By David Ernesto Munar

Living with HIV is sometimes described as a rollercoaster but for me it’s more like a marathon or several of them.

Running has been my constant companion, even before my HIV diagnosis in 1994.  Back then, my typical run was shorter – my impatience greater.  My exercise routines mimicked the circumstances of my life.  Desperate to seize every fleeting moment, I favored short sprints over long, meandering runs.  My attention raced to make the most of a young, abbreviated life.

Such pessimism was justified.  An estimated 40,000 people died of AIDS in the U.S. the year I was diagnosed – 50,000 the following year.  I was 25 years old.

The Human Rights/Harm Reduction branch of the mobilization waits before moving toward the White House. AFC Photos-Gregory Trotter

The last time Laura Thomas was arrested in front of the White House, on Dec. 1, 1989, she was 23 years old. She lied down in the cold street with other ACT UP activists, just trying to be seen.

In total, she’s been arrested for civil disobedience 13 times – but not since 1992. As she ate breakfast this morning, she geared up mentally for another trip to the clink.

“It’s always a little scary, but it’s worth it,” said Thomas, 45, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in San Francisco and a steering committee member for the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance. “We’re not scrambling for attention anymore, but we are still demanding more action.”

Such was the context as thousands took to the streets today for the We Can End AIDS mobilization, the keynote activism event for the International AIDS Conference, a march of thousands through the streets ending in a rally in front of the White House. The four-hour protest culminated in an act of civil disobedience resulting in 12 people, including Thomas, being hauled off in police vans.

Mayor Vincent Gray faced a tough crowd today as he attempted to welcome visitors to Washington D.C.

When he took to the stage for the opening ceremony of the Global Village – a free networking area that’s integral to the activist spirit of the conference -- a group of 20 or so protestors marched in front with signs demanding a comprehensive AIDS plan for the nation’s Capital.

Several times, he tried to begin with different approaches: getting chummy with his antagonists by saying that he too was once an activist, growing stern with them, reasoning with them and, finally, bargaining for a later conversation. Nothing seemed to work for Mayor Gray.

“Give us the plan! Give us the plan! Give us the plan!” the protestors chanted.