http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061117/ap_on_el_pr/senators_hiv_test_2

:o

This is such a republican/fox news headline.  For those without enough education to read past the glaring headline, the CDC requested that he take the test while on his tour of Africa, the test will be specifically taken in the village of his father in Kenya.  This is being done much in the way that Cotton Mather inoculated himself against smallpox so that the mass of people could see that is was safe.  Those of the republican/fox dumbed down news bent will take this and run in order to add fuel to their already bigotted fire.  Hopefully most have learned their lesson and this is the bookend era of Atwater/Rove tactics.

I view this as a big "so what".

When I was in the military, I got an AIDS test twice a year.  And every time I go to donate blood, I give one as well.

However, the Senator does make a good point.  Everybody should get themselves tested.  One of the reasons I broke up with my last GF was because I refused to have unprotected sex, even after 4 months.  I knew I was safe (had been celibate for 7 years prior), but I had no idea on her status and she refused to get tested.  I hold my life to important to take a risk of getting an uncureable disease just for a little pleasure.

If anything, I applaud his decision to get tested and making it public.  Hopefully it might help remove the stigma of getting tested, and prevent the spread of this disease.

Ronald Regan is rolling over in his grave.  If you recall it was Reagan who said AIDS was God's punishment for homosexuality.  U.S. Senators getting AIDS test to rouse awareness.  Times really have changed for the better. :)

Ronald Regan is rolling over in his grave.  If you recall it was Reagan who said AIDS was God's punishment for homosexuality.  U.S. Senators getting AIDS test to rouse awareness.  Times really have changed for the better. :)

Ronald Reagan was a f**king idiot and he's not rolling over in his grave, he's rolling over on a spit in hell.

I applaud the senators for getting tested.  I applaud anybody for getting tested.  There is a miniscule chance you have HIV/AIDS unless you have unprotected sex with multiple partners and/or share needles with IV drug users, but even a miniscule chance is still a chance.  We can't cure AIDS yet.  So it's high time people got over the bigoted notions about who gets AIDS.  It's the right thing to do to get tested.

Ronald Reagan was a f**king idiot and he's not rolling over in his grave, he's rolling over on a spit in hell.

I applaud the senators for getting tested.  I applaud anybody for getting tested.  There is a miniscule chance you have HIV/AIDS unless you have unprotected sex with multiple partners and/or share needles with IV drug users, but even a miniscule chance is still a chance.  We can't cure AIDS yet.  So it's high time people got over the bigoted notions about who gets AIDS.  It's the right thing to do to get tested.

Regan had his head up his @ss or else Bonzo's.  A lot of the stereotype associated with AIDS is now gone.  Like I said progress!!!

Ronald Regan is rolling over in his grave.  If you recall it was Reagan who said AIDS was God's punishment for homosexuality.  U.S. Senators getting AIDS test to rouse awareness.  Times really have changed for the better. :)


I would like to see some proof of that.  I can't remember ever hearing President Reagan saying anything of the sorts.

In fact, he spent over $5.7 billion on AIDS research and prevention.  Every year, the budget for AIDS research and prevention increased 128.92%, ending at just shy of $3 billion per year when he left office.  And he spoke about the need for research and prevention numerous times in front of Congress.  In his 1986 State Of The Union speech, he stated:

We will continue, as a high priority, the fight against Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). An unprecedented research effort is underway to deal with this major epidemic public health threat. The number of AIDS cases is expected to increase. While there are hopes for drugs and vaccines against AIDS, none is immediately at hand. Consequently, efforts should focus on prevention, to inform and to lower risks of further transmission of the AIDS virus. To this end, I am asking the Surgeon General to prepare a report to the American people on AIDS.

Not to mention that he was also the first president to invite an openly gay couple to spend the night in the White House.  They were guests of Nancy Reagan at her 60th Birthday Party, and spent the next 2 nights there before returning home.  And don't forget, both President and Mrs. Reagan were actors before he entered politics.  And homosexuality has long been a subculture in Hollywood.

