!)
This provides the answer to our second question: it would be nice if we had a few "Rainbow Armies" around today – based on their track record in the past, they would almost certainly do some good.
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