XPost: la.general, alt.politics.media, rec.arts.tv.comedy.colbert-report   
   XPost: dc.politics   
   From: gavin.newsom.democrat.felcher@disney.com   
      
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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.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)