So I would be very interested in the source of that quote.  I even did a google and could find no reference for it.  Sounds like you are confusing President Reagan with Fred Phelps.

I'll work on that proof.  Actually it was well known how Regan felt about the Aids epidemic. :)

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Jan2004/bronski0104.html
Your answer Mushroom.

Ronald Reagan spent more money on AIDS research than any president before him! The gay activists had him all wrong.  Reagan cared deeply, but he was from a generation that didn't talk about sex stuff in public.  That's why he didn't say anything for six years. 
:-\\

Reagan was the first president beholden the the new Christian Right.  I don't recall Reagan ever saying anything like, "AIDS is God's punishment for homosexuals."  The problem is, while Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Jesse Helms, William Dannenmeyer, and the other right-wingers were beating the homophobia drum, Reagan  said nothing.  Reagan new better.  There were children dying of AIDS.  There were people dying of AIDS from blood transfusions.  There were IV drug users dying from AIDS.  There was a lot of misinformation about AIDS.  On top of that, medical researchers did not yet know how serious the epidemic might get, nor were they certain of all the ways AIDS could be transmitted.

Reagan gets credited for being a principled leader. A principled leader does not let his constituentents push him around.  For better and for worse, the American people listened when Regan spoke.  He had the moral obligation to speak as plainly and truthfully as he could about the public health crisis.  Reagan needed to assuage unfounded fears, advise caution where warranted, and actively discourage bigotry.  When he let the hate-mongering religious zealots do the talking for him, he neglected his duty as the leader of the American people.  I call that complicity.

Oh, regarding the "openly gay couple" sleeping over at the White House in '84, one of the men worked for the Reagans.  Ted Graber was the Reagans' interior decorator, so I guess Nancy didn't mind if his boyfriend tagged along. 

Like the Bushes, Reagan used the Christian Right as the front office for big business.  The bigshots don't personally care about "sexual morality," but they need to keep up appearances to appease their bigoted base.
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/13/icon_porc.gif

Surgeon General Koop finally sent out a basic information AIDS pamphlet to every household in 1987.  I just remember the Christian Right flipping apoplectic about the explicit language in the pamphlet, and how the surgeon general was going to corrupt our children with perversion!  So when the pamphlet arrived, I grabbed it immediately!  I thought Big Ed sent us a dirty book!  Indeed, the hot little pamphlet used such disgusting phrases as "vaginal fluids" and "oral sex"!  Oh, the horror!
:P

Barack Obama took the test to help eliminate the stigma of AIDS testing in Africa.  A huge reason the epidemic is so rampant is because people don't want to be seen being tested.  Most of the time, husbands give AIDS to their wives.  Both Barack and his wife Michelle were tested in front of throngs of people to demonstrate that there is no shame in being tested.  And let me also mention that he is a hero in the particular village where this took place.  When he and his family arrived, they were greeted by a parade, songs written in his honor, signs and posters - the whole works.  It was a big deal for him to step up and show people that, if he could do it, so could they.  Afterwards, he told the crowd that a real man gets tested, and a real man protects his wife.  Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

I view this as a big "so what".

When I was in the military, I got an AIDS test twice a year.  And every time I go to donate blood, I give one as well.



I was about to say the same thing. And yeah, I studied hard for those tests.  :D ;D ;D



However, the Senator does make a good point.  Everybody should get themselves tested.  One of the reasons I broke up with my last GF was because I refused to have unprotected sex, even after 4 months.  I knew I was safe (had been celibate for 7 years prior), but I had no idea on her status and she refused to get tested.  I hold my life to important to take a risk of getting an uncureable disease just for a little pleasure.

If anything, I applaud his decision to get tested and making it public.  Hopefully it might help remove the stigma of getting tested, and prevent the spread of this disease.



I do agree with you (shocker, huh?  ;) :D ;D )




Cat

I was about to say the same thing. And yeah, I studied hard for those tests.  :D ;D ;D




And I studied hard...for those tests too.
:-\\

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Jan2004/bronski0104.html
Your answer Mushroom.


