For the past week gay social media sites have been buzzing about the rather shocking discriminatory policy of IMPULSE SOUTH FLORIDA, a community outreach group dedicated to spreading HIV awareness and education.
They recently threw a massive pool party in Miami to help promote the recently renovated Vagabond Hotel, a local landmark. They made men over 40 years of age pay a hefty $50 admission when it was free to anyone else. To add insult too injury the party had been rather ironically heavily promoted and hashtagged on Instagram and Twitter with #JudgmentIsDirty,
“I’m amazed at the invite I just received – free admission up to 40 years of age and $50 over 40,” Ed Stevens, a would-be party goer said to South Florida Gay News. “In addition to whether this is even legal, It’s a shocking and blatant attempt to exclude mature people and another instance of how people in our community should know better, given the discrimination and judgments we face in the mainstream world. And I was looking forward to going back to this beautifully restored landmark.”
“The primary strategy is to organically establish a following of socially active, young gay men through engagement at large, organised events, such as Evolution, which occurred in Miami on April 18,”
Impulse responded in a press release yesterday. “The purpose of events like Evolution is to create a lively, fun atmosphere where these men can interact while simultaneously being exposed to information about HIV in a non-judgmental environment.”
That’s all well and said but as many other disgruntled would-be partygoers have been pointing out this week is the reality that the very same group of gay men who were made to feel very unwelcome also constitute a significant percentage of the donors who have helped keep IMPULSE in funds in the past.
@rogerwalkerdack
