Search -
Don't Ask, Don't Tell: The Untold Story of a Mad Black Man
Don't Ask Don't Tell The Untold Story of a Mad Black Man Author:Keith Montgomery Bert only wanted to be as successful as he could be. He could not change his past; he could not change how people would judge him or the circumstances surrounding him. The only thing he could do is to play on the string he had been dealt. After growing up in a very unstable family that was hostile and abusing, after everyone gave up on him, he d... more »ecided not to give up on himself, despite the situations he may have gotten himself caught up in. He had the American Dream to have a wife, the house, and the kids, but he did not know what his sexual encounters would make him become. He dared not ask, and he dared not tell anyone his experiences until now. He is mad at the world. He has gone crazy and wants everyone to know why he has gone crazy. If you were abused every time you cried out for help, wouldn't you go mad? Just when Bert thought he was going to rise to the occasion, he was infected with HIV. It became devastating for him to deal with it, but he becomes determined to overcome the adversities or the stigma of HIV. Relationship after relationship becomes another notch for him to deal with. Just when he thought, Ah, this may be it. I can settle down, the relationship fizzled out. They are over before they start. This self-destructive behavior takes him on a ride from east to west, only to end up nowhere again. If only Bert would have taken this turn, or if only Bert went in this direction, maybe those things would not have happened to him, but they did, and now it was part of his character. He must learn to live with his experiences every day and thrive. There are about forty million people living with the HIV/AIDS virus. I was motivated to try and remove some of the fear and stigma so that people will not feel so isolated. They will not have to be lonely or treated as if they were a pariah like Bert. The silence is the killer and not the disease. I envisioned that people would read this fictional story and enlighten themselves about the many struggles a black man has with his identity. I envisioned the stigma of HIV to disappear and become more accepted than it has been within the gay and black communities. The silence within the groups has become self-destructive and nonproductive. I envisioned that our military men and women will be able to serve without stipulations put on them.« less