Actually, this is just an article by an activist, writing in a gay & lesbian community website no less. Hardly the proof one would need to actually believe that Reagan said what you claim he did.

Actually, this is just an article by an activist, writing in a gay & lesbian community website no less. Hardly the proof one would need to actually believe that Reagan said what you claim he did.

I don't think Reagan said that.  I don't even think he believed it.  He and Nancy were probably less homophobic than the average person from their generation.  Ron, Jr. is gay.  What Reagan was pushing was a big business agenda with a cynical "traditional values" veneer.  Same as what Dubya's doing.  Reagan was just better at it.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/reagan_and_aids_damning_transcript.php

Okay, another one.

If you recall it was Reagan who said AIDS was God's punishment for homosexuality.



http://www.tompaine.com/articles/reagan_and_aids_damning_transcript.php
Okay, another one.


Nowhere in this transcript does Reagan say AIDS is a punishment for homosexuality. In fact, Reagan say's nothing, he's not even talking.

Nowhere in this transcript does Reagan say AIDS is a punishment for homosexuality. In fact, Reagan say's nothing, he's not even talking.

Sounds like the inspiration for Tony Snow to me!

What the transcript shows is the goofy callousness the Reagan White House showed toward any issue that didn't involve tax cuts, bombs, and God.  Sounds familiar, don't it now!

You know, the funny thing is, Andrew Sullivan is a hardcore right-winger, he's just not allowed in the clubhouse because he's gay!
::)

Ronald Regan is rolling over in his grave.  If you recall it was Reagan who said AIDS was God's punishment for homosexuality.  U.S. Senators getting AIDS test to rouse awareness.  Times really have changed for the better. :)


He deserves to burn in hell for openly ignoring the plight of AIDS in the U.S. Imagine the progress that could've been had he not been so bigoted.

He deserves to burn in hell for openly ignoring the plight of AIDS in the U.S. Imagine the progress that could've been had he not been so bigoted.



To be fair, he wasn't the only person at the time who ignored the AIDS epidemic.  And The Band Played On is one of the greatest movies about AIDS I have ever seen, and goes a long way into showing how ignorant a lot of people were about what caused it, who got it, and what happened to you when you got it.

Even after they developed a test to find hepatitis B (one of the diseases they were noticing people with AIDS contracting), blood banks wouldn't screen the blood that was donated for it....because they felt it would ruin the anonymity of the process.  One of the biggest ways heterosexuals contracted AIDS at the time was through tainted blood.  More than that, people didn't think heterosexuals could even contract the disease, so aside from homosexual sex and IV drug users, they never thought of the impact it could have on the straight community.  Also, they didn't know how you got it.  If they had known it can be transmitted through the blood, ways of protecting those who needed blood transfusions would have come about far sooner.  I think it took another decade after that before the Red Cross allowed blood to be screened. 

So yes, Ronald Reagan holds a lion's share of the blame, but he's not alone.  A lot of homophobic people blamed it on the gays, said it was punishment for being gay, and then basically let them die. 

Even after they developed a test to find hepatitis B (one of the diseases they were noticing people with AIDS contracting), blood banks wouldn't screen the blood that was donated for it....because they felt it would ruin the anonymity of the process. 


A little off the subject, but my mom contracted Hepatitis from a blood transfusion, and died of liver disease last year.  Had they screened blood back then, she'd still be here.  :\'(

A little off the subject, but my mom contracted Hepatitis from a blood transfusion, and died of liver disease last year.  Had they screened blood back then, she'd still be here.  :\'(



My condolences.  :(

A little off the subject, but my mom contracted Hepatitis from a blood transfusion, and died of liver disease last year.  Had they screened blood back then, she'd still be here.   :\'(


I'm so sorry. :\'(

My condolences.  :(

I'm so sorry. :\'(


Thanks guys.

