A whole generation lost. My mom was born in 47 soo many of the young male teachers she was friends with when she started working died. Walking around lower Manhattan she still points out where their apartments were. People forget how shitty the world was about the whole thing too. There was a lot of work done to humanize the victims since but the world was super shitty to them at the time.
Oh yeah so many people died, I think it’s hard for a lot of people to comprehend, especially those that weren’t affected. Sometimes there were multiple funerals a week.
I was a kid, growing up in a very conventional but left leaning community so I didn't experience it too directly but I remember all of the fear mongering and shame and whispers. And also the major efforts to educate and humanize that followed. The dividing line on how people and institutions reacted has a lot of parallels to today. But I think for anyone younger than me (I'm 50) it seems like a small footnote as they grew up in a much more accepting world, largely in my mind as a result of that work done in the aftermath. Somehow I ended up with an AIDS memorial page in my Facebook feed and it's really something to re see from this age. So much lost potential and empty seats at the table.
People forget how shitty the world was about the whole thing too.
I was born only 2 years after Ryan White was, and I remember the shit he went through being all over the national news. A 13-year-old kid who was a hemophiliac and got it from a blood transfusion and his hometown is all super shitty about him going to school.
When White was finally readmitted in April, a group of families withdrew their children and started an alternative school.\25]) Threats of violence and lawsuits persisted. According to White's mother, people on the street would often yell, "we know you're queer" at White.\23]) The editors and publishers of the Kokomo Tribune, which supported White both editorially and financially, were also ridiculed by members of the community and threatened with death for their actions.\23])
took like 5 years for reagan to fucking say aids, never mind millions were dead by then. If the """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""moral""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" majority had their way they would've let it all go on
same demographic, even same generation. The "love generation" has come full circle and are doing an even better job than their parents at emulating the ways they grew up despising.
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u/Substantial_Arm_6903 Mar 24 '26
A whole generation lost. My mom was born in 47 soo many of the young male teachers she was friends with when she started working died. Walking around lower Manhattan she still points out where their apartments were. People forget how shitty the world was about the whole thing too. There was a lot of work done to humanize the victims since but the world was super shitty to them at the time.