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AnesteemedrofessorightlytakesAIDSdenialistso task,but hisaaluablehistoryof themovements attimesa causticead.

N THE rrnsrpageoftheprefaceto hisbook, DenyingAIDS:Conspiracy Theories,Pseudoscience.ndHuman Tiagedy,Seth Kalichmande-scribeshisinitial encounterwith an aca-demiccolleaguewho hadwritten a\$7eb-publishedscreedagainstthe"AIDSm5rth."ImeanI wasreallyangryr" hewrites,with asenseof frustrateddismaythatpermeateshebook. Thedismay sunderstandable;DerryinglDS isnotmerelya historyof themovementskep-ticalto widelyacceptedmainstreamsci-enceaboutthe disease,butalso ade-tailed accountofthe author'spersonaljourney,via lecturehallsand messageboards,ntothis world.The cadreofskepticson theouterfringesof academia,activismandjour-nalism-whoessentiallvdoubtthe

ACTUpFmarchestoadangerousdrummer,denying,againsthevastpreponderanceofscientificevidencgthatHfVcausesAIDS.Above:A|DSdenialistposters.

causalrelationshipberweenHIV andAIDS,andopposethe drugsused totreatit-formsucha small,but his-toricallycrucial, partofthe tragictaleof thedisease,t's inevitablethatsomeonewhohaspersonallyengagedwiththe movementwouldhave totellthe story.At timesthecaustictone ofDenyingAIDS,understandableas itmaybe, obscureshecold,hard factsof thebook'sarguments.Butthere'sno doubtthatthesupposeddebate,still thrivingoncornersof theInternetandwell-chronicledin thisbook,hashad sadand seriousconsequencesndholdsfascinatingmplicationsforotherso-calledscientificdebates, ncludingthosesurroundingclimatechange.Kalichmanhasalong andlaudedhistoryof AIDSpreventionworkas awidelypublishedauthor,professorofsocialpsychologyat theUniversityofConnecticutand theeditor-in-chiefofthejournalAIDSand Behaztior.He isalsothe directorof theSoutheastHfV/AIDSResearch& EducationProjectinAtlanta,Ga., andCape Town,SouthAfrica,which affordshiman up-closeviewof the impactsof state-sanctionedAIDSskepticism.As Kalichmanpersua-sively makesthe case,"Denialism hasplaguedSouthAfrica nearlyasbadly asthediseasetself."Thecountry'ssecondelectedpresident,ThaboMbeki,rejectsthe conventionalthinkingtowardthediseasend especiallyhedrugsto treatit. Kalichmanpointsto one biographythatstates,Mbekibelieves hatSouthAfricanswhoespousehe orthodoxviewthatHfV causesIDS,includingNelsonMandela,the laborunions, aswell asAIDSscientists,re inanciallybeholdento drugcompanies."Today,Kalichmannotes,an estimated800peopledie ofAIDSeach dayinSouth Africa,whileanother1,000contractHfV.Butit is thehistoryof AIDS intheUnitedStates thatcomposesmuchof the storyofthe"denialism" move-ment. Thisterminologyis of coursen-crediblyloaded,asKalichmanadmits:Holocaustdenialismis an explosiveandemotionalidea,and 9/l Idenial-ism isassociatedwitha fringe Internetmovementof extremepoliticalviews."Stillr"Kalichmanwrites,"Idefendmyuse ofthe termbecausebelieve tbestdescribeshe rejectionofobjectiveDenyingAIDS:ConspirocyTheoriegPseudoscience,nd HumanTragedyBySethKalichmanCopernicusook,525,009

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