A little off the subject, but my mom contracted Hepatitis from a blood transfusion, and died of liver disease last year.  Had they screened blood back then, she'd still be here.  :\'(


That is rough. Sorry to hear it.  :\'(

That is rough. Sorry to hear it.   :\'(


Thank you.


I always thought that things like that happened to other people, but then it happened to us.  Ignorance kills. 

A little off the subject, but my mom contracted Hepatitis from a blood transfusion, and died of liver disease last year.  Had they screened blood back then, she'd still be here.  :\'(



I am so sorry. Please except my condolences.




Cat

A little off the subject, but my mom contracted Hepatitis from a blood transfusion, and died of liver disease last year.  Had they screened blood back then, she'd still be here.   :\'(

That's heartbreaking just to hear. My condolences.

To be fair, he wasn't the only person at the time who ignored the AIDS epidemic.  And The Band Played On is one of the greatest movies about AIDS I have ever seen, and goes a long way into showing how ignorant a lot of people were about what caused it, who got it, and what happened to you when you got it.

Even after they developed a test to find hepatitis B (one of the diseases they were noticing people with AIDS contracting), blood banks wouldn't screen the blood that was donated for it....because they felt it would ruin the anonymity of the process.  One of the biggest ways heterosexuals contracted AIDS at the time was through tainted blood.  More than that, people didn't think heterosexuals could even contract the disease, so aside from homosexual sex and IV drug users, they never thought of the impact it could have on the straight community.  Also, they didn't know how you got it.  If they had known it can be transmitted through the blood, ways of protecting those who needed blood transfusions would have come about far sooner.  I think it took another decade after that before the Red Cross allowed blood to be screened. 

So yes, Ronald Reagan holds a lion's share of the blame, but he's not alone.  A lot of homophobic people blamed it on the gays, said it was punishment for being gay, and then basically let them die. 

I agree here.  It was gay activists throughout the '80s who were not only trying to get the government to take action, they were doubly agitating for gay men* to get out of denial and adopt safe, responsible sexual practices.  It was the same gay activists who also warned gay men not to conceal their HIV status.  I used to see the pink triangle stencil with the caption SILENCE = DEATH on walkways and buildings.  We were warned about it copiously in high school.  Just because you're heterosexual doesn't mean you're immune.  If you get it you die, so the sex educators warned us, do not take chances.

The only people who objected were social conservatives and the religious right.  Those where the groups that rallied to support Reagan. 

We had all at least heard of AIDS by the winter of 1983.  The first round of AIDS jokes was circulating by then.  I think Larry Speakes was playing dumb when he asked the reporter, "What's AIDS?"  That was a very contemptuous response. 

The one thing that bothered me about the movie "Philadelphia" was the scene in which Andrew Beckett testifies he did not know what AIDS was in 1984, the character claims he had only heard rumors about something called the  gay Plague.  That's an anachronism.  In 1984, AIDS was called AIDS, not GRID** or gay plague, and most people  knew what it was, especially gay men in urban areas!

*It is true that  gay women and heterosexuals were contracting AIDS through sexual contact, but at that stage, in the U.S., their numbers were miniscule compared to the infection rate of gay men.

**Gay-Related Immuno Deficiency, an earlier and less acurate acronym for AIDS.

I am so sorry. Please except my condolences.




Cat



That's heartbreaking just to hear. My condolences.


Thank you both.

A little off the subject, but my mom contracted Hepatitis from a blood transfusion, and died of liver disease last year.  Had they screened blood back then, she'd still be here.  :\'(


My condolences to you, Ash. :(

My condolences to you, Ash. :(


Thanks Dude.

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Jan2004/bronski0104.html
Your answer Mushroom.


Rejected.

It says nothing in there about any quote even similar.

And let's just say I am being "Fair and Balanced".  Every time I put up a "source" that is even slightly questionable, people scream at me.  And that "article" is an obvious hatchet job with little factual information.  In fact, the only quote I found was not by President Reagan, but by Bob Hope.


http://www.tompaine.com/articles/reagan_and_aids_damning_transcript.php

Okay, another one.


Same reason.  That is not even an interview of the President, but of somebody else.

