Mourning began Wednesday afternoon after the announcement that courageous and outspoken gay activist Larry Kramer died at age 84. One group of gay activists chose to break quarantine and suit up for a pool party honoring his life and work.
“We were already having this party anyway,” said Harvey Thomas, a 29 year old Manhattan consultant. “But we texted the group chat and everyone agreed that Larry would not have wanted us to just stay home and follow the government’s rules.”
The life celebration started at noon and nearly thirty gay men arrived at 2pm wearing black veils. Attendees threw condoms off the roof to promote safe sex and poured Absolut cocktails to proudly swallow Truvada provided by Gilead, who generously sponsored the event. A civil disobedience photo booth where guests staged die-ins on Instagram Live was very popular.
“We were all connected to Larry in different ways. I work at the New York Stock Exchange, that’s where ACT UP went to demand affordable treatment,” said Alex Cooper, rubbing sunscreen on a fresh pink triangle tattoo.
Critics from the Gay Men’s Health Crisis condemned the party for belittling decades of hard work from committed AIDS activists. Protesters gathered on the street dressed in black to shout excerpts from Kramer’s books through a megaphone.
“I don’t know what ACT UP is, but I read Faggots. The first chapter was really angry, so I had to stop,” said Raymond Morris from a heavy heated hot tub. “But I absolutely loved Mark Ruffalo in The Normal Heart on HBO.”