Rejected.



I don't know why, but that made me giggle.  :) ;D :)

Part of the original problem with AIDS is because it was a Syndrome.  This term is normally used when a disease has been discovered, but they source of the disease is still unknown.  Legionaires Disease was originally called Legionaires Syndrome, before the discovery of the Legionellosis bacteria.

When AIDS was first discovered, the one strong connection was that the vast majority of people with the disease were gay men.  I remember when it was called GRID.  And one of the most common beliefs was that it was a form of Toxic Shock.  And you have to remember, this was shortly after the RelyPr brand tampon was pulled from the shelves.

RelyPr (and others) were a form of "super absorbant" tampon, which was released in the late 1970's and early 1980's.  However, after a large number of women died of Toxic Shock, the CDC soon found the common factor in the deaths, the brands of tampons.  Within a 3 year period, over 1,000 women died and thousands more suffered various side-effects.  Those included sterility, and life-long immunodeficiency.

AIDS was discovered shortly after this, and most of the research concentrated on how similar the "diseases" were.  Historically, the first US case of AIDS has been tracked back to 1969.  It only became noticed as an epidemic in the early 1980's.  Before then it was missed, because of it's hiding in a community that was both "underground", and often had other health problems that masked it.  The earliest cases (in the mid to late 1970's) were all misdiagnosed as either hepatitus or TB.  And considering that almost all of the early victims suffered from one or more of those diseases as well, it is easy to understand why it was missed for so long.  The HIV virus itself was not discovered until late 1983.

And no matter what, nothing will stop the spread of AIDS until people start to take greater responsibility for their own actions.  There is no way to cure this desease.  There will likely never be a cure for this disease (at least none in my lifetime, or my children's lifetime).  That is for the simple reason that it is a virus.  And currently, there is no cure for any virus.  None.  The most that any doctors can do is treat the symptoms, and hope the patient's own system defeats it.

Whether it was a "syndrome" or a "disease," if "gay" wasn't part of the equasion, Reagan would have addressed the issue by the end of 1983 at the latest.
The public was worried about the issue.  There was misinformation abounding.  The media was speaking of it in terms of a national crisis. I know I said this before, but dammit, I gotta say it again.  Reagan had the duty to:
1. Present to the public the scientific consensus of the nature of the pathology as best they could theorize at the time. 
2. Condemn bigoted attitudes and behavior regarding AIDS and those afflicted with it!
For chrissakes, I remember incident after incident from the '80s in which yahoos started in with the hysteria.  "Our kids want good grades, not AIDS!," declared one placard held by a dumbass suburban mom.  They were protesting a child suffering from AIDS being allowed in the public schools.  When Reagan spoke, people listened, including dumbass suburban moms,* and we could have avoided that kind of ugliness. 

When Reagan shirked his duty to gather scientific evidence and tell the American people about AIDS, he left the "telling" up to the religious right bigots and the gay activists.  What we now call "blue America" hated and ridiculed the religious right, and what we now call "red America" feared and loathed the gay activists.

Yes, there were more neutral civic and political leaders speaking on the issue, but controversy sells, thus Jerry Falwell and Larry Kramer got more ink.  Reagan had the nation's ear in his first term.  His counsel and reassurance could have assuaged fears--especially fears of conservatives who would discriminate against or harrass gays and AIDS patients.

You cannot separate the President from the White House spokesman.  If the Reagan White House had told Larry Speakes to seriously address the issue of AIDS, they would have briefed him, and Speakes would have done so.  Obviously, Speakes' flippant play-dumb demeanor indicated the tack the Administration wanted to turn on the issue of AIDS, and that is: Decent, God-fearing, Christian Americans don't need to know anything about AIDS because we're not sodomites.

I don't know how naive you have to be to think Reagan's advisors were not weighing how to address the issue of AIDS in 1982!

Look, it's even in Speakes' Wikipedia entry (obviously written by a drag queen on Fire Island, right?):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Speakes

*No offense to all suburban moms, I emphasize dumbass.

When Reagan shirked his duty to gather scientific evidence and tell the American people about AIDS, he left the "telling" up to the religious right bigots and the gay activists.  What we now call "blue America" hated and ridiculed the religious right, and what we now call "red America" feared and loathed the gay activists.

Yes, there were more neutral civic and political leaders speaking on the issue, but controversy sells, thus Jerry Falwell and Larry Kramer got more ink.  Reagan had the nation's ear in his first term.  His counsel and reassurance could have assuaged fears--especially fears of conservatives who would discriminate against or harrass gays and AIDS patients.


Maxwell, you need to get a grip on some realities my friend.

Don't forget, that long before entering politics, President and Mrs. Reagan were actors.  Not only that, he was for many years the President of the most powerful Union in show business.  Do you think he would have gotten to those positions if he was "homophobic"?  In fact, the death of his long time friend Rock Hudson caused the administration to greatly increase funding for both prevention and ways to help those already infected.

By the end of his administration, he asked for a permanent annual increase of 38% for AIDS research.  That hardly wounds like somebody who did not care.

And remember, even to this day there are researchers who claim that "HIV does not cause AIDS".  Myself, I think that all the funding going in the disease is largely being wasted.  I doubt that there will ever be a "cure", or even a vacceine, because of how fast the virus mutates.  We need to put more emphasis on prevention in the first place, and trying to find ways to extend the lives of those infected.

All the money being poured into the black hole called "AIDS Cure" might just as well be spent on building a ladder to the moon.  Because both would be equally ineffective in the end.

Whether it was a "syndrome" or a "disease," if "gay" wasn't part of the equasion, Reagan would have addressed the issue by the end of 1983 at the latest.
The public was worried about the issue.  There was misinformation abounding.  The media was speaking of it in terms of a national crisis. I know I said this before, but dammit, I gotta say it again.  Reagan had the duty to:
1. Present to the public the scientific consensus of the nature of the pathology as best they could theorize at the time. 

In 1982 the pathology and epidemiology of AIDS was quite well known.  At that time the public was well informed that:

-The largest at-risk group was gay men
-Gay men of Hatian origin were especially prone
-You could also get it from blood transfusions
-You could get it from a needle shared with an infected person
-A "Straight" could get it either from a bi/gay partner, or a straight who did.

It was not these groups' "fault" but once the disease took root in the communities it behooved them to address it realistically.

Back in early 1983 our company doctor basically said "Hey, if you don't have unprotected sex with gays, if you don't share IV needles, if you don't go to Haiti and score prossies, your chances of getting the disease are nil" (I do not recall if he addressed transfusions or not).

And he was mainly right.  AIDS is not the "fault" of the gay community but it is clear that it spread at a very fast rate because people did not follow the well-known advice... WEAR A RUBBER.

AIDS was no secret by late '82.  Ways to avoid it were not a closely guarded secret.  The government did not hide the existence of it.  It spread at a fast pace because people would not listen.  Not gay people, not straights, not prossies, not druggies.

People can blame Reagan all they want but the bottom line is that AIDS SPREAD (was not caused by) because of irresponsible behavior by people who knew what they were doing and were in denial.  And as a result people who caught it from transfusions or cheating parters became collateral damage.

The Reagans weren't homophobic.  The Reagan Administration was beholden to homophobes.

People can blame Reagan all they want but the bottom line is that AIDS SPREAD (was not caused by) because of irresponsible behavior by people who knew what they were doing and were in denial.  And as a result people who caught it from transfusions or cheating parters became collateral damage.


A lot of people simply refuse to accept personal responsibility for their own actions in their life.  When they make bad decisions they just want somebody else to blame.

Somebody goes to jail for robbing a liquor store or buying/selling drugs, and it is not their fault, "society" did it to them.

Somebody is a pedophile and is sent to jail for child molestation, it is not their fault.  It is all because somebody did the same thing to them.

Somebody contracts a disease through either unprotected sex or IV drug use, and it once again is not their fault.  "The Government" is simply not doing enough.

And the problem with STD in the gay community is nothing new either.  Long before AIDS came along, Syphilis and Gonorrhea were rampant in the gay community.  In the 1970's Herpes was also a rampant problem.  But because it was not fatal, nobody was very concerned about it.  And the problem is only exacerbated because of the segment of the gay male culture that promotes promiscuity.

I am not accusing all gay men of being promiscous.  But areas like The Castro and West Hollywood were struck very hard by AIDS, because these communities had a large number of gay men that were promiscous.  The porn industry had the same problems by the late 1980's.

I graduated from High School in 1983.  Because I lived just 10 miles north of Hollywood, I knew a lot of my friends were gay.  In fact I remember one dissapearing for a month in the summer of 1982, only to return and talk about his great time in San Francisco.  We all knew about AIDS, but none of them seemed to care.  I even got to know many of the signs in the "scarf language" of the day.

I often wish I was able to go back in time.  I lost 5 very dear friends to AIDS.  I lost contact with one more friend after graduation, Johnny decided to move back to San Francisco and as far as I know nobody heard from him again.  However, knowing that he was very openly promiscous, he probably caught it as well.  I often wish I could go back and try to talk some sense into them.

But hey, it was the 1980's.  An era of extravagance, youthfull carefree life, drugs, and sleeping with as many people as you could.  We were immortal, and nothing could ever hurt us because we were young.

My first shock was in 1985, when I ran into a friend and told him of my recent engagement.  Paul lookled like hell, with dark circles under his eyes and at least 50 lbs lighter then he was just 2 years earlier.  I ran into him a year later, and he weighed even less and had troubles breathing and a noticeable sore on his arm.  6 months later I got a call he was dead.

In 1988 I returned home after my first tour in Okinawa, and was told I had just missed Larry's funeral.  He killed himself with a shotgun the week after he learned he was HIV positive.  By the time he even bothered to get himself checked because of constant colds, he had already entered the first stages of full-blown AIDS.

And in certain segments of the gay community, they still pretend that ADIS does not exist.  And sadly, some even thrive on it.  Some segments even get a "Bio-Hazard" tattoo, as a way to show the world they are HIV positive.  "Barebacking" is often sought after, and "Russion Roulette Parties" and "conversion parties" are actually held in which the idea is to infect or get infected.  I know these are not normal for the gay community, but they are out there.

And there is the darker side, of people who are knowingly infected and try to spread the disease as much as possible.  About 10 years ago a guy was arrested in Los Angeles after being refused by the 4th blood bank.  He knew he had HIV, and knowingly tried to donate blood in order to infect as many people as possible.  Many prostitutes who are HIV positive do the same thing, as a way to "get back" at the man who gave it to them in the first place.

The only 2 people I know of that died from AIDS are true victims.  They were sons of a co-worker of mine, and both were born with hemophilia, and both of them got AIDS from the blood-based medications they took.  One of them died in 1995 at the age of 21, the other in 1998 at the age of 18.

But the disease is very preventable if proper precautions are taken.  With very few exceptions, the only people that they can really blame for catching AIDS is themselves.

But how many more millions of gay men did take responsibility?  How many more took the precautions?  How many more became monogamous or abstinent?

The media tends to hyperinflate the percentage of the gay population who you might call "bath house" types. 

If you come down with AIDS now because you engaged in unsafe sex, then you've only got yourself to blame.  Similarly, if you develop lung cancer at 50 because you've been a chainsmoker since you were 15, you've got yourself to blame.  Blaming only goes so far.  Would you say the AIDS patient or the cancer patient is less deserving of good treatment than one who caught it through "no fault of his own"?

As you know, many patients who came down with AIDS in the 1980s contracted the disease in the '70s before anybody had even heard of it.  Ever since penicilin, the other STDs were a nuisance, but treatable.  Indeed, herpes was forever, but it didn't KILL you!  Then AIDS came along.  It can take as long as 10 years for full-blown AIDS to manifest.